Technology

Here’s a copy of the email I received the other day:

If you owned or purchased a Siri-enabled device and experienced an unintended Siri activation during a confidential or private communication between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, you should read this Notice as it may impact your legal rights

Name: …

Claimant Identification Code: …

Confirmation Code: …

A settlement has been reached with Apple Inc. (“Apple”) in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of current or former owners or purchasers of a Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch, or Apple TV (“Siri Device/Devices”) whose confidential or private communications were allegedly obtained by Apple and/or shared with third parties as a result of an unintended Siri activation. Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful. The proposed Settlement is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing of any kind by Apple. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California approved this notice.

Why am I receiving this notice?

Apple’s records indicate that you may be a member of the Settlement Class and may be entitled to receive a payment. You are a member of the Settlement Class if you are a current or former owner or purchaser of a Siri Device, you reside in the United States or its territories, and your confidential or private communications were obtained by Apple and/or were shared with third parties as a result of an unintended Siri activation between September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024. Under the terms of the Settlement, you are eligible to submit a Claim Form to receive a payment if the Court approves the Settlement and it becomes final.

What does the Settlement provide?

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million into a settlement fund. After deducting Court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, Service Awards, and the costs of notice and settlement administration (including any taxes), payments will be made from the Net Settlement Amount to Settlement Class Members who submit a valid and timely Claim Form. For more information about how distributions will be made to Settlement Class Members, please visit www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com.

What are the expected payments?

Settlement Class Members may submit claims for up to five Siri Devices on which they claim to have experienced an unintended Siri activation during a conversation intended to be confidential or private. Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims shall receive a pro rata portion of the Net Settlement Amount for a Class Payment up to a cap of $20 per Siri Device. The amount available to Settlement Class Members will increase or decrease pro rata depending on the total number of valid claims submitted, and Siri Devices claimed. The final amount will not be known until all claims are evaluated. The plan of allocation is described in detail in the Settlement Agreement available at www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com. Depending on the total number of valid claims, this Plan of Allocation is subject to modification by agreement of the Parties without further notice to members of the Settlement Class, provided any such modification is approved by the Court.

How do I file a claim?

In order to receive a payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form by July 2, 2025. You may submit claims for up to five Siri Devices. Claims may be submitted online at www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com or mailed to the address on the form. If you submit a Claim Form by mail, it must be post-marked by July 2, 2025. The Claim Form requires that you confirm or update your current contact information and confirm the following under oath: from September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024, (i) you purchased or owned a Siri Device in the United States or its territories and enabled Siri on that device, (ii) you experienced an unintended Siri activation, and (iii) the unintended Siri activation you experienced occurred during a conversation intended to be confidential or private.

You can access the Claim Form on www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com. If you received an email or postcard with a Claimant Identification Code and Confirmation Code notifying you about the Settlement, use these codes when making a claim. If you did not receive an email or postcard about the Settlement and don’t have a Claimant Identification Code and Confirmation Code, but believe you are a member of the Settlement Class, you may still make a claim by going to www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com and following the instructions on how to submit a Claim Form. You may elect to receive payment by physical check, electronic check, or Automated Clearing House (“ACH,” a/k/a direct deposit). If you do not complete and submit a valid Claim Form, you will not receive a payment.

For more information and to review the full notice, please visit www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com.

What are my other options?

You can do nothing, exclude yourself or object. If you do nothing, your rights will be affected and you won’t get a payment. If you don’t want to be legally bound by the Settlement Agreement, you must exclude yourself from it by July 2, 2025. Unless you exclude yourself, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Apple for any claim arising out of or related to the claims in this case. If you stay in the Settlement (i.e., do not exclude yourself), you may object to it or ask for permission for you or your own lawyer to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing – at your own cost – but you do not have to do so.

A copy of Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses and for Service Awards will be available at www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com by May 28, 2025. You can object to the requested award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to Plaintiffs’ Counsel or Service Awards to the Class Representatives.

Objections to the Settlement, attorneys’ fees, and/or Service Awards and requests to appear are due by July 2, 2025. The Final Approval Hearing will be held on August 1, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Courtroom 5 – 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.

More information about your options is in the detailed notice available at www.LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com, or you may contact the Settlement Administrator with any questions:

Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement Administrator

P.O. Box 6609

614 Cranbury Rd

East Brunswick, NJ 08816

1-888-981-4106

info@LopezVoiceAssistantSettlement.com

You may also access the docket in this case through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/, or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California at any of the Court’s locations between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT

BY ORDER OF THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA.