State Attorneys General Announce $700 Million Settlement with Google over Play Store Misconduct

(Salt Lake City, UT) – The Attorneys General of all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands announced a $700 million agreement with Google in their lawsuit about Google’s anticompetitive conduct in the Google Play Store.

Google will pay $630 million in restitution, minus costs and fees, to consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive practices. Google will pay the states an additional $70 million for their sovereign claims. People eligible for restitution do not have to submit a claim – most will receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo. More details about that process will be forthcoming. The agreement also requires Google to make its business practices more procompetitive in a number of important ways.

The attorneys general sued Google in 2021 alleging that Google unlawfully monopolized the markets for Android app distribution and in-app payment processing. Specifically, the States claimed that Google signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded on Android devices, bought off key app developers who might have launched rival app stores, and created technological barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices.

The settlement requires Google to reform its business practices in the following ways:

1. Give all developers the ability to allow users to pay through in-app billing systems other than Google Play Billing for at least five years.
2. Allow developers to offer cheaper prices for their apps and in-app products for consumers who use alternative, non-Google billing systems for at least five years.
3. Permit developers to steer consumers toward alternative, non-Google billing systems by advertising cheaper prices within their apps themselves for at least five years.
4. Not enter contracts that require the Play Store to the be the exclusive, pre-loaded app store on a device or home screen for at least five years.
5. Allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least seven years.
6. Revise and reduce the warnings that appear on an Android device if a user attempts to download a third-party app from outside the Google Play Store for at least five years.
7. Maintain Android system support for third-party app stores, including allowing automatic updates, for four years.
8. Not require developers to launch their app catalogs on the Play Store at the same time or with the same features as they launch on other app stores for at least four years.
9. Submit compliance reports to an independent monitor who will ensure that Google is not continuing its anticompetitive conduct for at least five years.

Generally, consumers are included if they paid for an app through the Google Play Store or paid for in-app content (including purchases in gaming apps, subscriptions, and ad-free versions of apps) through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023 (“Qualifying Purchases”), while living in any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

As part of the settlement, a $630 million Settlement Fund will be established. The Settlement Fund will be used to pay consumers who made at least one Qualifying Purchase and cover administration costs and attorneys’ fees. Payments will be at least $2 and may be more based on how much a consumer paid compared to the amount paid by all other consumers who made Qualifying Purchases. Additional details are in the Settlement Agreement and Release available on the website, www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

If consumers are covered by this Action, they may not have to do anything to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will make the majority of payments automatically, and no claim form is necessary in most cases. Once the Settlement has been approved by the Court, consumers will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying them of their incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account. If that email address or phone number is also associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then the payment will be made directly to that account. If that email address or phone number does not match an email address or phone number associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then consumers have the option to create a new account or redirect the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

If consumers (a) do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo, (b) no longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account, or (c) were expecting to receive a payment but did not, there will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete.

If consumers would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, consumers may submit their name, email address, and mobile phone number at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

Important Information and Dates:

• Included consumers who do not want to receive payment from the Settlement Fund and want to bring their own case against Google, must submit a request to be excluded via online form at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com or in writing on or before February 19, 2026.
• Included consumers who want to object to the Settlement can file a written objection on or before February 19, 2026.
• More specific information about how those included can exclude themselves or object to the Settlement is available at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.
• The Court will hold a hearing on April 30, 2026, to consider whether to approve the Settlement.

For more information:

Visit: www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com

Call: 1-866-905-8127

Email: [email protected]

Write to: Google Play State AG Antitrust Litigation, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173134, Milwaukee, WI 53217