Have you ever felt surprised when your phone showed an ad for something you only talked about? Many users have shared this experience for years. A recent legal settlement involving Google has made these concerns feel more real.
Google has agreed to pay around $68 million to settle a lawsuit linked to Google Assistant. The case claimed that the voice assistant sometimes recorded conversations even when users did not say “Hey Google.” These recordings were said to happen due to false activations, where the assistant turned on by mistake.
According to the lawsuit, these accidental recordings were sent to Google’s servers without clear user consent. Some users believed this data could later influence ads. This makes it feel like Google was secretly listening to private conversations.
Google has denied any wrongdoing. The company says it only listens after detecting its wake word and does not use voice recordings to sell ads. Still, Google acknowledged that false activations can happen and agreed to settle the case to avoid a lengthy trial. The settlement does not mean Google admitted guilt.
Google has also said users can review and delete voice recordings from their accounts and that it continues to improve its systems to reduce accidental listening.
While this case does not prove that Google was spying on users on purpose, it has raised serious questions about privacy. It also reminds users to check their device settings and understand how much access smart assistants really have.
