Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claims Siri protects user privacy.
In particular, the company accused Siri of recording user conversations during accidental activations, and then Apple sharing the data with third-party advertisers.
The lawsuit cited examples where, after accidental notice, the plaintiffs began running advertisements for Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants. One of the plaintiffs also stated that he received an advertisement for surgical services after discussing the topic with his doctor.
The lawsuit was filed in 2019 after The Guardian accused Apple of honestly wiretapping users and transferring data to a third party. The company’s privacy policy at the time did not clearly state that recordings made by Siri could be wiretapped. The plaintiffs argued that they would not have purchased Apple products if they had known about it. Now Apple does not hide the fact that some recordings received through Siri can be analyzed by its employees.
Apple said it disagreed with the allegations but agreed to the settlement to avoid costs.
The class action includes all US residents whose personal information was obtained by Apple from September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024. Thus, millions of people can claim Payments. But each person will be able to get a maximum of $20 for each Siri device they own, but they can only connect up to five devices.
In the future, a website will be created through which it will be possible to submit an application for payment. [Reuters]
Source: Iphones RU
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