A federal judge ruled that Google must face a class action privacy lawsuit, which accuses the company of collecting users’ mobile device data without their consent. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, focuses on Google’s Web App and Activity settings, specifically a subsetting “button” that controls whether the company saves data from apps and devices using Google services. The plaintiffs allege that Google continued collecting data even after users disabled the feature, specifically information related to interactions with apps using Google’s Firebase Analytics tool. The case is now scheduled for a jury trial in August 2025.
Google contends that users were aware of the data collection practice, arguing that turning off the Web App and Activity setting only prevented data from being linked to a user’s Google account. It also maintains that the collection of pseudonymous data through Firebase Analytics was consented to and served basic record-keeping purposes. However, Judge Richard Seeborg rejected Google’s argument, pointing to internal communications that suggested the company was intentionally vague about its data collection practices. This decision follows previous settlements by Google over similar privacy concerns, including the payout of nearly $400 million in 2022 for misleading location tracking practices.
