Google might end up giving 4.4 million iPhone users $1,000 each: Here’s why

Representative Image | Image Credit: Pixabay 

Google on Monday appeared in a UK court to defend itself in a privacy case which could see the tech giant losing up to $4.4 billion in payouts, if it loses the case. For the unknown, Google has been corned off by around 4.4 million iPhone users in the UK who have alleged that the Internet company violated their privacy between 2011 to 2012 through the help of "Safari Workaround."

The group representing these iPhone users is known as 'Google You Owe Us' and has alleged that the Alphabet unit unlawfully collected its members’ personal data by bypassing Apple iPhone’s default privacy settings. While potential damages are yet to be determined, the 'Google You Owe Us' group has suggested that each individual might receive some pounds if the case turns into their favour, Google said in court documents.

While Apple's iOS devices come with default privacy settings on the Safari browser, Google was somehow able to bypass it while collecting browser data without the users’ consent, according to the allegations. The Safari workaround was first discovered in mid-2012 by a Stanford University researcher and Google agreed to pay $17 million to some 37 states and Washington, DC as part of the settlement in 2013. 

The tech-giant also agreed to pay a sum of $22.5 million as fine to the Federal Trade Commission in relation to the data-tracking practice. According to Bloomberg, Google and the 'Google You Owe Us' group met in court for the first time on Monday with the court documents revealing that millions of affected iPhone users from the UK could receive around $1,000 each.

"The privacy and security of our users are extremely important to us. This case relates to events that took place over six years ago and that we addressed at the time. We believe it has no merit and should be dismissed," said Tom Price, who is Google UK's communications director.

Google argued in court on Monday that the case should be right away dismissed, saying that there was no way in order to verify if an iPhone user was affected by the Safari Workaround or not, the Guardian reported.