Rodriguez v. Google LLC Lawsuit: $425M Verdict and Payout Status

The Rodriguez v. Google privacy lawsuit is a federal class action in which a jury awarded $425 million to roughly 98 million users who said Google kept collecting their app activity data after they had turned off the “Web & App Activity” setting meant to stop it. The jury delivered its verdict on September 3, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. As of mid-2026, no money has gone out to class members. Google has asked the trial court to vacate the verdict and can still appeal to the Ninth Circuit.¹

What Google Was Accused Of

Google’s “Web & App Activity” setting lets users pause tracking of their activity across apps and websites. The plaintiffs said that even when the setting was off, Google kept collecting data about what users did inside third-party apps such as Uber, Lyft, Amazon, Venmo, and Meta’s platforms. The pipeline was two developer tools built into those apps: the Firebase SDK and the Google Mobile Ads SDK.²

A plaintiffs’ computer science expert testified that the collected data went into what he called a “shadow account” and was used for product analysis, development, and advertising revenue.² Internal emails from Google engineers, plaintiffs said, described the company’s own statements about the setting as giving users a “false sense of security.”³

Google did not deny collecting the data. It argued that when a user toggled the setting off, an “Are You Sure?” screen and linked disclosures explained that some collection would continue, that the Firebase data was aggregated and not tied to individual accounts, and that there was no breach and no harm.⁴

Who Is in the Class

The court certified two nationwide classes, split by device:

Android users who, between July 1, 2016, and September 23, 2024, had Web & App Activity turned off and still had non-Google mobile app activity sent to Google from an Android device through the Firebase SDK or Google Mobile Ads SDK.
iPhone and other non-Android users meeting the same criteria over the same period.

Together the two classes cover about 98 million users and 174 million devices.⁵ Enterprise Google accounts and supervised accounts for children under 13 were excluded from the privacy and intrusion claims, though they remained in the class for the California data fraud claim. The deadline to opt out was February 20, 2025. Anyone who did not opt out by then is bound by the outcome.⁶

What the Jury Decided

After a three-week trial before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg and about 10 hours of deliberation, the jury found Google liable on two claims: invasion of privacy under the California Constitution and common-law intrusion upon seclusion. It rejected the plaintiffs’ claim under the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.²⁴

The award: $425 million in compensatory damages. That works out to about $4 per class member. The plaintiffs had asked for more than $30 billion, using a damages model that valued the data at roughly $3 per device per month across 174 million devices and an average of 56 months.³ The jury also declined to award punitive damages, finding Google did not act with malice, but it did conclude that Google’s pop-up notices were “ineffective” and that users held a “reasonable expectation of a promise of privacy” when they opted out.²

Why No Money Has Been Paid

The verdict is not final, and the litigation is still moving. Both sides went back to Judge Seeborg after trial.

The plaintiffs asked the court to make Google disgorge an additional $2.36 billion in profits and to enter a permanent injunction against the challenged data practices. On January 30, 2026, the judge denied both. He ruled the jury award was an “adequate” legal remedy, that equitable relief is a “gap filler” rather than a “second bite at the apple,” and that the plaintiffs’ profit estimate was “insufficiently supported.” He also found no basis for an injunction, noting Google had updated its privacy disclosures and that the proposed remedies were “far too broad.”⁷

Google separately asked the court to decertify the class, arguing there was no class-wide agreement that its conduct was “highly offensive.” The same January 30, 2026, order denied that motion and left the $425 million verdict in place.⁸

The court then entered judgment for the verdict amount plus interest. As of March 2026, the total stood at about $440.3 million and was still accruing interest.⁶ Google has now asked the trial court to vacate the judgment entirely, and it retains the right to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.¹ As of April 2026, both sides had additional post-trial motions pending.⁸

Any payout depends on how the motion to vacate and any appeal come out. The official case website says class members will be notified with claim instructions if funds become available.¹

Attorneys’ Fees and What Comes Off the Top

Class counsel have filed a fee application seeking 33 percent of the total judgment (verdict plus interest), $12.4 million in costs and expenses, and $135,000 in service awards for the three class representatives.⁶ Class members who want to object to that request must do so in writing by July 30, 2026.¹

How to Reach the Notice Administrator

Questions about the case, class membership, or the fee objection process go to the notice administrator at 1-855-822-8821 or Rodriguez v. Google Notice Administrator, P.O. Box 2749, Portland, OR 97208-2749.⁶

1
Google Web App Activity Lawsuit. Rodriguez v. Google LLC Official Website
2
Syracuse Law Review. Someone Is Always Watching: Implications of Google’s WAA Privacy Case
3
Bloomberg Law. Google Users Ask Jury for $29 Billion Verdict in Privacy Trial
4
Courthouse News Service. Jury Slams Google Over App Data Collection to Tune of $425 Million
5
Kiplinger. Google Class Action Lawsuit: Do You Qualify for a Payout
6
Google Web App Activity Lawsuit. Frequently Asked Questions
7
Courthouse News Service. Judge Denies Disgorgement, Decertification Efforts in Google Privacy Suit
8
Law360. Rodriguez et al v. Google LLC et al