Google and Apple are set to pay out a whopping $163 million as a lawsuit claimed that they are secretly listening to private chats held by the firms’ customers.
According to the lawsuit, millions of conversations held by users of Google and Apple were listened to and recorded without their knowledge.
The lawsuit was first filed by Fumiko Lopez, along with others, back in 2019. They claimed that their recorded discussions were being shared with brands to create targeted advertisements.
The court documents detail how some people reported having had targeted advertisements promoted to them based on brands they had mentioned in private conversations.
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According to a report by The New York Post, Apple recorded users without them using the words ‘Hey Siri’, and Google had acted similarly, recording its users without them using ‘OK, Google’.
Apple has reached an agreement of $95 million to settle the case against it, while Google has agreed on a $68 million settlement.
Both of the tech giants have denied any wrongdoing.
Users who experienced the activation of Siri without commanding it between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, could be eligible for compensation.
A website created to provide updates on the lawsuit stated: “If you believe you are a Settlement Class Member, you must submit a valid Claim Form to get a payment from the Settlement. Settlement Class Members may submit claims for up to five Siri Devices on which they claim to have experienced an unintended Siri activation during a conversation intended to be confidential or private.
“Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims shall receive a pro rata portion of the Net Settlement Amount for a Class Payment of up to a cap of $20 per Siri Device. The amount available to Settlement Class Members will increase or decrease pro rata depending on the total number of valid claims submitted, and Siri Devices claimed.
“Depending on the total number of valid claims, this Plan of Allocation is subject to modification by agreement of the Parties without further notice to Settlement Class Members, provided any such modification is approved by the Court.
“The final amount will not be known until all claims are evaluated. Please see the information in the Notice concerning payments.”
For those who had several of these devices, they could be about to get a nice chunk of compensation.
Apple wrote on its website: “Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful.”