Google to Pay $135 million in Lawsuit for Illegal Data Collection

In a lawsuit filed on behalf of Android users accusing Google of harvesting data without consent. The lawsuit alleges that since November 12, 2017, Google has been illegally collecting cellular data from phones purchased through carriers, even when apps were closed or location features were disabled.

Reported by Reuters, the affected users believe Google was using their data for marketing and product development, meaning Google is guilty of “conversion.” Conversion, according to the US law, means to exercise unlawful dominion or control over another person’s property, depriving the owner of its use.

Pending approval from a judge, a settlement of $135 million was filed in federal court in San Jose early last week. According to Glen Summers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, the payout could be one the largest ever in case of this kind.

Each user involved in the lawsuit would be entitled to upwards of $100 from Google. The company denies any wrongdoing and has agreed to ask for consent during setup of a new device moving forward.

A trial is scheduled for August 5. This is the second settlement for Google this year, the company agreed to a $68 million settlement for allegedly listening to conversations through their phones.

After US Takes Control of TikTok, Users Jumping to UpScrolled

Last week, the US took ownership of TikTok. There has been mention of Tik Tok creators making lower earnings, and some users worried that after the US takeover, political content on the platform may be suppressed through changes to the algorithm. Since then, users have been flocking to the it’s competitor, UpScrolled.

An uptick of new users caused the servers to overload. The founder and CEO of the platform Issam Hijazi, posted on Sunday, January 25, “Crazy load on our servers. So exciting! Sorry about the errors and glitches, we are increasing our capacity to handle the load. We expect things to become more stable in the next 12-24 hours.”

UpScrolled was launched in 2025 by Hijazi as an alternative to social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. It allows users to share videos, photos, and text posts. It has a discover feed that orders content by likes, comments, and reshares, “plus a touch of randomness to ensure every post still has a chance to be seen.”

UpScrolled has stated it is developing more feeds that may use AI to recommend a content creator based on your past behavior but says it will make this “opt-in, fair, and transparent.”

Nex Playground Console Lets the Family Get in on the Fun

The Nex Playground had been compared to Microsoft’s Kinect but better. It’s a game system that can track up to four players and has hundreds of games for the family to enjoy. For a market that is controlled by big time companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, Nex Playground sold 650,000 units in 2025. According to Engadget, it was given a score of 88/100.

It comes with 5 games as a starter pack: Whac-a-Mole, Party Fowl, Fruit Ninja, Starri, and Go Keeper. There are some pros and cons that come with this console: