Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant recorded users' private conversations without consent, according to court documents filed Tuesday at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

What Happened: The preliminary settlement could benefit millions of U.S. consumers who owned Apple devices between September 2014 and December 2024, Reuters reported.

Eligible users can receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, with a limit of five claims per person. Approved claimants should receive payments within 60 days of filing.

The lawsuit stemmed from user complaints that Siri would accidentally activate and record private conversations, which allegedly resulted in targeted advertising. Users claimed Apple shared these recordings with third-party companies, though Apple has denied these privacy violation allegations.

Why It Matters: As part of the settlement, Apple must delete any unauthorized recordings made before October 2019 within six months of the agreement's effective date. The company will also revise its user guidance about the "Improve Siri" option to clarify what information may be stored.

In late 2023, Google settled a similar lawsuit for $700 million over unauthorized recordings by its voice assistant.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for Feb. 14 in Oakland to finalize the settlement terms.

Price Action: Apple's stock closed at $243.85 on Thursday, down 2.62% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock rose 0.057%. Over the past year, Apple has seen a significant increase, rising by 31.36%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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