Voice assistants are a trove of useful data for tech companies and Apple recently faced a class action lawsuit which claimed that it collected user data for their use of Siri, but after the settlement, the company went on to clarify its stance. Despite settling for $95 million in this massive class action against Cupertino, Apple clarified a few things regarding this issue, saying that it did not sell any collected data from users.
After news of the settlement spread, many online users and commentators reacted to the development and they jumped to a conclusion claiming that Apple paying off the case is an admission of guilt.
Apple Settles Siri Privacy Class Action Suit for $95M
Apple has been the center of controversy since the year started, particularly as the company settled a massive class action lawsuit where they paid a $95 million sum against complaints that they collected data without consent from users. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs argued that Cupertino 'routinely' recorded user's private conversations with the AI voice assistant after unintentionally activating the feature.
However, part of the complaint claimed that Apple shared the sensitive information it collected from users to third-party companies or developers, including advertisers, for their gain.
Because of this, as many as tens of millions of Apple users who own Siri-enabled tech like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches may receive up to $20 per device.
Apple Clarifies No Collected Data Was Sold
Apple denied the claims regarding the data collection allegations and refused to admit them during the settlement, but the company did not let this opportunity go to clarify its side of the issue. According to the Cupertino tech giant, they did not use Siri to build marketing profiles and share them with advertisers.
Moreover, Apple also claimed that it did not sell the alleged collected data from Siri to third parties, or "to anyone for any purpose."
Apple and its AI Voice Assistant, Siri
Siri has been one of the most famous AI-powered voice assistants during its early years as many found it intuitive and useful when using Apple devices, and only commanding it to do certain actions completes a hands-free experience. However, Siri was criticized for its slow growth and development as years went by, especially as rivals took the edge over the chatbot, but was speculated for a massive upgrade using generative AI.
Last year's WWDC 2024 introduced massive upgrades to Siri thanks to Apple Intelligence, and it is considered the largest update for the AI voice assistant to date, powered by a newfound tech for Cupertino. Not only that, Apple also partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT as a language model to use via Siri, alongside contextual awareness, and more.
That being said, Apple recently admitted that Siri is 'not yet that smart' as the company is still working on improving the experiences of the AI voice assistant, and is not rushing to deliver a rivaling experience to renowned chatbots. However, amidst all of these developments, Apple was probed regarding a privacy issue with Siri where it allegedly collected data, and while Cupertino already settled it, they want the world to know that these were not given or sold to third-party companies or developers for their gain.
