Millions of Android users in the United States may be eligible for a share of a $135 million settlement after a federal court gave preliminary approval to a deal resolving Joseph Taylor v. Google. The settlement could pay individual claimants up to $100, with the official website now live and the next major court date set for June 23.
The case centers on a google android data settlement claim that says Google secretly programmed Android devices to keep sending user information through cellular data customers had already paid for. The lawsuit alleges that starting in 2017, Google updated Android to automatically collect cellular data through carriers with no way for users to opt out, even when location tracking was turned off or apps were closed.
Google denied wrongdoing and the court has not decided that the company violated any laws. Still, the proposed settlement would not just resolve the lawsuit. It would also change how Google handles its terms of service, require more explicit consent when people first set up new Android phones, add a toggle to turn off certain kinds of data collection, and make disclosures clearer.
That matters because the settlement process now has real deadlines. People who want to preserve the right to sue Google separately can opt out by May 29. Claimants are not guaranteed a payment unless they choose a preferred payment method on the settlement website by June 23, the date of the final approval hearing. That hearing will also determine the final payment sum, attorneys' fees and the distribution plan.
Google said it was pleased to resolve the case, calling the claims a mischaracterization of standard industry practices that keep Android safe and saying the company is providing additional disclosures so people understand how its services work. The broader fight, though, has already shifted from whether the suit will be settled to how much users may recover and how much more plainly Google will have to explain what Android does with their data.
The allegations in the class action say Google forced users to subsidize surveillance with their own cellular plans, a claim built around conversion and other theories that have not been tested by a final ruling. For Android owners, the immediate question is not abstract. It is whether they want to stay in the settlement, opt out before the May 29 deadline or make sure their payment choice is filed in time for the June 23 hearing.
