Apple (AAPL) Agrees to $95M Settlement to Resolve a Siri Lawsuit

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) has agreed to a $95 million cash settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging that its Siri voice assistant violated users’ privacy. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, claims Siri recorded private conversations unintentionally and shared them with third parties like advertisers. The settlement, which needs approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, covers incidents between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024.

The plaintiffs alleged that Siri was activated accidentally and led to targeted ads. This included people mentioning things like Air Jordan sneakers and the Olive Garden, which triggered related advertisements. Impacted customers, estimated in the tens of millions, could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches. Unsurprisingly, Apple has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle anyway. At the same time, the plaintiffs’ attorneys may seek up to $28.5 million in fees from the settlement fund.

Minimal Impact to Apple’s Bottom Line

Apple will see minimal impact from this settlement. For context, it amounts to roughly nine hours of Apple’s annual profit – essentially a rounding error given its net income of $93.74 billion last fiscal year. Meanwhile, a similar lawsuit involving Google’s Voice Assistant is underway in the same federal district, with the plaintiffs represented by the same law firms as in the Apple case.

Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 19 Buys, eight Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 34% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $245.28 per share implies 0.28% upside potential.

See more AAPL analyst ratings