Consequently this is misleading, as Apple, Amazon and Google have this ability to send triggered voice command data to developers if there was an error. I don’t use Apple or Amazon’s voice assistants, but Google has a setting to disable data going to developers, and you can also turn off personalized ads, have data deleted after 90 days… Also, I don’t have Google Assistant listening at all on my phone and have to hit a button to enable speech commands I rarely use. Of course, we’re trusting them to honor these settings. Also, the piece had some X posts I didn’t include if you want to see them from the source link. I’m just waiting for the Linux phone operating systems to mature with some more compelling hardware options in order to ditch Android and have complete control over my hardware.
by M Winger
Time for Apple to cough up the cash.
Apple will pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of using Siri to secretly record conversations.
Many have long suspected that their phones have been listening in and now there’s a lawsuit calling them out about it.
But Apple hasn’t admitted guilt.
And nothing says ‘innocent’ like paying out nearly $100 million dollars.
The recordings were allegedly shared with advertisers.
This could be why you would talk about an item and then see an advertisement about it on your phone a little bit later.
Consumers with Siri-enabled devices from 2014–2023 may claim up to $20 per device, pending court approval.
CBS News reports:
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a civil lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.
The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn’t seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, “Hey, Siri.” Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted.
Lawyers in the case have proposed scheduling a Feb. 14 court hearing in Oakland to review the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, although the payment could be reduced or increased, depending on the volume of claims.
Hey Siri, why are you always eavesdropping?