What you need to know about the Goggle Play Store settlement

Are you eligible to receive money from a Google settlement?

Google agreed to pay $700 million Wednesday to settle a lawsuit charging that the company used its monopoly power to charge consumers as much as 30 percent for purchasing apps and making in-app purchases in its Play Store. The agreement, with a coalition of 53 attorneys general, requires Google to pay restitution to consumers and make changes to how it allows app developers to sell products on Android devices.

Google owns Android, an operating system for smartphones, similar to Apple’s iOS. Android and iOS are the only two smartphone operating systems available to consumers.

Because Apple only allows iOS on Apple devices, Android is the only operating system currently widely available to other mobile device manufacturers, such as Samsung and Sony. Globally, about 75 percent of smartphones use Android.

“No company, no matter how large or powerful, is allowed to corner a market and use its influence to overcharge consumers and smother competition,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “For too long, Google abused its market share to unfairly raise prices and block developers from selling products in other app stores.”

Under this agreement, millions of consumers nationwide will get money back after being overcharged for Google’s app store services.

If you bought an app on Google Play or made any in-app purchase between August 2016 and September 2023, you may be owed some money.

Eligible consumers will be notified of the settlement and will receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or they can receive a check or ACH transfer.

Each eligible customer will receive a minimum of $2 as part of the settlement, according to court documents. Users may also receive additional payments in proportion to their Google Play spending.