A Google lawsuit update as of mid-2026 breaks into two tracks: federal antitrust rulings that have gone against Google in search, ad tech, and app distribution, and a stack of privacy class actions and state settlements totaling several billion dollars, some of which are already sending money to consumers. Here is where each major case stands, who qualifies for a payout, and what to do to claim one.
Settlements Paying Consumers Now
$700 Million Google Play Store Settlement
This is the settlement most U.S. consumers are eligible for. All 50 state attorneys general, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands sued Google in 2021, alleging it monopolized Android app distribution and inflated in-app prices by as much as 30%. Judge James Donato granted final approval on April 30, 2026.
You qualify if you made a purchase on the Google Play Store between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023. More than 106 million eligible people have been notified. Google deposited $630 million for consumer restitution (now around $660 million with investment returns) and $70 million for the states.
You generally do not need to file a claim. Payments are being sent automatically through PayPal or Venmo using the contact information on your Google Play account, with a minimum of $2 per person and more based on how much you spent. You can also request payment by Zelle or electronic transfer. A supplemental claims process will follow for people without PayPal or Venmo, or whose contact information has changed.
Rodriguez v. Google — $425 Million Jury Verdict
A San Francisco jury awarded $425.7 million on September 3, 2025, finding that Google continued collecting data from third-party apps after users disabled the “Web & App Activity” setting. The class covers roughly 98 million users, which works out to about $4 per person. The jury declined to award punitive damages.
On January 30, 2026, Chief Judge Richard Seeborg denied Google’s motions to vacate the verdict and decertify the class, and also denied plaintiffs’ bid for an additional $2.36 billion in disgorgement. With interest the verdict now exceeds $440 million. No money has been distributed yet, class counsel’s roughly $147 million fee request is pending, and Google may still appeal.
Android Cellular Data Settlements
Two related cases allege Android devices sent data to Google over cellular networks without permission, even when idle, using up data users had paid for.
The federal case, Taylor v. Google LLC, is a proposed $135 million settlement covering U.S. Android users outside California who used a mobile device with a cellular data plan between November 12, 2017, and the date of final approval. Preliminary approval came on March 5, 2026, with a final approval hearing set for June 23, 2026. No claim is required, but the settlement administrator recommends filing a payment election form at the official settlement site. Individual payouts are capped at $100 and expected to run lower given roughly 100 million potential class members.
California users were carved out because a state case, Csupo v. Google LLC, was already pending. A jury awarded $314.6 million on July 1, 2025, for roughly 14 million California Android users. The parties then negotiated a $350 million settlement in place of that verdict, with an approval hearing scheduled for February 24, 2026.
$68 Million Google Assistant Privacy Settlement
This case alleged that Google Assistant devices recorded conversations without being intentionally triggered (so-called “False Accepts”) and that recordings were shared with third-party review vendors. Google denied wrongdoing.
The settlement covers activity between May 18, 2016, and March 19, 2026, and includes two groups: people who bought qualifying Google devices such as Google Home, Nest, or Pixel phones, and people who used Google Assistant or lived in a home where a False Accept captured their communications. Payments run on a point system — four points per qualifying device purchased (up to three devices) and one point for members of the broader privacy class. The claim deadline is August 27, 2026, and the final approval hearing is October 1, 2026.
Illinois Biometric Privacy Settlements
Two settlements under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act apply only to Illinois residents. Rivera v. Google resulted in a $100 million payout over Google Photos’ face-grouping feature, covering people who appeared in Google Photos between May 2015 and April 2022, with individual awards estimated at $200 to $400.
H.K. v. Google LLC settled for $8.75 million over voice and face data allegedly collected from Illinois students through Google Workspace for Education. Final approval came in October 2025 and payments to approved claimants began February 13, 2026, with individual amounts estimated between $30 and $100.
DOJ Search Monopoly Case
The Justice Department’s first antitrust case, filed in October 2020, went to a nine-week bench trial in late 2023. On August 5, 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly” under Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
After a 15-day remedies trial in spring 2025, Judge Mehta issued his remedy order on September 2, 2025. He rejected the DOJ’s request to force a Chrome or Android divestiture but imposed six-year restrictions on Google’s business practices, including:
- a ban on exclusive distribution contracts for Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini AI app;
- a prohibition on tying licensing or revenue-sharing payments to preloading, default placement, or prominence of Google products, and on barring partners from also distributing competing search engines, browsers, or generative AI products;
- a requirement that Google share certain search index and user-interaction data with qualified competitors and offer search and search text ad syndication to rivals; and
- explicit coverage of generative AI technologies.
The order was supported by 49 states, two territories, and D.C. A five-member Technical Committee is overseeing implementation.
Google filed a 111-page appeal with the D.C. Circuit on May 22, 2026, challenging both the monopoly finding and the remedies. The DOJ and a coalition of state attorneys general filed their own notices of appeal in February 2026, arguing the remedies did not go far enough, particularly the refusal to order a Chrome divestiture. No oral argument date has been set.
DOJ Ad Tech Case
The DOJ’s second case, filed in January 2023 with several states, targeted the tools publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell display ads. After a 15-day trial in September 2024, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled on April 17, 2025, that Google illegally monopolized both the publisher ad server market and the ad exchange market, and unlawfully tied its publisher ad server (DoubleClick for Publishers) to its ad exchange (AdX).
The remedies fight now centers on whether Google must sell parts of its ad tech business. The DOJ is seeking divestiture of AdX, public release of DFP’s auction code, and a contingent divestiture of DFP if initial measures fall short. Google is arguing that a structural breakup is technically unworkable and pushing for behavioral fixes instead.
An 11-day remedies trial ended with closing arguments on November 21, 2025. Judge Brinkema urged the parties to settle, but they did not. As of mid-2026, her remedies opinion is still being drafted, no divestiture order has been issued, and Google has said it will appeal the liability ruling once remedies are final.
Epic Games v. Google: Play Store Reforms
A jury unanimously found in December 2023 that Google maintained an illegal monopoly through the Play Store, violating federal and California antitrust law and unlawfully tying the Play Store to Google Play Billing. The trial court entered a three-year injunction in October 2024, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed both the verdict and the injunction on July 31, 2025.
Since October 29, 2025, developers can communicate about alternative pricing, link to external downloads or transactions, and use payment methods other than Google Play Billing. Google and Epic entered a new settlement agreement on March 4, 2026, and asked the court to enter a revised injunction.
Texas Privacy Settlement
Google agreed in May 2025 to pay Texas $1.375 billion to resolve two suits by the state attorney general. The first, filed in January 2022, alleged Google kept tracking location after users disabled the setting and used the data for targeted ads. The second added claims about incognito browsing and biometric data — voice prints and facial geometry — collected through Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max. The settlement was finalized on October 31, 2025. Google did not admit liability. This is a payment to the state, not a consumer class action, so individual Texans do not receive money from it.
Incognito Mode and Real-Time Bidding Settlements
Two other privacy settlements are worth knowing about because they do not pay class members. The 2020 incognito-mode class action, alleging Google tracked users in Chrome’s private browsing mode, settled without individual damages. Google agreed to destroy billions of private-session data records, update its disclosures, and let incognito users block third-party cookies for five years. Individual users kept the right to sue for damages separately. A group of 185 Chrome users tried to intervene to preserve an appeal on the denial of a damages class, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the rejection of that effort on April 20, 2026.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted final approval in February 2026 to a separate settlement over Google’s real-time bidding practices. Like the incognito deal, it provides no cash payments; instead, U.S. Google account holders get a new control for three years to limit personal data shared during ad auctions.