Google agrees to $68m settlement over claims of accidental Google Assistant recordings

Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class action lawsuit in the United States that accused the company of improperly recording private conversations through its Google Assistant software. The case focused on allegations that Google Assistant, which is installed on many Android devices, sometimes activated unintentionally and captured audio without users knowingly saying the activation phrase, commonly ‘Hey Google.’ According to the plaintiffs, these recordings were then transmitted to Google’s servers and allegedly shared with advertisers to enable targeted advertising.

Google has denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. In legal filings, the company stated that it chose to settle the case in order to avoid prolonged and costly litigation rather than as an admission of fault. Google maintains that its Assistant is designed to remain in standby mode and not transmit audio unless deliberately activated by the user. However, the lawsuit argued that false activations occurred frequently enough to raise serious privacy concerns.

The proposed settlement was filed in a federal court in California and still requires approval from US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman. If approved, the settlement funds would be distributed among eligible claimants who owned Google devices dating back to May 2016. A significant portion of the settlement—potentially up to one third, or around $22 million—may be allocated to legal fees for the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

This case follows a broader pattern of scrutiny faced by major technology companies over voice-activated assistants and user privacy. Earlier this year, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a similar lawsuit involving its Siri assistant, also while denying any improper data use. Together, these cases highlight growing public and regulatory concern about how voice data is collected, stored, and potentially monetized by large technology firms.