Google has agreed to pay $68 million (£51 million) to settle a lawsuit alleging that it recorded private conversations without users’ consent through its Google Assistant software.
The class action lawsuit accused the tech giant’s voice assistant—available on many Android devices—of being accidentally activated, leading to the recording of conversations meant to be private. Plaintiffs claimed these audio clips were later shared with advertisers to enable targeted advertising.
In a court filing submitted on Friday to a federal court in California, Google denied any wrongdoing, stating the settlement was intended to avoid prolonged litigation. The agreement requires approval from US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman.
Google Assistant is designed to remain idle until triggered by a wake phrase such as “Hey Google.” Once activated, it records audio and sends it to Google’s servers for processing. Google maintains that no audio is transmitted while the assistant is in standby mode.
However, the lawsuit alleged that the system could misinterpret sounds as the activation phrase, resulting in unintended recordings.
If approved, the settlement would apply to users who owned Google devices dating back to May 2016. Legal representatives for the plaintiffs may seek up to one-third of the settlement—around $22 million—in attorneys’ fees.
The case follows a similar settlement earlier this year, when Apple agreed to pay $95 million to resolve claims that its Siri assistant recorded conversations without permission—allegations Apple also denied.
