Every day, most of us pay for data plans assuming that when our phones aren’t streaming or browsing, they’re resting. But it turns out some Android phones were quietly dipping into that data bank—even when idle. A California jury recently ruled that Google must pay $314.6 million to Android users after finding the company used background cellular data without informed consent.
As reported by Bloomberg, Google was hit with this fine in a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 on behalf of roughly 14 million Californians. The claim? Even when phones were just sitting in pockets, Google allegedly used them to send and receive info for ads and other services—eating into users’ data caps.
From Google’s side, spokesperson José Castaneda said they plan to appeal. He argued that what the jury labelled as “data use” is actually critical to keeping Android phones secure and running smoothly. Google also believes that its terms of service already covered this kind of background activity .
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, on the other hand, praised the verdict as a clear message that tech companies can’t quietly use your data without permission. Meanwhile, another federal lawsuit aiming to represent Android users across the rest of the U.S. is scheduled for trial in April 2026.
Source: Bloomberg
