Apple clarified on Wednesday that it has never sold the data collected by its Siri voice assistant or used it to create marketing profiles, just days after settling a case in which it faced such accusations.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has agreed to end a five-year legal battle over user privacy related to its virtual assistant Siri with a $95 million payout to affected customers, according to a preliminary settlement.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of turning its virtual assistant Siri into a snoop that eavesdropped on the users of iPhones and other trendy devices in a betrayal to its long-standing commitment to personal privacy.

Apple has decided to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit accusing the company of using Siri to eavesdrop on conversations — and millions of iPhone users could soon qualify for a portion of the payout.

The suit claims Siri can be accidentally activated and then record parts of people's conversations without their consent.

Apple agreed to a $95 million settlement for any users who were heard by human employees after using Siri on the company's products.

Apple has agreed to pay $95m (£77m) to settle a court case alleging some of its devices were listening to people without their permission. The tech giant was accused of eavesdropping on its customers through its virtual assistant Siri.