A class-action lawsuit known as the “Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement” or “Lopez v. Apple” is an authentic settlement with Apple over claims that the company’s voice assistant, Siri, eavesdropped on users.
In early May 2025, Snopes readers began inquiring about an alleged class-action lawsuit against Apple over claims that the company’s voice assistant service, Siri, eavesdropped on its device users.
“I got a suspicious email from Lopez voice assistant class action suit about Siri,” one reader wrote. Social media users on platforms like X and Reddit also claimed people could cash in on the purported settlement.
This is an authentic $95 million settlement over claims that Apple “violated users’ privacy by allegedly recording private and confidential conversations without consent” through Siri, and the company “disclosed such conversations to third parties, who listened to and transcribed the audio as part of an effort to improve Siri and Apple’s dictation service,” per a news release from the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the case. Those who used Siri from Sept. 17, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2024, are eligible for a small portion of the sum as long as they file a claim by July 2, 2025.
Thus, this is not a scam and we rate it legitimate.
A court document confirming the existence of the settlement is available here; one of the plaintiff’s names is Fumiko Lopez, hence “Lopez v. Apple.” Page 2 describes certification and who’s eligible (emphasis ours):
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) and (b)(3), the Settlement Class is preliminarily certified for the purpose of Settlement only as follows: All individual current or former owners or purchasers of a Siri Device, who reside in the United States and its territories, whose 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 and December 31, 2024. The Settlement Agreement defines “Siri Device” as a Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch, or Apple TV.
Under the terms of the document, Apple denies all liability for Siri’s alleged snooping; officially, the courts did not rule in favor of either Apple or Lopez, instead allowing both sides to agree to the settlement.
The official website for this settlement is https://lopezvoiceassistantsettlement.com; the FAQ page lists the lawyers in the lawsuit as contact information for any inquiries from prospective claim beneficiaries. The website notes you can submit a claim form for $20 for up to five devices with Siri installed, or $100 total. This aligns with Page 6 of the court document (emphasis ours):
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.
As of this writing, a final approval hearing for the courts to affirm the terms of the settlement will happen on Aug. 1, 2025, at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and should the settlement be approved, users will “promptly” receive the cash, per the website’s FAQ page (emphasis theirs):
The Court will hold a hearing on August 1, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (the “Final Approval Hearing”), to decide whether to approve the Settlement. The Court may move the Final Approval Hearing to a different date or time without providing further Notice to the Class. The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing can be confirmed on this website. If the Settlement is approved, there may be appeals.The appeal process can take time. If there is no appeal, your settlement benefit will be processed promptly. Please be patient.