Published
October 18, 2023
Updated
July 25, 2026
The Google Search privacy settlement addressed allegations that search information was shared with third parties. The July 31, 2023 claim deadline has passed.
StatusClosed to New ClaimsJuly 31, 2023 deadline passed
Claim DeadlineJuly 31, 2023Filing period is closed
BenefitEstimated $7.70$23 Million
Proof RequiredNo Purchase ProofClass Member ID was required
What's the Google Search Class Action About?
A $23,000,000 class action settlement against Google, Inc. over allegations that Google shared users' search information with third-parties between October 26, 2006 through September 30, 2013 without getting appropriate permissions from users who searched on Google. The Google class action lawsuit alleges that by sharing user information with these third-parties without getting permissions from users, Google was exposing user data wrongfully and putting their data at risk.While Google, and its holding parent company Alphabet, Inc., deny any admission of guilt or wrongdoing, they have accepted the terms of the $23 Million settlement in order to avoid the risks and costs associated with the original lawsuit going to trial rather than a class action settlement.
Any users in the U.S. who clicked on a Google search result at any time between October 26, 2006 and September 30, 2013 may be eligible for a payout from the Google Search Settlement.
How Was My Privacy Affected With Google Search?
The "referer" header (often spelled incorrectly in the context of Internet technology) is an HTTP header field that is sent by your user web browser, such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge in order to indicate the URL of the referring page from which the current request originated. For instance, when you click on a link to visit a webpage, your browser includes the referer header in the HTTP request sent to the server hosting that webpage, under some normal circumstances.In the case of Google, when you perform a search and click on a search result, the referrer header sent to the website you land on from clicking on the query result, typically contains the URL of the Google search results page you clicked on, which can contain significant information about your user behavior as you use Google to search the web.
How Do I Know If I Qualify?
No purchase proof was required to file a claim, but claimants had to satisfy the following criteria established by the Court:• Ran a Google Search and clicked on a search result,
• Used Google Search anytime between October 26, 2006 through September 30, 2013,
• Used Google to search and click on results while in the United States.
How Much Will I Get Paid?
The settlement administrator estimated a payment of about $7.70 per valid, timely claim. That figure was an estimate and could vary based on the number of valid claims and settlement costs.How Do I File a Claim and Get Paid?
Claims had to be submitted by July 31, 2023. Online claimants first had to register for a Class Member ID. The filing period is closed.• Claimants could review the official FAQs for filing instructions.
• The claim deadline was July 31, 2023.
The final approval hearing was scheduled for October 2023. Historical case and distribution updates are available from the settlement administrator.
Filing Class Action Settlement Claims
Claimants were required to submit truthful information under penalty of perjury. OpenClassActions.com is an informational website, not the settlement administrator or a law firm. OpenClassActions participates in the Amazon affiliate advertising program, and this post may contain affiliate links.Similar Facebook Class Action Settlements
Facebook settled a $725 million privacy class action concerning alleged data privacy violations. That settlement is closed to new claims; its deadline was August 25, 2023.In a record breaking settlement, Facebook had agreed to pay a $5 Billion fine to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission of the United States), a $100 Million settlement with the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), and may be facing future lawsuits and settlements related to data privacy since the $725M Meta Settlement does not cover U.K. Facebook users. Facebook also has a long history of separate class action settlements related to user privacy violations. Two of the most massive and recent Facebook settlements were:
• $90 Million Facebook User Track Class Action - Facebook agreed to pay $90,000,000 to Facebook users whose data was allegedly tracked and improperly collected when visiting websites other than Facebook.com. The settled class action lawsuit alleges that Facebook obtained and collected data from Facebook users in the United States who visited non-Facebook websites that displayed the Facebook Like button. Those external sites allowed Facebook to collect data from Facebook users even while they were not on Facebook.com without user consent.
• $650 Million Facebook Privacy Settlement - In a landmark class action settlement, Facebook agreed to fund $650,000,000 for a class action fund to be distributed to qualifying Facebook users. Facebook ended up paying $397 to hundreds of thousands of Facebook users whose privacy rights may have been violated by Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, Inc. The settlement fund was agreed upon as the result of a class action lawsuit against Facebook for violating Illinois Privacy laws - this law is called BIPA, or the Biometric Information Protection Act.
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How Do I File a Claim in the Google Privacy Settlement?
Historical case information remains available on the official Google Referer Header settlement website. The claim and registration periods are closed.Official Settlement Website: RefererHeaderSettlement.com
For more open class actions keep scrolling below.
Status
Closed to New Claims
Claim Deadline
July 31, 2023
Passed
Settlement Amount
$23 Million
Benefit
Estimated $7.70
Proof Required
No Purchase Proof
Class Member ID was required
Official Website
Google Referer Header Settlement
