Google agrees to $68 million settlement over voice assistant privacy claims

Google agrees to $68 million settlement in voice assistant privacy lawsuit

Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement regarding claims that its voice assistant inappropriately spied on smartphone users. Plaintiffs claimed that the company's Google Assistant platform began listening to them after it misheard conversations that sounded like its wake words. The suit argued that private information that Google Assistant shouldn't have heard was then used to deliver those individuals targeted ads. Reuters reported that Google denied wrongdoing in the suit, but according to court papers, the company agreed to a settlement in order to avoid the risk and costs of litigating the issue. The preliminary class action settlement was filed on Friday and now awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman. Google has been transitioning away from the Google Assistant platform in the past year, replacing it with its Gemini tool. Not that AI chatbots should be trusted as paragons of privacy either. Apple faced a very similar allegations around its Siri voice assistant in 2019; that class-action suit ended in a $95 million settlement in January 2025. Not sure if a reward of $20 per device feels sufficient when these companies are accidentally overhearing deeply personal conversations and details, but that's how the justice system shakes out some times.

Google to pay $68 mn to settle voice assistant privacy claims

Google denied doing anything wrong. Still, the company agreed to settle the case to avoid the risks. Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of violating the privacy of smartphone users through its voice-activated assistant. The case claims that Google Assistant recorded private conversations without proper permission and used the information to help target advertising. The proposed settlement was filed in a federal court in San Jose, California, reports Reuters. It still needs approval from US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman. The lawsuit was brought as a class action by smartphone users who said Google illegally recorded and shared their private conversations. According to the complaint, this happened after Google Assistant was activated by mistake, even when users did not mean to turn it on. Also read: Elon Musk's X under scrutiny after Grok AI found making explicit images Google Assistant is meant to respond only when users say specific hot words, such as "Hey Google" or "Okay Google." However, users said the system sometimes misunderstood normal speech as these commands. Because of these false accepts, users claimed they later received ads related to things they had talked about privately. Google denied doing anything wrong. Still, the company agreed to settle the case to avoid the risks. Also read: Meta faces lawsuit over alleged access to private WhatsApp messages The settlement applies to people who bought Google devices or were affected by false accepts since May 18, 2016. If approved, eligible users may be able to receive compensation from the settlement fund. Lawyers representing the users may seek up to one-third of the total settlement, or about $22.7 million, for legal fees. In December 2024, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle similar claims from smartphone users. The Google settlement highlights ongoing worries about how voice assistants work and how much they listen.