Apple clarified on Wednesday that it has never sold data collected by its Siri voice assistant or used it to build marketing profiles. This statement comes just days after the company settled a $95 million class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Siri had routinely recorded private conversations unintentionally and shared these recordings with third parties, including advertisers. While Apple denied any wrongdoing, it expressed satisfaction in resolving the case and moving forward.
Apple’s stance on Siri privacy is at odds with what its terms of service suggest. The company’s website states that the Siri feature “may record and store your audio to provide you with a better, more relevant experience.” However, it also notes that this information is assigned a random identifier, is not tied to any Apple Account, and only uses this data for development purposes. The terms also note that users can stop this processing at any time and that any data stored by Siri is destroyed after six months.
The legal settlement was filed in Oakland, California, federal court this week and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Reuters reports that it would compensate millions of Apple customers who owned devices with Siri between September 2014 and December 2024. Customers could receive up to $20 each for up to five Siri-enabled devices they own, with the maximum payout set at $100.
Aside from the payment amounts, Apple said in its statement that it was committed to continuing to improve Siri’s privacy and advancing technologies that further protect it. This includes making sure that it always works on the device where possible without the need to send or process data on its servers.
According to Reuters, plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that mentioning products such as Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those items. After discussing it privately with his doctor, one plaintiff even claims that he received an ad for a brand-name surgical procedure.
“Privacy is a core principle at Apple, and we are proud to design our entire ecosystem — hardware, software, and services — around principles that include data minimization, on-device intelligence, transparency and control, and strong security protections,” the company said in its statement. “Apple has never built marketing profiles from our Siri data, sold or shared this data with any third party, and we must continue to honor these commitments.”
A similar lawsuit involving Google’s Voice Assistant is ongoing in San Jose, California, with the same law firms representing the plaintiffs as those involved in the Apple case. That case is expected to go to trial in late 2021. Unlike some rivals, Apple’s on-device processing and data collection for its products is a significant point of differentiation.