Siri Eavesdropping Payout: Are You Eligible? Know the Claim Process

    If you are an Apple Siri user, then you might soon be eligible to claim compensation from Apple. The tech giant has agreed to pay $95 million to the consumers to settle a class action case regarding Siri eavesdropping. Today, in this blog, you will get to know everything about this Siri Eavesdropping case, whether you are eligible for the payout, and how to claim your compensation. You will also get to know the step-by-step claim process for the same.

    What is the Siri Eavesdropping Case all about?

    According to the lawsuit, Apple was charged for allegedly enabling Siri to listen to user conversations, infringing their privacy and then sharing the details with the advertisers. In 2019, the British newspaper, The Guardian first reported that Apple employed professional contractors to listen to the users’ conversation through Siri without their knowledge. The private conversations include everything from private talks to medical appointments to a bucket list for shopping. 

    Despite Apple informing the users that Siri could listen to users’ conversations some time, the tech-giant got into hot water. It is because they did not explicitly inform that human oversight of Apple’s virtual assistant would be used. Moreover, Apple also did not inform that Siri recordings would be shared with the advertisers for business purposes. 

    In regard to this case, two users have complained that they mentioned Air Jordan shoes, and their iPhones showed adverts for the product. Another claimed he received medical ads after discussing a specific surgical treatment with his doctor.

    The important question now is which users should be eligible for the compensation for the Siri eavesdropping case. Users are also required to know how to ensure their privacy while using the Apple’s virtual assistant. 

    Will You Be Eligible for the Siri Eavesdropping Compensation? 

    As the Siri case is almost settled and we got the preliminary approval for giving payout to the Apple users, you, as a Siri user, should be able to make a claim. But wait, there is a catch. You should know that not all Siri users would be able to make the claim. 

    The condition is if you used an Apple-Siri-enabled device between 17th Sep, 2014 to 31st Dec, you could be eligible for the compensation. However, only the users based in the U.S. will be eligible for the payout. The users outside the US won’t be able to make the claim. Moreover, prior to getting the claim, you need to swear under oath, confirming that you activated Apple’s virtual assistant unintentionally and had your private conversations recorded by Siri. 

    The final decision date has been scheduled to be on 14th Feb 2024. The venue is California Court. Once the final decision has been made, Apple’s virtual assistant users will be given a 45-day window to make their claim.

    How Much an Apple User Will Get?

    Every Apple user is entitled to get $20 per device. And the good news is that you can make your claim for multiple devices. The maximum claim can be made upto five devices totaling $100. This is an excellent chance for Siri users to make some money. 

    The Step-by-Step Apple Compensation Claim Process

    If you wish to apply for compensation for Siri eavesdropping, you must follow the following steps.

    Wait for the Court Approval

    You are required to wait for the settlement approval from the U.S. District Court. The hearing for the approval has been scheduled for 14th February 2025. Once the approval is given, then you are allowed to proceed with your claim process.

    Notification

    Once the approval is done, if you are an eligible user, then you will get a notification via your email. The email will have detailed instructions on how to make your claim.

    Siri Eavesdropping Compensation Claim Submission

    You are supposed to submit your claim for compensation by following their instructions. There will be different payment options given, among which you can opt for your preferred payment method (physical check, electronic check, or direct deposit). 

    Deadline

    May 15, 2025, is the last date for you to make the Apple Siri Eavesdropping Compensation claim.

    Where Apple Will Pay $95 Million? 

    The whole amount of $95 million won’t go to the Siri users. Rather, a portion of this amount will go to the legal teams. Around 30% would go to them as fees and legal expenses. 

    The $95 million amount is nothing to Apple, considering they have made a profit of $93.74 billion in the last financial year. 

    Apple’s Response to Siri Eavesdropping Case

    Apple has spoken on the issue through a mail, “Siri has been engineered to protect user privacy from the beginning,” an Apple spokesperson says. “Siri data has never been used to build marketing profiles, and it has never been sold to anyone for any purpose.”

    Apple agreed to settle the case to avoid further litigation “so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019,” the Apple spokesperson further says. “We use Siri data to improve Siri, and we are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private.”

    Over the course of the lawsuit and legal proceedings, Apple has never once admitted or agreed that they have shared or sold the Siri recorded user data to the advertisers. They have rather emphasized saying that the company has never used Siri recordings to make business profits at all.

    According to Apple, Siri is designed to do as much learning as possible offline. This is the whole point of recording user conversations at times. For Apple Intelligence requests that use Private Cloud Compute, your data is never made accessible or stored to Apple, the tech giant says.

    Apple’s virtual assistant comes with additional protections, and user data is not used to train Apple Intelligence foundation models.

    At the same time, Apple’s virtual assistant uses as little data as possible to deliver an accurate result. When you ask a question about a sporting event, for example, Siri uses your general location to provide suitable results. But if you ask for the nearest grocery store, more specific location data is used.

    Some More Points

    Random identification is used by Apple’s virtual assistant to keep the data while processing. It does not tie this to your identity via your phone number or Apple Account. Apple thinks that this is quite a unique process that they use in their digital assistant, Siri. For enhanced security, after six months, your request history is disassociated from the random identifier

    If you ask Siri to read your unread messages, Apple’s virtual assistant simply instructs your device to read these aloud. The contents of your messages aren’t transmitted to Applw’s servers because that isn’t necessary to fulfill your request.

    If you opt-in for the Siri recordings, then Apple employees should be allowed to listen to the audio samples to improve the digital assistant. The Apple team is bound to delete the recording after using it to train up Siri. But over the years, they have misused the data and sold it to advertisers. 

    Should You Quit Siri?

    Apple has not admitted to sharing the Siri voice recording with the advertisers. Neither is there any concrete proof that Appple is selling user data to advertisers. Apple makers have only admitted to using the Siri recordings to improve their voice assistant. 

    Apple clears by saying, “continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing and liability, specifically denies each of the Plaintiffs’ contentions and claims, and continues to deny that the Plaintiffs’ claims and allegations would be suitable for class action status,”

    Steps to Disable Apple’s Virtual Assistant on Your Device

    If you are worried about your privacy and security regarding Siri’s voice, then it would be wise on your part to disable Apple’s virtual assistant. Here are the steps that you should follow to disable Siri on your device. 

    Take your iOS service (iPad or iPhone), go to the settings, and then click on Siri. From there, you can disable it. Settings> Siri> Talk to Siri > Off. This is how to turn off Siri.

    You also have the option to disable the ‘Press Side Button for Siri’ or ‘Press Home for Siri.’ This is how you would be able to stop the Apple Voice Assistant from listening to your conversations. 

    If you are using a Mac, then navigate to the Apple logo in the top-left corner. Then follow this sequence: Settings> Siri & Spotlight. Proceed to toggle off ‘Ask Siri.’ 

    Using these options to disable Siri is a good way to boost your online privacy and safety while using an Apple device. It will enable you to prevent Apple from using your conversations from recording or listening.

    Conclusion

    Siri is a very useful tool for Apple users around the world. However, the Siri eavesdropping case has made users concerned and worried about the future use and applications of this AI assistant. It all comes down to your personal preference and needs as to whether or not you will use Apple’s virtual assistant like before. If you do not want to use this tool, then you always have the option of disabling it from the settings. Using it further might come with its own implications and consequences. One thing is for sure: with the latest technological advancement, Siri looks brighter than ever before. 

    Once the court approves the settlement case, Apple will inform the eligible users about the claim process. By following the claim process, you can easily claim and get your compensation as soon as possible. Just remember, 15th May is the last date to file your claim.

    FAQs

    Why Should You Use the Apple Pay?

    Ans: ApplePay is a convenient payment feature that lets you make different kinds of online payments and facilitates transactions efficiently. 

    When Should You Opt for ‘Report a Problem Apple’ Feature? 

    Ans: While using your Apple device, if you come across a problem that you are unable to solve, then you can proceed and report the problem to Apple

    What is Apple+?

    Ans: Apple+ indicates a wide range of services including Apple Fitness+ and Apple TV+. In this arrangement, you get to have subscription-based Apple services as per your needs and preferences. 

    How to turn off Google Assistant? 

    Ans: You can go to your Settings, and then from there, you can turn off your Google Assistant. The whole process is quite straightforward. 

    How to Turn on Siri? 

    Ans: If your Siri is turned off, then you can turn it on by going to Settings and following the subsequent options given by Siri in Settings.

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