Google Play Children's Privacy Settlement: $8.25 Million, Claims Closed September 14, 2026

The lawsuit alleges that from April 1, 2015 to the present, Google and its ad network AdMob collected, used, and disclosed personal information from children under 13 through apps on Google Play without parental consent, and used that information to target those children with behavioral advertising. The official FAQ says the defendants deny the allegations and deny any wrongdoing.

The plaintiffs are six minors, suing through three court-appointed guardians. The case is before U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts in the Northern District of California.

Claims like this track the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. COPPA requires operators of child-directed apps and sites to get verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. COPPA is enforced by the FTC and state attorneys general and does not give individuals their own right to sue, so private cases over children's data are usually brought under state privacy and consumer protection laws. For more on this area, see our guide to lawsuits against Google.

The class is anyone living in the United States who, at any time from April 1, 2015 through the present, was younger than 13 when they downloaded or used an app from Google Play and from whom the defendants allegedly collected, used, or disclosed personal information.

• The person in the class is the child, not the parent. Many class members are now teenagers or adults.
• If the class member was under 18 as of May 29, 2026, a parent or legal guardian had to sign and submit the claim.
• Class members who are now adults could file for themselves.
• Excluded: Google, AdMob, their subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, and directors; the judges on the case and their immediate families; class counsel; and anyone who opted out.

The class definition does not name specific apps, and the website did not require families to list them. Each class member could file one claim.

After court-approved fees, costs, service awards, and notice and administration costs, the rest of the fund (the net settlement fund) is split pro rata among valid claims. The official FAQ says it is unknown how much each valid claimant will receive, because the amount depends on the number of valid claims.

Roughly $5.7 million or less will be left for claimants once fees and administration are paid. Because the class could include millions of children, payments depend heavily on the claim rate. If 500,000 valid claims came in, for example, each would be worth about $11; if 100,000 came in, about $57. These are our illustrations, not official estimates. No money goes back to Google. For how these splits usually work, see how class action money is divided and why payouts are often smaller than expected.

Claims were due by September 14, 2026, either online at COPPAPrivacyClassAction.com by 11:59 p.m. or on a paper claim form postmarked by that date and mailed to A.B., et al. v. Google LLC, et al., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5391, New York, NY 10150-5391.

1. The claim had to be signed by the class member, or by a parent or legal guardian if the class member was under 18 as of May 29, 2026.
2. Claims from third parties, such as claim-filing services, were not accepted.
3. No receipts or app lists were needed.

If you filed, keep your confirmation and make sure Kroll has a current email and address for the parent who filed. The administrator's number is (833) 447-6416. Settlement scams often target parents with fake "claim status" messages, so read how to spot settlement scams.

The final approval hearing was scheduled for September 24, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose. As of September 2026, we had not seen a final approval order posted on the official website. The FAQ says payments go out as soon as possible after final approval and after any appeals are resolved.

If your child is in the class and you did not file by September 14, 2026 or opt out by August 4, 2026, your child will not receive a payment, and once the settlement is final the child gives up the right to sue Google and AdMob over the claims in the complaint. That is the standard effect of staying in a class; see can you be bound by a class action settlement.

Going forward, parents can limit data collection by using Google Play's parental controls and Family Link, checking each app's data safety section, and reporting apps they think collect children's data without consent to the FTC. If you believe a specific app or platform harmed your child in a way that goes beyond data collection, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle children's privacy and online safety cases.

Other privacy settlements we track include the Google Assistant privacy settlement and the TikTok privacy settlement. For current options, see our open settlements page. For this case, any update on approval and payments will appear on the official settlement website linked above.