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Google's paying out $135M to settle Android data harvesting accusations
- A preliminary settlement has been filed in a class action that claimed Google was quietly transferring Android user data over cellular connections.
- The case hinged on the “conversion” of cellular data purchased from mobile carriers, specifically, which plaintiffs argued is their property.
- Google will pay out $135 million to affected users and make adjustments to Android behavior and terms of service.
Google has agreed to pay $135 million to settle a class action suit over “appropriating” Android users’ mobile data. The suit accused Google of harvesting Android user data over cellular connections without their consent, including at times when Google’s apps were closed on those users’ devices.
As reported by Reuters, a preliminary settlement was filed Tuesday night and is pending approval from a judge. Assuming there aren’t any last-minute changes, anyone in the US (outside of California) who’s accessed the internet using a cellular network on an Android device since November 12, 2017 will be eligible to claim part of the settlement.
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The case against Google here wasn’t actually about the harvesting of data, but rather that Android was allegedly collecting users’ data over cellular network connections, specifically, without telling them. The initial complaint against Google, filed in 2020, described the behavior as “unlawful taking of Android users’ property — namely, their cellular data.”
Google denies wrongdoing. In addition to cash payouts, the company will have to obtain user consent in order to transfer data over a cellular connection, and will update the Google Play terms of service to disclose those transfers. It’ll also add a settings toggle to Android to opt out of data transfers over cell networks.
Affected users who sign up to get a share of the $135 million settlement can receive up to $100 each, though individual payments may be less.
Californian Android users aren’t eligible for this settlement — they’re part of a separate, state-specific class action suit that awarded affected users more than $314 million last year (though as of publishing, the California suit’s official website says Google plans to appeal).
This is the second class action Google’s settled inside a week. A preliminary settlement filed Friday will see Google pay out $68 million over claims that the company illegally recorded conversations through Google Assistant in order to inform targeted ads. Google also denied wrongdoing in that case.
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