Eligible Hoosiers will share an estimated $10.5 million from Google settlement

Eligible Hoosiers will share an estimated $10.5 million from Google settlement

Attorney General Todd Rokita provides details on what to expect

Attorney General Todd Rokita announced today that eligible Hoosiers can start taking steps to receive their share of approximately $10.5 million coming to Indiana consumers as part of a $700 million national settlement that Attorney General Rokita and other attorneys general reached with Google in 2023 over the company's alleged anticompetitive conduct with the Google Play Store.

"This is a big win for all Hoosiers and consumers nationwide," Attorney General Rokita said. "For too long, big tech corporations have leveraged their monopoly power to extract profits at the expense of hardworking Americans. This final settlement, if approved, will put money back in the pockets of those it rightfully belongs to."

Google has already paid $630 million into a settlement fund, from which restitution will be made to consumers. People eligible for restitution do not have to submit a claim. In most cases, they will receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or they can elect to receive a check or ACH transfer.

Nonetheless, Attorney General Rokita advised Hoosiers to be proactive.

"All Hoosiers who have or had a Google Play account should visit the settlement website and enter your contact information," Attorney General Rokita said. "Doing so now will ensure that applicable consumers are notified once the final settlement has been approved by the court and funds start dispersing."

The settlement website is linked here.

Beyond the $10.5 million in restitution paid to individual Hoosiers, the State of Indiana will also receive an anticipated $1.4 million in penalties paid by Google. Updated calculations will produce more precise monetary figures in the weeks to come.

A bipartisan group of 53 attorneys general sued Google in 2021, alleging that it unlawfully monopolized the markets for Android app distribution and in-app payment processing. Specifically, the states claimed that Google signed anticompetitive contracts to prevent other app stores from being preloaded on Android devices, induced key app developers who might have launched rival app stores, and created technological barriers to deter consumers from directly downloading apps to their devices.

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.

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.

The agreement also requires Google to reform its business practices in the following ways:

• Give all developers the ability to allow users to pay through in-app billing systems other than Google Play Billing for at least five years.
• Allow developers to offer cheaper prices for their apps and in-app products for consumers who use alternative, non-Google billing systems for at least five years.
• Permit developers to steer consumers toward alternative, non-Google billing systems by advertising cheaper prices within their apps themselves for at least five years.
• Not enter contracts that require the Play Store to be the exclusive, pre-loaded app store on a device or home screen for at least five years.
• Allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least seven years.
• Revise and reduce the warnings that appear on an Android device if a user attempts to download a third-party app from outside the Google Play Store for at least 5 years.
• Maintain Android system support for third-party app stores, including allowing automatic updates, for four years.
• Not require developers to launch their app catalogs on the Play Store at the same time as they launch on other app stores for at least four years.
• Submit compliance reports to an independent monitor who will ensure that Google is not continuing its anticompetitive conduct for at least 5 years.

For much of this case, the attorneys general litigated alongside Epic Games and Match, two major app developers. Match announced a separate settlement in 2023 while Epic Games took its case to trial. A jury unanimously found that Google's anticompetitive conduct violated federal antitrust laws.

Attorneys general from all 50 states participated in this lawsuit - along with attorneys general from the District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

A headshot of Attorney General Rokita is available for download.

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