Google settles lawsuit for $68 million following allegations of secretly recording smart device users

"Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class action lawsuit arguing that its voice-activated assistant secretly recorded smart device users in violation of their privacy. A preliminary settlement was filed on Friday in San Jose, California, federal court, but still requires approval by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman. The tech giant was accused of illegally recording and disseminating private conversations after its Google Assistant tool was triggered so it could send them targeted advertising."

"Google Assistant, which is only supposed to record when a user says phrases such as "Hey Google," or "Okay Google" or when someone manually pushes a button on the device, inappropriately recorded personal conversations when these "hot words" were not used, without the knowledge of the users of Google smartphones, home speakers, laptops, tablets, Chromecast media players and even wireless earphones, according to the lawsuit."

"Google did not acknowledge any fault, but said it decided to settle to avoid the "uncertainty, risk, expense, inconvenience and distraction" of lengthy litigation, according to court documents. Lawyers for plaintiffs may seek up to one-third of the settlement fund, or about $22.7 million, for legal fees. Apple reached a similar settlement with smartphone users in December 2024 over its virtual assistant, Siri, for $95 million."

Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that Google Assistant secretly recorded smart device users in violation of privacy. A preliminary settlement was filed in federal court in San Jose and awaits approval by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman. Plaintiffs alleged the Assistant recorded conversations without using required hot words and that those recordings led to targeted advertising across smartphones, speakers, laptops, tablets, Chromecast devices, and wireless earphones. Google did not admit fault and said it settled to avoid the uncertainty and expense of litigation. Plaintiffs' lawyers may seek about $22.7 million in fees. Apple and Google have faced similar past privacy settlements, including a $95 million Siri settlement and a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas.

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