Google Location Tracking Settlement: $391M for Deceptive Location Practices

Google agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 US states over deceptive location tracking practices. Investigations revealed that Google continued collecting location data even after users disabled Location History in their account settings, through a separate Web & App Activity setting that most users did not know existed. State attorneys general demonstrated that Google made it nearly impossible for users to stop location collection, burying controls across multiple settings pages with confusing labels. Internal Google documents showed engineers and executives knew the settings were misleading. One internal email stated that the current UI feels like it is designed to make things possible but difficult for users. The settlement required Google to show additional disclosures when location-related settings are toggled and to provide more transparency about data collection practices.

The ramifications of this incident extend beyond the immediate data exposure. Privacy regulators in multiple jurisdictions have opened investigations, and affected individuals are organizing collective action to demand accountability and meaningful remediation. The case highlights systemic weaknesses in how organizations handle personal data and the gap between corporate privacy promises and operational reality.

For impacted individuals, immediate action is critical. Filing a data subject access request forces the company to disclose exactly what data they hold about you, providing the foundation for deletion requests, regulatory complaints, and potential legal action. Below, we outline the specific data types at risk and the concrete steps you can take to protect yourself.