Updates on the Lopez v. Apple litigation and the surrounding “Siri grading” controversy

Payments officially began being distributed on January 23, 2026. In response to the Lopez v. Apple litigation and the surrounding “Siri grading” controversy, Apple settled the case for $95 million in 2024 and implemented several specific privacy overhauls starting with iOS 13.2.

1. Shift to “Opt-In” for Human Review
Previously, Apple automatically included a small percentage of Siri recordings for human review (grading) to improve the service. Now, this is strictly opt-in. During the initial setup of any new device or during an update, you are explicitly asked whether you want to help improve Siri.

2. Elimination of Third-Party Contractors
A major point of the lawsuit was that external contractors were listening to private recordings. Apple has since terminated all third-party contractor programs for Siri grading. Ensured that only Apple employees (who are subject to stricter confidentiality) handle any audio that users have opted to share.

Since the final approval occurred recently (late 2025), if you owned a Siri-enabled device between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, and experienced an accidental activation, you may be eligible for a payment of up to $20 per device (capped at 5 devices).