Google agrees to pay $68M after lawsuit claims it secretly listened to your conversations

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Google will pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit claiming its voice assistant secretly recorded people and shared their conversations with advertisers.

In recent years, companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple have created a variety of devices to help around the house. The most popular of these are smart speakers that respond to voice commands and can assist with various tasks.

Most people primarily use smart speakers for simple tasks like listening to music, setting alarms and timers, or getting quick information like the weather and traffic. When you’re not actively using them, these devices shouldn’t be working or listening in on your conversations.

On January 23th, Google and its parent company, Alphabet, were sued in a class-action lawsuit. The suit alleges that Google’s voice assistant secretly listened to smartphone users, infringing on their privacy.

Google settles $68m lawsuit over Nest speakers

Google has agreed to pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit filed against them just three days prior. This settlement doesn’t mean Google admitted to any fault.

People claimed that Google speakers were secretly recording their conversations and sharing keywords with advertisers, even when they hadn’t used the ‘Hey Google’ wake word to start listening.

Users began to see ads related to their recent private conversations, and a recent settlement, as reported by Reuters, covers individuals who owned Google devices or experienced incorrect acceptances of their voice data starting in May 2016.

Google isn’t alone in facing these types of accusations. Back in 2021, Apple also settled a lawsuit filed by Fumiko Lopez, who claimed Siri was secretly listening in on conversations.

Apple, the company behind the iPhone, agreed to a $95 million settlement, and people who filed claims started receiving payments in May. According to CBS News, these payments vary between $8 and $40, and are now appearing in bank accounts.

It remains to be seen just how much the Google settlements will come out to. 

So, I just heard Valve’s getting sued in the UK for a massive amount – about £656 million! Apparently, the claim is that they’ve been charging unfair prices for their games. It’s a pretty big deal, and I’m curious to see how it all plays out.

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2026-01-28 14:50