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Apple Defends Siri After $95 Million Privacy Lawsuit Settlement
One week after agreeing to pay a $95 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit, Apple denied its digital voice assistant Siri poses any privacy concerns. The lawsuit claimed Siri recorded private conversations and shared them with third-party advertisers without consent.
The plaintiffs alleged that Apple recorded private conversations through the accidental activation of Siri. One plaintiff reported receiving targeted advertising for surgical treatments immediately following a private conversation with his physician.
In a statement Wednesday, Apple emphasized its commitment to user privacy, stating that Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles, advertising, or sold to other parties, and continues to develop technologies making Siri even more private.
The tech giant explained that Siri uses on-device processing whenever possible and that users’ personal information is not transferred across Apple servers. Additionally, the company stressed that searches and requests made through Siri are not tied to users’ accounts, nor does Siri retain audio recordings of requests and interactions unless users explicitly choose to participate. Users can “opt-in” to have their searches and requests recorded to help improve Siri, though recordings are only held for that purpose, the company said.
As part of the class-action settlement, Apple is required to confirm that it has permanently deleted all individual Siri audio recordings obtained prior to October 2019 within the next six months and provide users with information on how to opt in to Siri’s improvement practices.
Apple has faced similar privacy concerns in the past, leading the company to modify its use of independent contractors to review Siri recordings.
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