Google just agreed to pay $135 million to settle allegations it secretly harvested Android users' data - even when apps were closed and location sharing was off. Filed Tuesday night in San Jose, the settlement could put up to $100 in the pockets of millions of Android users dating back to 2017. But the real story isn't the payout. It's what Google's now being forced to disclose about how deeply Android phones track you, and how the company's scrambling to rebuild trust as regulatory pressure mounts across every front.
Google is writing a $135 million check to make a privacy nightmare go away. The proposed settlement, filed late Tuesday in San Jose federal court, stems from a class action lawsuit that exposed something unsettling - Google was allegedly collecting cellular data from Android devices even when users thought they'd locked everything down.
According to court filings reported by Reuters, the data collection continued even when Google apps were completely closed, location sharing was switched off, and phone screens were locked. For privacy-conscious users who'd carefully toggled every setting, the allegations suggest their efforts were largely theater.
The settlement breaks down to potential individual payouts of up to $100 for affected Android users. Anyone who used an Android device as far back as November 12, 2017 could be eligible to file a claim. With Android's massive user base - the platform powers roughly 70% of smartphones globally - that's potentially millions of people who'll be watching their mailboxes.
But Google isn't admitting guilt. The company denied any wrongdoing while simultaneously agreeing to the nine-figure payout, a familiar corporate dance that lets tech giants settle without creating legal precedent. It's the same playbook Meta used in its Cambridge Analytica settlement and deployed in batterygate.
