Google Ordered to Pay $425 Million in App Data-Collection Lawsuit

A federal jury has ordered Google to pay $425 million to the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of collecting users’ app data even after they turned off the Web & App Activity tracking setting. The suit, originally filed in July 2020, was certified as a class action and covers roughly 98 million Google users and 174 million devices.

Key facts

• Verdict: $425 million in compensatory damages (no punitive damages awarded).
• Findings: Jury found Google liable on two of three privacy-violation claims; it found no violation of the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and no malice.
• Lead plaintiff / timeline: Lead plaintiff filed suit in July 2020 (reported lead plaintiff name: Anibal Rodriguez).
• Judge: U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg certified the class.
• Google response: Spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the decision “misunderstands how our products work,” insisted Google gives users control over their data and said the company plans to appeal.

Context

The case alleges Google continued to collect data through connections with other apps (examples noted in reporting include Uber, Instagram and similar apps) even after users disabled tracking in their account settings. The jury awarded compensatory damages but declined punitive damages after finding no malice.

This follows previous privacy litigation involving Google, including a 2020 suit over data collection in Chrome's Incognito mode that led to a $5 billion settlement in 2023; Google later acknowledged it could collect some information in Incognito and agreed to remedies to resolve that complaint.

Sources

• Axios: https://www.axios.com/2025/09/04/google-privacy-lawsuit-pay-425-million-jury-rules
• Courthouse News Service: https://www.courthousenews.com/jury-slams-google-over-app-data-collection-to-tune-of-425-million/
• Mobile ID World: https://mobileidworld.com/google-ordered-to-pay-425m-in-privacy-data-collection-lawsuit/

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