Attorney General Tong Shares Information for Consumers Regarding Restitution from $700 Million Google Play Store Settlement

Press Releases

12/05/2025

Attorney General Tong Shares Information for Consumers Regarding Restitution from $700 Million Google Play Store Settlement

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong today issued a consumer alert notifying consumers of new information and instructions to receive funds from a $700 million settlement with Google secured by Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 53 attorneys general.

In December 2023, the coalition secured the settlement with Google for harming consumers for years by suppressing competition and unfairly raising prices. The states lawsuit had alleged that Google unlawfully maintained a monopoly over mobile app distribution and in-app payment processing for Android devices, and used its monopoly power to charge consumers as much as 30 percent in fees for purchasing apps and making in-app purchases. If the settlement is approved by the court, the majority of the settlement funds will be used to pay consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google's anticompetitive conduct. Google will also make changes to stop its anticompetitive practices that harmed consumers and app developers.

"Google abused its monopoly power to lock out competition and raise costs. Our $700 million settlement will send money back to consumers who were harmed by Google's unfair and anticompetitive practices. Most payments will be automatic, but I encourage Google Play Store users to review the claims process and deadlines to understand what to expect following court approval," said Attorney General Tong.

Google has already paid $630 million into a settlement fund. Beginning December 2, 2025, consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google's anticompetitive practices received notices about the claims process for the settlement funds. Affected consumers 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 direct the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

There will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete for consumers who either:

• Do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo;

• No longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with their Google Play account; or

• Were expecting to receive a payment but did not.

If consumers would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, they may submit their name, email address, and mobile phone number on the settlement website.

Attorney General Tong shared important upcoming dates in the settlement process:

• 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 online or in writing by February 19, 2026.

• Consumers who want to object to the settlement can file a written objection by February 19, 2026.

• The court will hold a hearing on April 30, 2026, to consider whether to approve the settlement.

Joining Attorney General Tong in securing this settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Assistant Attorney General Victoria Field and Deputy Associate Attorney General Nicole Demers, Chief of the Antitrust Section, assisted the Attorney General in this matter.

###

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton [email protected]

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318 [email protected]

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Email
• Print