IPhone users suing Google over data-collection claims may be seeking as much as $4.29 billion, the search giant said in a court filing.
The group representing iPhone users, known as Google You Owe Us, now includes 4.4 million people, according to documents filed with the court at a hearing Monday. The group says the Alphabet unit unlawfully collected people’s personal information by bypassing Apple’s iPhone default privacy settings.
While any potential damages are still to be determined, the group has suggested each individual could receive $1,000 if the case is successful, Google said in court documents.
The group said that Google used an algorithm that allowed developers to track a user’s browsing history and collect personal information. The algorithm acted to get around the default settings of Apple’s Safari browser, which blocked third-party tracking via cookies.