If you bought apps or made in-app purchases through the Google Play Store over the past seven years, there's money coming your way. But before you start planning how to spend it, you should know the amount isn't exactly life-changing.
Google agreed in 2023 to pay $700 million to settle accusations that it ran the Play Store like an illegal monopoly, blocking out competition and driving up prices for Android users. According to PhoneArena, the good news is most people won't need to do anything to get paid—Google will automatically send payments through PayPal or Venmo. The catch? You're looking at a minimum of just $2.
Here's how the money breaks down: Out of that $700 million total, $70 million goes straight to the states to cover penalties and legal costs. That leaves $630 million for consumers. But lawyers typically take 25% to 35% of settlements like this, which drops the pot to somewhere between $409 million and $472 million. Split that among roughly 127 million eligible users, and you can see why the checks aren't going to be big.
You qualify if you bought paid apps, made in-app purchases, or paid for app subscriptions through Google Play billing between August 2016 and September 2023, and you lived in any U.S. state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands during that time. The more you spent during those years, the more you could receive—but according to court documents, the average payout is expected to be around $4.41, with a maximum of about $17.
The lawsuit claimed Google squeezed out competing app stores and forced developers to use its payment system, which charged fees as high as 30%. State attorneys general argued that in a fair market, Google would have only charged about 15%. While Google denies any wrongdoing, it settled to avoid years of courtroom battles.
The big date to watch is April 30, 2026—that's when a judge will hold a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the settlement. If approved, payments would start going out shortly after. You have until February 19, 2026, to opt out if you want to keep your right to sue Google separately, or to raise objections to how the settlement is structured.
For most people, no action is needed. Google will use your Play Store purchase history to figure out what you're owed and send it automatically to the email or phone number linked to your account. If you can't use PayPal or Venmo, there will be a supplemental payment process available. You can sign up for alerts about that process at the official settlement website, OpenClassActions.com.
While $2 might not sound like much, it's better than nothing—and unlike many class action settlements, you don't have to jump through hoops to claim it. The payment should just show up in your account automatically once the court gives the green light.
Source: PhoneArena
