Google Android Cellular Data Settlement

Google agreed to a $135 million class action settlement resolving allegations that Android devices transferred information to Google in the background without users’ permission, consuming cellular data from their mobile plans. Google denied wrongdoing, and the settlement is not an admission of liability.

The settlement covers individuals in the United States who used Android devices to access the internet through cellular data networks from November 12, 2017 through August 21, 2026, subject to the court-approved exclusions. Members of the separate California case, Csupo v. Google LLC, are excluded, as are people who opted out.

The court held the final approval hearing on June 23, 2026 and granted final approval on August 21, 2026. Its order required any outstanding evidence of class membership or payment-method election to be submitted by September 8, 2026. No conventional claim form was required for class members already identified through the settlement process. Although the payment-election portal remains visible, that does not establish that late submissions are accepted.

Payments vary based on the net settlement fund and distribution results. The final approval order reports that the settlement administrator expects an initial payment of about $0.64 per class member, which could rise to about $1.06 or more if a second distribution occurs. The agreement caps total individual settlement payments at $100, but that is a ceiling, not an expected or guaranteed payment. No final per-person amount or distribution date is confirmed.

An appeal was docketed in the Ninth Circuit on September 28, 2026. Payment timing remains subject to the settlement’s effective-date conditions and resolution of appeals. The November 20, 2026 date in the final approval order concerns a post-distribution accounting and is not a guaranteed payment date.