Class action settlement emails aren’t always a scam. If you recently received a Lopez Voice Assistant message, this is likely related to the Lopez vs. Apple Inc. settlement, and you can now reclaim part of a $95 million payout over allegations of Siri spying on private conversations.
The 2019 class action lawsuit revolved around Apple allegedly violating users’ privacy by recording their conversations and forwarding them to third-party contractors. While Apple agreed to the settlement earlier this year, the company denied the allegations that it was spying on users. That said, if you received an email about the settlement from [email protected], you’re entitled to a part of this payout.
As noted by The Verge, if you owned a Siri-enabled device, including an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, or Mac, in the US between September 2014 and December 2024, and experienced Siri activating “on its own” while you were engaged in a private conversation, you can claim up to $20 per device for as many as five eligible devices on the settlement website.
While Apple still claims that Siri wasn’t spying on users, how can users trust the company? Earlier this year, when it accepted the settlement, Apple said it was committed to “its longstanding privacy commitment with Siri.”
“Privacy is a foundational part of the design process, driven by principles that include data minimization, on-device intelligence, transparency and control, and strong security protections that work together to provide users with incredible experiences and peace of mind,” Apple said.
“This applies to all of our products and services, including Siri, which has been engineered to protect user privacy and is the most private digital assistant.”
The company then made it clear that Siri voice data is not used for marketing profiles or made available for ads:
Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and never sold it to anyone for any purpose. We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so.
The statement also explains how Siri protects user privacy. Apple explained that the assistant would use on-device processing whenever possible.
Apple also teased the arrival of the smarter Siri in Apple Intelligence, explaining how the Private Cloud Compute servers protect the privacy of Siri interactions that require server-side AI processing.
With that in mind, don’t forget to look at your Lopez Voice Assistant emails to ensure you get paid what Apple owes you.
