Cupertino, California - Has Siri been listening all along? A judge says complainants are allowed to suit Apple and attempt to prove that it's true.

US District Court Judge Jeffrey White decided that Apple is not protected from lawsuits launched by those who feel that their privacy was violated by Siri.

So far, as Reuters reported, the complaints are pretty similar. They allege that the device is secretly listening to private conversations, based on targeted ads for products related to whatever people were talking about in its presence. The individuals involved insist that they never used keywords to activate Siri.

They would have to prove that Siri was recording their conversations, even if she was activated unintentionally, as well as prove that the topics of those conversations were shared with the third parties, who then sent them advertisements.

Another requirement making the case slightly harder to win is showing that the ads came as a result of recorded conversations, not just standard data based on internet searches and other activities.

For example, there might not be anything sinister behind you getting hit with car ads if you've been comparing models online, visiting dealerships, and regularly liking the right pictures on social media.

Target made headlines about 10 years ago when their automated system sent a teenager recommendations for baby items before she even knew she was pregnant, based off of products she had purchased recently to treat symptoms of the pregnancy she wasn't aware of.

On July 1, another federal judge said that a similar lawsuit was allowed for people upset with Google for the same reasons.