Recently, Apple reached a $95 million settlement regarding a lawsuit that alleged “illegal and intentional recording” of Siri interactions.
This settlement has ignited a flurry of conspiracy theories suggesting that Siri is eavesdropping for targeted advertising purposes. However, Apple firmly dismisses these claims as completely baseless.
The Privacy Controversy Surrounding Siri
The lawsuit originated from a 2019 report in the Guardian which disclosed that Apple had employed contractors to “evaluate” Siri interactions. A whistleblower revealed that these contractors often overheard private conversations of users while conducting quality control for Siri.
In response, Apple swiftly clarified that “less than 1% of daily Siri activations” were utilized for “grading,” typically lasting only a few seconds. Furthermore, these interactions were governed by “Apple’s strict confidentiality agreement” and were not linked to any user’s Apple ID.
Subsequently, Apple introduced significant updates to Siri’s privacy features via a post on Apple Newsroom. The most notable change was that, by default, Apple ceased retaining recordings of Siri interactions. Users were given the option to opt-in for enhancing Siri through “audio samples of their requests.” Apple also clarified that only “Apple employees” would be permitted to access audio samples of Siri interactions, excluding third-party contractors; any recording deemed an “inadvertent trigger of Siri” would be promptly deleted.
Is Your iPhone Eavesdropping to Serve You Ads? Absolutely Not.
As of 2025, Apple has agreed to resolve that lawsuit from 2019 with a $95 million payout to users. In a statement to DMN today, Apple indicated that the settlement will help the company “move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019.”
The tech giant asserts that Siri data has “never been used to create marketing profiles, nor has it ever been sold for any reason.”
Here’s the complete statement from an Apple spokesperson:
Siri has been designed to protect user privacy from the outset. Siri data has never been utilized to create marketing profiles and has never been sold to any party for any purpose. Apple settled this case to prevent further litigation so we can advance from concerns regarding third-party grading that we previously addressed in 2019. We use Siri data solely to enhance Siri, consistently developing technologies to ensure greater privacy for users.
Recent news has triggered a series of unfounded conspiracy theories using Apple’s settlement to claim that your iPhone is “always listening” and spying for targeted advertising. Apple emphatically states that this is not true, and anything you share with Siri is not shared with advertisers.
Throughout the lawsuit, Apple repeatedly denied the allegations suggesting that Siri recordings were used for advertising targeting, with no evidence provided to support such claims.
Moreover, Siri interactions are linked to a random identifier that allows Apple to manage data during processing without connecting it to your Apple Account, phone number, or other identifiable information. After six months, the request history is also disassociated from this random identifier. These privacy measures are outlined in detail on Apple’s website, specifically on a dedicated page for Siri and Dictation privacy.
Users can also review and delete their Siri transcripts manually within the Settings app. Just navigate to the “Siri & Dictation History” section.
Some Siri requests are processed entirely on-device as well. For instance, if you ask Siri to read your unread messages, it instructs your iPhone to read them aloud without sending the content to Apple servers.
Regarding Apple Intelligence features, Apple highlights its implementation of Private Cloud Compute. This infrastructure is built on Apple Silicon chips and is accessible to third-party researchers to ensure privacy protections are upheld.
DMN’s Perspective
In summary, the rumors circulating that this lawsuit proves your phone is “always listening” are nothing more than unfounded conspiracy theories. The privacy protections Apple has in place make it virtually impossible for your interactions with Siri to be used for targeted advertising.
That said, this situation highlights Apple’s reactive rather than proactive stance taken in response to the issues raised back in 2019. The company should have implemented stronger privacy measures earlier, and it should not have taken a whistleblower’s revelations for meaningful changes to occur. An opt-in system should have been established from the outset. Nevertheless, Apple has since committed to enhancing Siri’s privacy protections.
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