Google Pays US$135 Million for Illegally Collecting Users Data
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January 29, 2026 Hour: 9:33 am
It also agreed to pay US$68 million for recording private conversations without authorization.
On Wednesday, Google agreed to pay US$135 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it illegally collected mobile data from users. The case also forces its parent company, Alphabet Inc., to modify Google Play and the configurations of future Android devices.
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The lawsuit accused Google of collecting data without the users’ consent since November 2017. However, the tech company denied wrongdoing and claimed that the information supported product development and targeted advertising.
While Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated that the case “misrepresented” standard Android security practices, the corporation promised greater transparency so users can better understand how its digital services work.
In a separate case, it also agreed to pay US$68 million to settle accusations that its Google Assistant recorded private conversations without authorization. The company previously paid US$1.4 billion in Texas for illegal location tracking.
Meanwhile, the corporation announced that its artificial intelligence, Gemini, will be able to connect with Gmail, Google Photos, search history, and YouTube to provide “helpful answers” through the new ‘Personal Intelligence’ feature.
Josh Woodward, vice president of Gemini at Google Labs and AI Studio, explained that Gemini is not trained directly on emails or photos, but rather on “limited information” such as specific prompts and model responses.
Personal Intelligence is optional and allows users to decide which applications to connect. According to Woodward, it offers advice on books, TV shows, clothing, and travel, as well as personalized suggestions based on user data.
The feature will launch in beta in the United States for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra “selected” subscribers, only on personal accounts. It will later expand to more countries and to free versions.
Woodward cautioned that, despite extensive testing, Personal Intelligence can generate inaccurate or overly personalized responses, making erroneous connections between unrelated topics, which reflects the current system’s limitations.
teleSUR: JP
Source: EFE
