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

Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement relating to claims that its voice assistant inappropriately spied on smartphone customers. Plaintiffs claimed that the corporate’s Google Assistant platform started listening to them after it misheard conversations that appeared like its wake phrases. The swimsuit argued that personal data that Google Assistant should not have heard was then used to ship these people focused advertisements.

Reuters reported that Google denied wrongdoing within the swimsuit, however based on court docket papers, the corporate agreed to a settlement to be able to keep away from the chance and prices of litigating the problem. The preliminary class motion settlement was filed on Friday and now awaits approval from U.S. District Decide Beth Labson Freeman.

Google has been transitioning away from the Google Assistant platform previously 12 months, replacing it with its Gemini software. Not that AI chatbots ought to be trusted as paragons of privateness both.

Apple confronted a really related allegations round its Siri voice assistant in 2019; that class-action swimsuit led to a $95 million settlement in January 2025. Undecided if a reward of $20 per device feels enough when these firms are by chance overhearing deeply private conversations and particulars, however that is how the justice system shakes out some occasions.