Regarding the Siri Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple

What happened?

A class action lawsuit was filed against Apple in August, 2019, under the following circumstances: plaintiffs stated that after unintentionally enabling Siri, they were recorded by their devices and the recordings sold to advertisers, which were then used to target the users with online ads. Some plaintiffs even claimed the devices listened to and recorded them without Siri being activated. Thus, Apple supposedly breached the privacy policy.

Having said that, Apple, while agreeing to a settlement of $95M, has thus far not admitted any wrongdoing. “Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning," Apple said in a statement sent to CNET. "Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose”

Who sued Apple?

Lead plaintiffs include: Fumiko Lopez, John Pappas, Lishomwa Henry, and David Yacubian. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in August of 2019. 

Who is elegible?

The eligibility requirements for this lawsuit are quite broad. Anyone residing in the USA and its territories who owned a Siri-enabled Apple device between Sept. 17, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2024 is elegible.

How do I opt in?

To opt in, you need to swear under oath that at some point during that period, you unintentionally activated Siri on each device you want to get a payment for, and that the ensuing conversation was confidential. 

The next step is to go to this site and fill out the form. If you received a personalized postcard or email about the lawsuit containing a claim identification number (Notice ID) and confirmation code, you can use those to log into the site, and begin the claims process. Didn’t get a notice, but feel you are elegible? Click on the “New Claim” button, and enter the necessary information. 

The deadline to submit a claim is July 2, 2025. Note: it may take a while for you to see any settlement cash. A final hearing is scheduled to be held on August 2, 2025, and appeals after that could delay payouts. 

How much $ will I get?

The payments per device are to be capped at $20, but it could be less than that, depending on how many claimants there are. There’s a limit of 5 devices every individual can claim payment for, which is a maximum of $100 per user. As the fund is depleted, the amount you get per device is predicted to go down to just a few dollars. But that is merely an educated guess at this point in time. 

What if I don’t live in the USA?

In Canada, Lex Group INC. launched a class action lawsuit against Apple for the same reasons as stated above. If you live in Canada, and own or have owned Apple devices, you may be a member of the class, and thus be entitled to compensation, should the court authorize the class action, and ultimately grant the class action on the merits, or should a settlement be reached (and approved by the Court).

More information and the claim form can be found here: https://www.lexgroup.ca/classaction/apple-privacy-breach-class-action/

Any feedback, especially on the absence of important information is appreciated. Thank you.