Google is preparing to pay out a massive $135 million payout to anyone who owned an Android device at any time in the last nine years, and you need to make sure you get your cut of that payout.
The settlement concerns how Android phones used your cellular data and how that benefited Google, so the eligibility requirements are quite broad. If you’re in the US, it’s worth taking a look to see if you could profit.
Google benefited from your cellular data
Data is the currency of the information age, but we usually expect that to mean data about your actions, not to refer to your cellular data. But, here we are.
The Taylor v. Google lawsuit alleges that Google gathered data from Android devices using the device’s cellular connection — which effectively means that you paid money in order for Google to get data that it used to improve its own services. And this wasn’t while the device was in use either, as the claim accuses Google of doing so while devices were idle.
Obviously, Google denies any wrongdoing in this case, but it has agreed to settle for $135 million anyway. This might be because it recently lost a similar case in California, and was ordered to pay $314 million, and viewed through that lens, $135 million is a bit of a bargain.
Pretty much anyone in the US who used an Android device with a cellular connection at any time between November 12, 2017 to when this case concludes will be able to claim their portion of the settlement. An exception is also in place for those who have already claimed for the previously mentioned Csupo v. Google case from California.
You shouldn’t need to fill out any lengthy forms to get your money, either. If you want to exclude yourself, you can start the process to do so from the lawsuit’s website, but if you don’t, you should be automatically entered into the claim to get your money. The website asks that you choose how you’d like to be paid, but you’ll need a notice ID and confirmation code to do that, and you’ll need to wait to get those.
Don’t expect to get a huge amount of money from this settlement, too. There’s a limit of $100 per person, and that’s a limit, not the expected amount. It’s likely to be beer money, not a new car.