Kalakshar US

Apple has moved to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit over Siri privacy. Reuters reports that the proposed settlement was filed on Tuesday in Oakland, CA. The company agreed to pay $95 million to class members, estimated to be tens of millions of Siri-enabled device owners. US District Judge Jeffrey White needs to approve the settlement before it becomes official.

The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 report that Apple quality control contractors could regularly hear sensitive info accidentally recorded by the voice assistant’s “Hey Siri” feature. The clips were said to include medical information, criminal activities and even “sexual encounters.” Reuters says Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the case.

Engadget reached out to Apple for comment. We’ll update this story if we hear back.

Two plaintiffs claimed their inadvertently recorded mentions of Nike Air Jordans and Olive Garden restaurants led to receiving ads for those products. After talking about it with his doctor, another plaintiff said he got ads for a brand-name surgical treatment.

After the original story broke five-plus years ago, Apple highlighted its layers of privacy protections and stressed that the recordings weren’t tied to Apple accounts. It also said its quality control teams studied the clips in “secure facilities” and were bound by “strict confidentiality agreements.”

After an internal review, Apple suspended the program and admitted it wasn’t “fully living up to” its ideals. The company returned to reviewing Siri recordings soon after — but with some big changes. It reportedly fired hundreds of quality control contractors and changed its policy so that only Apple employees could review private Siri data. It also moved to delete inadvertently triggered audio clips and began requiring users to opt in to sharing Siri recordings or transcripts.

Reuters notes that the proposed $95 million in cash amounts to about nine hours of profit for the company. (Nice work if you can get it.) The settlement’s class period runs from September 17, 2014 — when Apple launched “Hey Siri” in iOS 8 — to December 31, 2024. If you owned a Siri-enabled mobile product during that period (and Judge White approves the settlement), you might get up to $20 per device. However, you’ll have to join the class, and it isn’t yet clear how to do that.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-agrees-to-settle-a-2019-siri-privacy-lawsuit-for-95-million-195820723.html?src=rss 

The 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired Controller for Xbox is on sale via Amazon for just $29. This is a record low price and represents a discount of 36 percent. That’s a pretty good deal, especially when considering that first-party Xbox controllers are around $60.

This isn’t a cheap knockoff. 8Bitdo makes fantastic controllers that regularly find a place in our best of lists. It’s licensed by Xbox and compatible with the Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One and Windows 10 and above. In other words, this can double as a PC and Xbox controller.

There are two extra buttons on the back that aren’t included with the official controller, which could be useful for mapping (particularly with PC games.) To that end, the controller offers custom button mapping and stick/trigger sensitivity for control over vibration.

The Hall effect joysticks and impulse triggers should increase both durability and sensitivity, while minimizing drift. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack on the back to directly connect to headphones. Other features include a classic d-pad and an enhanced grip.

So what’s the catch? It’s right there in the name. This is a wired controller, which is both a blessing and a curse. Wired controllers offer reduced latency, making them the preferred choice for pro-level gamers, but keep folks tethered to a cable. It ships with a fairly long cable, at nearly ten feet, but the wireless range of a standard Bluetooth controller comes in at around 20 feet.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/8bitdos-ultimate-wired-controller-for-xbox-drops-to-a-record-low-of-29-173842848.html?src=rss