Google is being sued for allegedly planting secret cookies on 5.4 million iPhone users

A campaigning group is suing Google on behalf of 5.4 million people over allegations that the company harvested personal information from iPhone users. 

"Google You Owe Us", led by ex-Which?director Richard Lloyd, claims Google illegally collected personal data from 5.4 million individuals in the UK between June 2011 and February 2012.

Using the so-called "Safari Workaround," Google allegedly placed cookies that tracked iPhones' internet browsing history, which the company then used to sell ads. 

The group believes those affected are eligible for compensation for violation of trust.

Lloyd told the FT he expected each claimant to receive "several hundred pounds" should the case be successful. 

The lawsuit is a type of collective action called "representative action," meaning the claim is brought on by one individual on behalf of those affected, who can opt out if they want (the group's FAQ sectionincludes a link to a form for people who do not wish to be part of the claim).

"Those affected do not have to pay any legal fees, conduct any research or (at this stage) contact any lawyers," the group said in a statement. "They are already part of the claim and will be updated on the progress of the claim through the website and social media."

A court date is expected to be set for early spring 2018. It's the first representative action of this kind in the UK against a major tech company that is centred on the alleged mass misuse of personal data, according to FT. 

Lloyd said: 

“I believe that what Google did was quite simply against the law. Their actions have affected millions, and we’ll be asking the courts to remedy this major breach of trust. 

Through this action, we will send a strong message to Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley that we’re not afraid to fight back if our laws are broken.

In all my years speaking up for consumers, I’ve rarely seen such a massive abuse of trust where so many people have no way to seek redress on their own. That’s why I’ve taken on one of the biggest fights of my life in representing this legal action, which is the first case of its kind in the UK against a major tech company for misusing our valuable personal data.

I want to spread the word about our claim. Google owes all of those affected fairness, trust and money. By joining together, we can show Google that they can’t get away with taking our data without our consent, and that no matter how large and powerful they are, nobody is above the law.”

Google said in a statement: "This is not new — we have defended similar cases before. We don't believe it has any merit and we will contest it."

Google launches 'Datally', a smart app that saves mobile data

Google has unveiled its latest product, Datally, a smart and simple Android app that helps smartphone users understand, control and save mobile data.

Datally, which works on all smartphones running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher, is available for download on the Google Play Store.

It was developed to help solve one of the biggest concerns of smartphone users around the world – data usage.

The company said: “During extensive user research around the world, we found that many smartphone users worry about running out of data, especially the new generation of internet users known as the ‘Next Billion Users’.

“Not only are they constantly thinking about data balances, but they do not understand where their data is going, nor do they feel like they can control allocating data to the apps they really care about.”

The app will empower users to manage their data more effectively on their smartphones through four key features:

Data Saver

Apps frequently use data in the background for updating content and information. Datally’s Data Saver feature lets users control data on an app-by-app basis, so that data only goes to apps they care about.

Data Saver bubble

Once Data Saver is turned on, Datally’s Data Saver bubble will appear when a user goes into an app. Whenever that app uses data, the Data Saver bubble will show the current rate of data usage, and users can easily choose to block that app’s data use if things start to get out of control. The Data Saver bubble is like a speedometer for mobile data.

Personalized alerts

Datally alerts users when apps start consuming a lot of data, and it allows them to see how much data they’ve used on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Wi-Fi finder

There are times when users want to use more data than they have on their mobile plans, such as when they want to watch HD videos. Public Wi-Fi is an important access point for high-bandwidth connectivity. Datally’s Find Wi-Fi feature reveals the networks nearby, rated by the Datally community. Once connected, users can rate the Wi-Fi networks based on their own experience.

“For the last few years, our Next Billion Users team has been doing a lot of research on the ground in fast-growing Internet countries like Nigeria. We have found that data is a major constraint for the next billion users”, said Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Google Nigeria Country Director.

“Introducing Datally into the Nigerian smartphone market will help users understand how to control their mobile data better.

“Google tested Datally in the Philippines for most of 2017, and the insights from the product test there shaped the final app. The user research showed that people testing the app saved up to 30% of their mobile data, depending on the way they used Datally.”