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Here's How to Get Your Google Refund After a $700 Million Settlement

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Key Takeaways State attorneys general from Oregon and 52 other jurisdictions reached a $700 million agreement with Google over claims that its Play Store practices were anticompetitive.

Most consumers will not need to file a claim to receive a piece of the payout; it will be paid automatically via PayPal or Venmo.

The automatic payments will not be processed until the final settlement is approved in court on April 30, 2026.

Did you make a purchase on the Google Play Store between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023? Millions of Google Play users may receive automatic payments from a $700 million settlement with Google if they made app or in-app purchases over the seven-year period.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced on Wednesday that he and 52 other attorneys general reached a $700 million settlement with Google over claims that its Play Store practices were anticompetitive. They argued that Google tightly controlled how users could obtain and pay for apps, while misleading consumers about the risks of downloading apps from outside the Play Store. They allege that consumers paid too much for apps and in-app purchases because Google monopolized app distribution on Android devices.

Google denies any wrongdoing and said in a 2023 statement about the case that the company remains “committed to continually improving Android and Google Play.”

Related: Anthropic Proposes $1.5 Billion Settlement Over ‘Stealing’ Books, the Largest Copyright Payout Ever

“This case was never just about app purchases — it was about what happens when a company quietly controls the choices and prices that millions of people rely on every day,” said Rayfield in a statement. “That kind of power affects households in [a] real way. This settlement begins to unwind that. This work is about giving families and small businesses a voice, and making sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Google Play button. Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Starting last week, on December 2, consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store began receiving notices about how the settlement funds would be distributed, per Rayfield’s press release.

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