The Siri spying lawsuit, formally Lopez v. Apple Inc., ended in a $95 million class action settlement that a federal judge in California gave final approval on September 4, 2025. The case accused Apple of letting Siri record users’ private conversations through accidental activations and sharing those recordings with third parties for targeted advertising. Payments to eligible class members began on January 23, 2026, with claimants receiving up to $20 per Siri-enabled device and a cap of five devices.
What Apple Was Accused Of
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in August 2019, alleged “unlawful and intentional interception and recording of individuals’ confidential communications without their consent and subsequent unauthorized disclosure of those communications.”1Time. Apple Class Action Lawsuit: How to File a Claim At the heart of the case was the claim that Siri activated on its own, without any wake word, and captured whatever the user happened to be saying. One example in the complaint involved the assistant triggering when a person simply said “seriously.”2Enjuris. Apple Siri Class Action Lawsuit
The plaintiffs went beyond passive collection. They alleged the recordings were shared with third-party businesses, including restaurants and clothing brands, and used to serve ads through Apple’s search platform and Safari.3CBS News. Apple Siri Settlement: How to File a Claim The complaint pointed to ads for Air Jordan sneakers, Olive Garden, and surgical treatments that allegedly surfaced after users had discussed those topics in private.4The Record. Apple to Pay $95 Million in Siri Lawsuit
The suit also singled out a scripted Siri response. When users asked, “Are you always listening?” Siri would answer, “I only listen when you’re talking to me.” Plaintiffs called that misleading given how often the assistant activated by accident.4The Record. Apple to Pay $95 Million in Siri Lawsuit
How the Allegations Came to Light
The case grew out of a July 26, 2019, report in The Guardian. An anonymous whistleblower said Apple was routing audio captured by Siri to third-party contractors for human review, a quality-control process the company called “grading.” The contractors were supposed to be checking transcription accuracy, but they regularly heard conversations between doctors and patients, drug deals, sexual encounters, and other sensitive exchanges.5The Guardian. Apple Contractors Regularly Hear Confidential Details on Siri Recordings
Many of those recordings came from unintended activations. A zipper, or a bump on an Apple Watch, could start a short recording that captured whatever was going on nearby. The audio files were often paired with metadata including location, contact details, and app information. At the time, Apple’s privacy policy made no mention of human review, and unlike Amazon and Google, Apple offered no way for users to opt out of grading short of disabling Siri entirely.6TechCrunch. Siri Recordings Regularly Sent to Apple Contractors for Analysis, Claims Whistleblower
In May 2020, a former Apple subcontractor named Thomas Le Bonniec publicly identified himself as a source. He had worked through a firm called GlobeTech at Apple’s Cork, Ireland office starting in May 2019, processing roughly 1,300 Siri recordings per day before quitting after about three months.7Tech Worker Handbook. Thomas Le Bonniec Le Bonniec wrote to European data protection regulators urging an investigation, saying “big tech companies are basically wiretapping entire populations.”8Politico. Apple Whistleblower Calls on Europe to Crack Down on Big Tech
The $95 Million Settlement
Judge Jeffrey S. White granted preliminary approval of the settlement on February 10, 2025, and final approval on September 4, 2025.9Courthouse News Service. Judge Approves $95 Million Apple Settlement Over Siri Privacy Case Of the $95 million fund, plaintiffs’ attorneys requested $28.5 million in fees and costs, a 30 percent share the judge called “legally appropriate.”10Law360. Apple Users’ Attys Near OK on $28.5M Fees for Privacy Deal Each lead plaintiff could receive up to $10,000 as a service award.
Who Qualified and What They Got
The settlement class covered anyone in the United States or its territories who owned or purchased a Siri-enabled Apple device between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, and who experienced an unintended Siri activation during a conversation they considered private or confidential.11ABC7 New York. Apple Siri Settlement: How to File a Claim Eligible devices included iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, iMacs, HomePods, iPod Touches, and Apple TVs.12NBC Chicago. How Do I File a Claim in the Apple Siri Lawsuit
Payments were capped at $20 per device and five devices per claimant, for a theoretical maximum of $100 per person. Actual per-device amounts were subject to adjustment up or down depending on how many valid claims came in.13Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement. Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement – Home Claims had to be filed by July 2, 2025 through the settlement website, with claimants confirming under oath that they had experienced an unintended Siri activation during a private conversation.14Consumer Reports. How to File a Claim in the Apple Siri Lawsuit Settlement
Distribution of checks, ACH deposits, and digital payments began on January 23, 2026.15NBC New York. Apple Settlement $95 Million Payments The claims window is now closed and payouts have been processed.16Top Class Actions. Apple Siri Class Action Settlement
Apple’s Denial and What Changed
Apple denied the allegations and said it settled only to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation.17Forbes. Apple Siri Eavesdropping Payout Approved In a public statement, the company said: “Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning. Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose.”18NBC Chicago. Payments Begin in $95M Siri Eavesdropping Class Action Settlement
Apple did acknowledge the prior use of outside human graders. After the 2019 reports, it stopped using third-party contractors and moved to an opt-in model.17Forbes. Apple Siri Eavesdropping Payout Approved In a January 2025 statement, the company detailed how Siri now handles user data:
- On iPhones with an A12 Bionic chip or later, Siri audio is processed on the device using the Neural Engine, unless the user chooses to share it with Apple.19Apple Newsroom. Our Longstanding Privacy Commitment With Siri
- Apple no longer retains audio recordings unless users opt into the “Improve Siri and Dictation” program, and they can opt out any time.20Apple. Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy
- Siri requests are tied to a random, device-generated identifier that rotates multiple times per hour, not to the user’s Apple Account.20Apple. Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy
- Users can delete their Siri and Dictation history through device settings.20Apple. Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy
Related Cases Against Amazon and Google
The Siri case was part of a wider wave of voice-assistant privacy litigation. Several lawsuits were filed against Amazon in 2019 over Alexa-powered Echo devices, with claims focused on recording children without consent, capturing bystanders’ voices, and violating Illinois biometric privacy law.21Akin Gump. Class Action Lawsuits Allege Privacy Violations by Smart Speakers
Google faced a parallel case, In re Google Assistant Privacy Litigation, filed in the same federal district in July 2019. In January 2026, Google agreed to a $68 million settlement covering users who experienced accidental Google Assistant activations going back to May 2016. Google denied wrongdoing, and as of mid-2026 the deal was awaiting final court approval.22Mass Lawyers Weekly. Google Assistant Privacy Lawsuit $68M Settlement