Apple has denied any wrongdoing
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million (£76m) to settle lawsuit accusing iPhones of listening to their owners’ conversations.
The tech giant had been accused of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people through their phones without their knowledge.
Apple filed the proposed settlement in a federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday to bring an end to the five-year-old lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Apple was alleged to have secretively activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
Siri is only meant to be activated by a user when they say the words ‘Hey, Siri.’
The lawsuit claims Apple then shared the recorded conversations with advertisers so they could sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services.
Two plaintiffs in the case said they received ads for Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants after mentioning the two in conversation. Another person in the case claimed he got ads for a brand name surgical treatment after discussing it with his doctor in a private conversation, Reuters reports.
Apple denies the claims, and the proposed settlement contains no acknowledgement of any wrongdoing.
The settlement needs to be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, with lawyers having proposed a court hearing in Oakland for February 14 to review the terms.
If approved, consumers who owned an iPhone or other Siri-equipped Apple devices between September 17, 2014, and the end of last year could claim compensation, up to a sum of $20 per device covered by the settlement, with a limit of five devices per consumer.
This payment could be reduced or increased depending on how many people make claims. It is estimated that only 3-5 per cent of eligible consumers will file claims, according to court documents.
In recent years, Apple has prided itself on protecting the privacy of its customers, something which CEO Tim Cook has labelled a “fundamental human right.”
However much Apple ends up paying out, it will be a drop in the ocean compared to the $705bn the company has made in profits since September 2014.
According to Reuters, the proposed settlement fund of $95 million equates to about nine hours of profit for Apple.
Lawyers representing the consumers in the case had estimated Apple could be made to pay $1.5bn if it was found guilty of violating wiretapping and breaching other privacy laws had the case gone to a trial.
