Alexa Class Action Lawsuit: Two Live Cases, No Settlement Yet
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The Alexa class action lawsuit most people mean is Garner v. Amazon in Seattle, which says Echo devices recorded conversations nobody meant for Alexa. A judge cut most of it back on March 31, 2026. A separate Illinois case over Alexa Voice ID has a certified class of about 1.2 million people. As of October 2026 there is no Alexa settlement, no claim form and no deadline in either case.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Alexa Lawsuits Claim
Garner v. Amazon (Washington). The lawsuit alleges that Alexa devices recorded private conversations that were not meant for Alexa, without consent. It also alleges Amazon let human reviewers listen to recordings, stored them indefinitely and used them for its own purposes. The core technical issue is the “false wake” — the device mistakes a sound for its wake word and starts recording. Evidence cited in the court's order suggests an average of 1-3 false wakes per device per month.
Gunderson v. Amazon (Illinois). This lawsuit against Amazon Alexa targets Voice ID, the feature launched in October 2017 that trains Alexa to recognize your voice. The plaintiffs allege enrollment creates a “voiceprint” and that Amazon never obtained the written consent the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires. Amazon denies wrongdoing in both cases.
Case Details
Garner et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al., No. 2:21-cv-00750-RSL, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, before Judge Robert S. Lasnik. Plaintiffs are either “registrants” who set up an Alexa device themselves or “non-registrants” who live with one. The March 31, 2026 summary judgment order is Document 535 (read the order).
Gunderson v. Amazon.com, Inc. (earlier captioned Wilcosky v. Amazon), No. 1:19-cv-05061, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, before Judge Franklin U. Valderrama. A newer BIPA suit, Rogers v. Amazon.com, No. 1:26-cv-05497, was filed May 12, 2026 over voice data allegedly used to train Amazon's voice AI models, including Alexa+.
Status: Narrowed in Seattle, Certified in Illinois
Gunderson: On November 6, 2025 Judge Valderrama certified a class of Illinois residents for whom Amazon created a voiceprint on or after June 27, 2014. Amazon said in a November 14 status report that it intends to seek an appeal. Neither case has a settlement.
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There's no claim deadline yet. We'll email you if a settlement opens a claim period.
Who Could Be Covered
Garner: the certified class covers people in the U.S. who registered an Alexa device. Whether that class still has a live claim after the March 2026 ruling is the open question in the pending revival request. People who only lived with someone else's device were not certified as a class; their claims are individual.
Gunderson: Illinois residents who enrolled in Alexa Voice ID. Amazon has said about 1.18 million Alexa users with Illinois billing addresses enrolled between October 2017 and June 2023.
You do not sign up for either case. If a settlement or judgment ever produces money, a court-appointed administrator sends notice to class members.
Is There Any Money?
For context only: Illinois BIPA provides statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent and $5,000 per reckless or intentional violation. That is what the Illinois plaintiffs seek, not what anyone will receive. Apple's Siri case is a separate matter — see our Siri settlement calculator.
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 4,168 federal civil cases of this typeclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2025, 5.2% of them filed as class actions:
- 11.5% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 13% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 11.5% and 24.6%.
- 21% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 107 reached a trial (0.9%), after a median of 20.4 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 7.2 months.
- Almost none record a money award in this data (16 of 4,168), and the recorded figures are capped, so we do not publish an average.
These are base rates for this type of case — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Alexa Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
2019 — Illinois Voice ID Suit Filed
The BIPA case now captioned Gunderson v. Amazon is filed in Chicago federal court as No. 1:19-cv-05061.
- 2
2021 — Garner Filed in Seattle
Alexa users sue Amazon in the Western District of Washington over recordings made without a wake word. Judge Lasnik appoints lead counsel on October 13, 2021.
- 3
May 31, 2023 — FTC Children's Privacy Case
The FTC and DOJ announce a proposed order requiring Amazon to pay a $25 million civil penalty and delete children's Alexa data. No consumer claims.
- 4
July 7, 2025 — Garner Class Certified
A nationwide class of registered Alexa users is certified under Washington law; non-registrants are not.
- 5
November 6, 2025 — Illinois Class Certified
Judge Valderrama certifies Illinois residents for whom Amazon created a voiceprint, roughly 1.2 million people. Amazon signals an appeal.
- 6
March 31, 2026 — Garner Narrowed
Summary judgment dismisses the named plaintiffs' consumer-protection claim; some wiretap claims survive. A request to revive the class claim was pending as of October 2026.
Three Things to Watch For
With a famous product, a certified class and no claim form, the gap is easy to exploit:
“Claim your Alexa settlement” sites
There is no Alexa settlement to claim. A page asking for your Amazon login, card number or Social Security number to “register” is collecting data, not filing anything.
Fake Amazon emails about your recordings
Messages saying your Alexa recordings were leaked and you must verify your account are phishing. These cases are about how Amazon used recordings, not an Alexa data breach. Go to amazon.com directly, never through the link.
Old FTC news recycled as a payout
The $25 million from 2023 was a civil penalty paid to the government. Anyone offering you a share of it for a fee is lying.
Alexa Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there an Alexa class action lawsuit right now?
Yes, two. Garner v. Amazon (No. 2:21-cv-00750, W.D. Wash.) over recordings made without a wake word, and Gunderson v. Amazon (No. 1:19-cv-05061, N.D. Ill.) over Voice ID voiceprints. Both are pending as of October 2026.
Is there an Alexa settlement I can file a claim for?
No. Neither case has settled, and there is no claim form or deadline. The 2023 FTC case ended in a $25 million civil penalty paid to the government, with nothing for consumers to claim.
What happened in the Alexa lawsuit in 2026?
On March 31, 2026 Judge Lasnik dismissed the named plaintiffs' Washington consumer-protection claim, finding Amazon disclosed false wakes and data retention. Some individual wiretap claims continue. The plaintiffs asked on April 15, 2026 to reinstate the class claim.
Am I in the Illinois Voice ID class?
Possibly, if you are in Illinois and enrolled in Alexa Voice ID. The certified class is all natural persons in Illinois for whom Amazon created a voiceprint on or after June 27, 2014. There is nothing to sign up for.
Was there an Alexa data breach?
No Alexa data breach is alleged in these cases. They are about what Amazon itself recorded, kept and used, not about hackers taking data.
How do I file a lawsuit against Alexa myself?
Technically any lawsuit against Alexa is a lawsuit against Amazon, the company that makes it. Class members do not need their own case. If you think you have an individual claim, talk to a licensed attorney about deadlines in your state.
How often does Alexa record by mistake?
Evidence cited in the March 2026 Garner order suggests an average of 1-3 false wakes per device per month. The court found Amazon had disclosed that false wakes happen.
What can I do right now?
In the Alexa app you can review and delete voice recordings and turn off Voice ID. Keep any official notice you receive about either case, and ignore anyone charging a fee to “join” it.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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