Google to pay $1.375 billion in Texas privacy settlement over location tracking and biometric data

By lauraharris // 2025-05-18

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Google agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle lawsuits filed by Texas, resolving allegations of illegal data collection, including location tracking, biometric data (facial/voice recognition) and deceptive incognito mode claims.
Texas accused Google of tracking users' locations even when settings were turned off, misleading users about incognito mode privacy and collecting biometric data (faces, voices) without consent, violating Texas' CUBI law.
The lawsuit claimed Google exploited personal data from products like Google Assistant, Photos and Nest to boost AI algorithms and ad dominance.
Google denied fault but agreed to settle, calling the claims "outdated" and stating it had already updated its policies.
This is the largest privacy-related settlement Google has paid to a single state, far exceeding the $391 million paid to 40 other states combined. Texas AG Ken Paxton called it a major victory for privacy rights.

Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle lawsuits filed by Texas over allegations the tech giant violated user privacy by collecting sensitive data, including location information and biometric identifiers, without proper consent. In 2022, Texas originally filed lawsuits accusing Google of misleading users about location tracking, collecting data even when location services were turned off, falsely advertising incognito mode as private, despite allegedly still tracking users' activity and collecting biometric data (such as facial recognition and voice prints) without obtaining legally required consent. (Related: Google SUED by 4 AGs for tracking users without permission.) Google has exploited sensitive personal data through its products, including Google Assistant, Photos and Nest devices, to fuel its artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and advertising dominance. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged that Google systematically violated Texas' Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act (CUBI), which prohibits companies from collecting or sharing biometric data, such as facial scans and voice prints, without explicit user permission. "Google has now spent years unlawfully capturing the faces and voices of both non-consenting users and non-users throughout Texas – including our children and grandparents, who simply have no idea that their biometric information is being mined for profit by a global corporation," the 2022 complaint stated. Three years later, Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion in settlement. This resolves two cases and three claims accusing Google of deceptive practices related to location tracking, biometric data collection and its incognito mode. "In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans' privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust," Paxton announced on May 9. "For years, Google secretly tracked people's movements, private searches and even their voice prints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won." While the $1.375 billion settlement has been disclosed, Texas has not yet revealed how the funds will be distributed.

Google confirms settlement, but denies any wrongdoing

In a separate statement, Google has confirmed that the settlement resolves claims concerning incognito mode, location history and biometric data collection, but the company admitted no wrongdoing. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda even stated that the lawsuit relied on outdated claims about policies the company has already updated, so no technical or product changes will be necessary. "This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed," Castaneda said. "We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services." But despite this, Texas still considers this settlement a major victory, as no other state received more than $93 million from Google in settlements over data privacy violations. A coalition of 40 states collectively secured a $391 million agreement, nearly $1 billion less than the $700 million settlement Texas obtained. This stark difference highlights the scale of Texas' legal victory in holding Google accountable. EvilGoogle.news has more about tech giants like Google tracking users and collecting personal data without their permission. Watch the video below for more information on your phone's location tracking feature.

This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.

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Google confirms settlement, but denies any wrongdoing

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