Google has agreed to pay USD 68 million to settle a privacy lawsuit related to the operation of its voice-activated assistant on smartphones.

This settlement, which is pending judicial approval, resolves allegations that private conversations were recorded without users’ consent.

Smartphone users brought the lawsuit, asserting that Google Assistant occasionally activated unintentionally and captured parts of their conversations. These recordings, they argued, were then shared internally for advertising purposes.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, denied these allegations but chose to settle instead of proceeding with legal battles. The settlement was filed in the federal court in San Jose, where an US district judge will decide whether to approve it without admitting any wrongdoing by the company.

Issues centered on unintended voice activation

Key claims focused on ‘false accepts’, instances where Google Assistant was activated despite users not intentionally using its wake phrases. Despite being designed to respond to specific prompts, plaintiffs contended that misinterpretations led to unwanted recordings of private conversations.

The complaint argued that these incidents caused users to later see advertisements related to the content of those conversations. Google maintained that their systems were not used as described by the plaintiffs and disputed claims about the use of recordings for advertising.

The settlement applies to individuals who either purchased Google devices or experienced false activations from May 18, 2016 onwards. As part of the agreement, plaintiff’s legal representatives may seek up to one-third of the settlement fund, roughly USD 22.7 million, for fees and related costs.

Google did not comment publicly after the filing. This case echoes previous legal challenges faced by Apple concerning voice assistant data handling.