A San Jose jury has ordered Google to pay more than $314.6 million to Android users in California, finding that the company improperly harvested data from smartphones without user permission.
We obtained a copy of the decision for you here.
The case centered on claims that Google, through its Android operating system, collected information from idle devices, placing what the lawsuit described as “mandatory and unavoidable burdens shouldered by Android device users for Google’s benefit.”
The class action, filed in 2019, represented around 14 million Californians. According to the plaintiffs, Google’s covert data collection fueled its advertising operations while unfairly consuming users’ cellular data.
Jurors agreed that the company’s practices violated privacy rights by transmitting data even when phones were not in active use.
Attorney Glen Summers, representing the plaintiffs, welcomed the outcome. He said the verdict “forcefully vindicates the merits of this case and reflects the seriousness of Google’s misconduct.”
Google, on the other hand, pushed back against the ruling. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the company would appeal, asserting that the decision “misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices.”
The company also argued during the trial that users had agreed to the data collection through existing terms of service and privacy agreements and that no actual harm had resulted from these transmissions.
Beyond California, Google is facing additional legal action. A separate lawsuit has been filed in federal court in San Jose on behalf of Android users in the other 49 states. That case, raising similar claims, is slated for trial in April 2026.
