Google resolves voice assistant spying claims with $68M settlement

Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement for a class-action lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant had eavesdropped on its users while providing the collected conversations with advertisers, according to CBS News.

Even though Google said that its Assistant tool would only record conversations upon the utterance of "Hey Google," private conversations regarding employment, personal decisions, and financial concerns were purportedly collected by Google devices even without saying the activation phrase, said the lawsuit. Approval of the preliminary settlement, which has been filed in a Northern California federal court, would allow consumers to submit claims for a maximum of three devices, with Google not only paying for the claims but also for attorneys' fees and other expenses.

Such a settlement deal resembles a class-action suit against Apple over the unauthorized conversation spying of its Siri voice assistant. Apple has resolved the case with a $95 million settlement.