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Jury orders Google to pay $425 million for unlawfully tracking millions of users [techspot.com]:

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What just happened? A federal jury in San Francisco has ruled that Google must pay $425 million for unlawfully tracking millions of users who believed they had disabled data collection on their accounts. The verdict concludes a trial in which plaintiffs argued that Google violated its own privacy assurances through the Web & App Activity setting, collecting information from mobile devices over an eight-year period.

The Web & App Activity feature is a central component of Google's privacy controls, designed to let users manage whether their searches, location history, and interactions with Google services or partner websites and apps are stored.

When enabled, the setting can retain details such as search history, activity in Google apps, general location based on device or IP address, and browsing performed while signed into Chrome or Android devices. Users have the option to disable feature, which, according to Google's privacy documentation, should prevent this data from being added to their accounts.

However, the trial revealed [reuters.com] that Google continued collecting data even for users who had disabled tracking. Through partnerships with major third-party apps including Uber, Venmo, Instagram, and Facebook, the company's analytics services gathered activity and usage data independently of the user's Web & App Activity settings.

Plaintiffs alleged that this enabled Google to amass vast amounts of behavioral information across its ecosystem even after users supposedly opted out.

The jury found Google liable for two of the three privacy-related claims but rejected the assertion that the company acted maliciously, declining to award additional punitive damages beyond the initial $425 million. The plaintiffs had originally sought damages exceeding $31 billion in the class-action lawsuit.

Google defended its practices, stating that it plans to contest the verdict and emphasizing that its technology gives users control over their personal data. The company argued that the jury had misunderstood how its products function and stressed that when users turn off personalization, their choices are respected.

During the proceedings, Google asserted that the data collected was nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in secure, encrypted environments not linked to Google accounts or individual identities. Despite these assurances, the scope of data collection – particularly the records captured through third-party applications – played a key role in the jury's decision.

Judge Richard Seeborg certified the case to include approximately 98 million Google users and account for over 174 million devices. The ruling adds to Google's ongoing legal challenges concerning user privacy.

Earlier in 2025, the company agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to settle claims with the state of Texas over alleged privacy violations. In another settlement reached in April 2024, Google agreed to destroy billions of records linked to users' private browsing activities, following accusations that it tracked individuals while using Incognito mode and similar features.

Google has announced that it will pursue an appeal.

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