Siri data has never been sold or used for advertising - Apple
Apple has denied accusations of using Siri data for marketing purposes. In a statement, the company stressed that the information collected by the voice assistant is not sold to third parties and is not used for advertising.
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The situation became relevant after a lawsuit claiming that Apple allegedly transferred data obtained through accidental Siri activations to third-party companies for marketing purposes. The plaintiffs claimed that after talking about Air Jordan and Olive Garden, they began to see advertisements for these brands.
Apple claims that this is impossible, as Siri data is anonymised and not linked to a specific user. The company noted that audio recordings are used only to improve Siri's performance, and even that is with the user's consent.
"We built Siri with privacy in mind. Siri data has never been used for marketing profiles or sold. We decided to settle this lawsuit to avoid further litigation," Apple said in a statement.
Siri voice assistant. Illustration: Apple
In 2019, accusations against Apple emerged when it became known that the company's contractors were listening to Siri recordings, including accidental activations. At that time, Apple's privacy policy did not clearly state that the records could be checked by people.
Although the court initially dismissed the lawsuit, it was later reformulated to include allegations of data use for advertising. Apple agreed to the settlement by paying $95 million, emphasising that it does not admit guilt.
As part of the agreement, owners of Siri devices in the US that used the assistant between 17 September 2014 and 31 December 2024 can receive compensation.
Source: MacRumors
