Google’s $135 Million Settlement Could Mean Cash for Android Owners

Following years of allegations that Google was harvesting data from the phones of Android users without their consent, Google has reached a settlement in the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC. Google did not admit any fault in the lawsuit, but did agree to pay out $135 million to Android users.

Following the news that the company had agreed to a fairly substantial payout, many wanted to better understand what the payout was for and how to tell whether they had qualified. Here's what we know.

The official settlement statement for the lawsuit is available here, and it's worth noting that the final approval hearing won't occur until June 23, when the court will hear objections and consider whether Google's settlement is fair.

Then, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement. Assuming the settlement moves forward, though, the average Android user might be wondering how they can get paid.

The $135 million is likely to be split hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ways, meaning the individual sum a person collects from the settlement is unlikely to be substantial.

Even so, being compensated a small amount is better than not being compensated at all. In fact, individual compensation is capped at $100, so you're definitely not going to make any more than that.

The information to register for payment is available on the settlement website. In order to qualify for payment, you need to meet four conditions:

1. Be a living, individual human being in the US.
2. Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
3. Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
4. You're not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents

You have until June 23, when the final settlement is approved, to add your payment information. Updates to the hearings date and time will be posted to the settlement's website if they occur, so it might be worth bookmarking that link and checking it periodically.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the funds from the settlement will be distributed in equal amounts to each person who qualified and registered.

If funds remain after payments are sent, and it's economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it's not economically feasible, the funds will be distributed to an organization of the court's choosing.

This settlement is just one effort to hold Google accountable for what might be breaches of the privacy of their users. While the individual payouts here might only be nominal, and Google has not admitted any fault, they are a reminder of ways that gigantic tech companies can be held in check by regular people.