A class action lawsuit against Google for disclosing users’ referrer headers, which contain users’ search queries, to third parties, was settled for $23 million.
Google is still willing to give you some money even though it has denied any wrongdoing in the deal.
You can get a piece of the settlement by submitting a claim before July 31 if you used Google Search or clicked on a search link between October 25, 2006 and September 30, 2013.
You can submit a claim form by going to the Referer Header Settlement website and filling out a form there. The online form is also available for printing and mailing.
If your claim is accepted, you might earn around $7.70. Even if this figure might not appear impressive, Google will nevertheless pay for your coffee. That way, it doesn’t sound like such a big issue.
You also have the choice of staying silent, opting out of the settlement, or opposing if you believe the settlement should not be accepted if you don’t want to go through the hassle of bringing a claim.
Google has also agreed, as part of the settlement, to update its “FAQs” and “Key Terms” pages to reflect the disclosure of search queries via referrer headers to third parties.
