A federal judge in San Jose granted final approval on October 13, 2026 to a $68 million settlement of a class action over Google Assistant recordings. The case, Kumandan v. Google LLC, was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, and Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the 31-page order after a fairness hearing on October 1, 2026.
Plaintiffs alleged that Google Assistant-enabled devices recorded and transmitted sound without a trigger phrase, an event the settlement calls a false accept, and that recordings reached third-party contractors who reviewed them. The first complaint was filed in July 2019, and eight claims remained, including the federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, and California Penal Code section 632. Google denies wrongdoing.
The fund is non-reversionary. It covers two groups: purchasers of Google-made devices from May 18, 2016 through the preliminary approval date, and Assistant users and household members whose communications were recorded through a false accept or disclosed to a third-party review vendor. Estimated payouts run about $18 to $56 per purchaser and about $2 to $10 per privacy class member.
As of September 17, 2026, about 1.49 million timely claims had been filed, along with more than 40,000 late claims. Notice went to about 173.8 million email addresses, and 217 valid opt-out requests were received. Seven objections were overruled.
The court approved class counsel's request for one-third of the fund, or $22,666,666.70, plus $1,021,738.40 in expenses. Service awards for the four named plaintiffs were cut from $10,000 to $5,000 each. Class counsel valued classwide damages between $120 million and $448.8 million.
Source: PPC Land - https://ppc.land/googles-68m-assistant-privacy-settlement-wins-final-court-approval/