Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) unit Google agreed to pay $68M to settle a lawsuit alleging that its voice-activated assistant spied on smartphone users, violating their privacy, Reuters reported.
A tentative class action settlement was filed late Friday night in the San Jose, California federal court. The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman, the report added.
Smartphone users accused Google of illegally recording and spreading private conversations after Google Assistant was triggered, so as to send them targeted advertising, the report noted.
Google Assistant is designed to react when people use “hot words” like as “Hey Google” or “Okay Google,” similar to Apple’s (AAPL) voice assistant Siri.
Users objected to getting ads after Google Assistant misperceived what they said as hot words called “false accepts,” the report noted.
Apple had reached a similar $95M settlement with smartphone users in December 2024, according to the report.
Google denied wrongdoing but settled to avoid the risk, cost, and uncertainty of litigation, the report added, citing court papers.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The settlement covers people who purchased Google devices or were subjected to false accepts since May 18, 2016, the report noted. Lawyers for plaintiffs may seek up to one-third of the settlement amount, or about $22.7M, for legal fees.