Google settles class action over data transfers for $135 million

A federal magistrate judge in California gave final approval to a $135 million settlement resolving claims that Android phones transmitted data to Google servers without users' knowledge or consent, sometimes while devices sat idle, using owners' own cellular data to do it. The class covers more than 129 million Android users nationwide since November 2017, excluding Californians already covered by a separate $314 million state settlement, and works out to a payout of under a dollar per person.

The real change is procedural: Google must add a 'Use of cellular data' disclosure to Android setup and rewrite Google Play's terms of service to admit background data transfers can happen even when a phone's screen is locked. The company must also deactivate a toggle that had misleadingly suggested users could turn the background transfers off. Judge Virginia DeMarchi rejected objections that the deal fails to stop the data transfers, accepting Google's argument that halting them would harm the 'Android ecosystem.'

Class attorneys were awarded $28.5 million in fees, about 21% of the fund, after requesting nearly $40 million, while named plaintiffs received $5,000 each rather than the $10,000 they sought. Neither Google nor class attorneys commented.

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