Google sued for allegedly tracking app users who opted out

By Allison Matyus Published July 14, 2020

A class-action lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses Google of tracking user activity through various mobile apps — even if people opted out of sharing their data.

The suit was filed against the tech giant on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as first reported by Reuters. The complaint accuses Google of logging users’ news apps, ridesharing apps, and other types of apps even if people had the tracking turned off in their account settings.

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“Even when consumers follow Google’s own instructions and turn off ‘Web & App Activity’ tracking on their ‘Privacy Controls,’ Google nevertheless continues to intercept consumers’ app usage and app-browsing communications and personal information,” the lawsuit says.

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Digital Trends reached out to Google for comment about the lawsuit. We will update this story when we hear back.

It’s the second lawsuit filed against Google within the last month. The same law firm filed a complaint in June accusing Google of tracking Google Chrome browser activity and habits even if a user was in incognito mode.

That lawsuit claims Google’s incognito mode offers users the false impression that their internet use would not be intercepted and intentionally deceives them into believing they retain control of their browsing information.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…

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