Google to pay $68 million in voice assistant privacy settlement
Google will pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit alleging its voice assistant illegally recorded user conversations.Summary
Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing its voice assistant of illegally recording users’ conversations. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, claimed that Google Assistant sometimes activated without a wake word, leading to the recording of private conversations without consent, and that this data was potentially shared with third parties for advertising. While Google denies any wrongdoing, the proposed settlement requires approval from a California federal court judge.
Eligible users who owned Google devices between May 2016 and the present will receive a payout. This case highlights growing user concerns about the privacy implications of smart devices and their potential to record conversations without permission.
Similar lawsuits have been filed against other tech companies; Apple, for example, settled a similar case in 2021 for $95 million. Google has also faced other privacy-related legal challenges, including a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in 2025 over data privacy violations.
(Source：Times of India)