Google’s pockets are about $200 million lighter than they were coming into this week after the company agreed to two separate settlements for two separate class action lawsuits that accused the company of violating user privacy. $135 million will be paid in a case that alleged Google collected user cellular data without permission, and $68 million will go to put to bed a case that claimed Google allowed its Google Assistant to record private conversations without permission.
The bigger payout related to Google’s apparent practice of needlessly (or illegally, depending on your perspective) collecting cellular data even when a user had closed all Google apps, had location sharing turned off, and had locked their device’s screen. Google allegedly used that data for product development and targeted advertising, which the lawsuit alleged was “conversion,” the wrongful acquisition of another party’s property with the intent to control it.
Per Reuters, the settlement is believed to be the largest ever in a conversion case. Members of the class will be capped at a $100 payout. In addition to the money, they also got Google to agree ask for consent during device setup before transferring data, will add a toggle to give users the right to turn off transfers, and will disclose data transfers in its Google Play terms of service. Of course, Google will also admit no wrongdoing as part of the whole deal.
The smaller deal is the one that has managed to get more attention. The $68 million settlement claimed that Google’s voice assistant, Google Assistant, would record user conversations without consent and use those conversations for targeted advertising—a claim that set off another round of everyone’s favorite conspiracy theory that definitely feels real even if it’s not: Your phone is listening to you.
Now, technically, it’s true that your phone is listening. That is how Google Assistant works. It is listening for the “wake word,” which activates it and allows users to ask questions or give voice commands. Those conversations do get recorded and sent to Google’s servers for processing. Google claims that nothing is recorded or sent to its servers when the Google Assistant is in standby mode and not active.
The class action alleged that Google was recording conversations outside of those conditions, likely from mishearing the wake word and turning on without prompting. It also alleged that, even though the Assistant was turned on by accident, it was still recording conversations that could be shared with advertisers. It’s not quite “your phone is always listening to you,” but it’s enough to make a person a bit wary of their voice assistant.
According to the BBC, the class for the case will include Google device users dating back to 2016, so don’t expect the payout to be particularly significant here—maybe enough for a cup of coffee, if you’re lucky. As with the other case, Google will admit no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. But who among us hasn’t paid out a collective $200 million for things we definitely didn’t do?
