Google has agreed to a $68 million preliminary settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging its Google Assistant voice feature illegally recorded private conversations on smartphones, Reuters reported on Monday.
The suit, filed in a San Jose federal court, claims the technology recorded users without proper consent—often through accidental activations known as "false accepts"—and used the captured audio for targeted advertising. The settlement now awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman.
Who Gets Paid?
According to preliminary estimates reported by The Verge, compensation will vary based on user exposure:
Device purchasers could receive between $18 and $56.
Users who lived with or used a Google Assistant device that recorded conversations may be eligible for $2 to $10.
The settlement covers individuals in the U.S. who bought eligible Google devices or experienced false accepts dating back to May 18, 2016.
A Pattern of Privacy Challenges
This case underscores the persistent privacy concerns surrounding always-listening voice assistants, which are designed to activate with "hot words" like "Hey Google." Plaintiffs argued that the system frequently misinterpreted everyday speech as a command, triggering unauthorized recordings.
Google’s settlement is the latest in a series of costly privacy disputes for the company. Just months ago, in September 2025, it agreed to pay $425.7 million in a separate class-action privacy case. It is also facing a lawsuit over allegations that its AI assistant, Gemini, intercepted private communications across Gmail and other services.
The issue extends across the tech industry. In December 2024, Apple settled for $95 million over similar claims that Siri recorded conversations without consent. Amazon is also defending against a nationwide class action alleging its Alexa devices retained private recordings in violation of consumer protection laws.
As voice-activated AI becomes more embed in daily life, these settlements signal growing legal and financial risks for tech giants in the realm of user privacy.