Your smartphone might have been listening even when you didn't say "Hey Google." In a landmark privacy case, Google has agreed to pay $68 million (approximately Sh9.1 billion) to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing it of recording private conversations without consent.

The lawsuit, filed in California, alleged that the "Google Assistant" feature on Android devices would frequently "false accept"—mistakenly thinking a user had spoken the wake word—and then record intimate audio. These recordings, plaintiffs claimed, were not just stored but shared with third parties for "analysis" to serve targeted ads.

The "False Accept" Trap

We've all been there: you're chatting with a friend about buying a new sofa, and suddenly your phone lights up. Minutes later, you're seeing ads for furniture. For years, tech companies called this a conspiracy theory. This settlement suggests otherwise.

"Google denied wrongdoing, but settled to avoid the risk, cost and uncertainty of litigation," court papers reveal. The payout covers anyone who bought a Google device or was subjected to these "false accepts" since May 2016.

What This Means for You

While the settlement is in the US, the implications are global. It forces a reckoning with the surveillance economy that underpins modern tech.

• Privacy Reforms: As part of the deal (and similar ones with Apple and Amazon), companies are being forced to change how they handle audio data, moving towards "opt-in" models where humans don't review your clips unless you agree.
• The Payout: Lawyers estimate claimants could get between $30 and $60 (Sh4,000 - Sh8,000)—a pittance for your privacy, perhaps, but a massive penalty for Google.

As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, this case serves as a stark warning: convenience often comes with a hidden price tag, and the currency is your privacy.