President Donald Trump pleaded ignorance Sunday when asked about a Texas Republican he endorsed just days ago losing big in a deep red district Trump carried by more than 17 percentage points.

Trump posted his support for candidate Leigh Wambsganss on Friday, writing, “I am asking all America First Patriots in Texas’ 9th State Senate District to please make a plan to GET OUT AND VOTE on Election Day, Saturday, January 31st, for a phenomenal Candidate, Leigh Wambsganss.” That Friday post was one of several he made about the race — in an effort to get Texas Republicans to rally behind Wambsganss. Wambsganss ended up losing by double digits to Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a local union leader.

When asked about the trouncing at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, Trump scrambled to distance himself from the unflattering result.

“I don’t know,” Trump said. “I did not hear about it. Somebody ran it where?”

Several reporters clarified that they wanted his reaction to the Texas race.

“I’m not involved at that. That’s a local Texas race,” Trump said.

Another reporter added, “You endorsed the Republican —” when Trump cut him off.

“You mean I won by 17 and this person lost? Things like that happen,” the president said.

“Does it worry you —” a reporter began.

“Well, you don’t know whether or not it’s transferrable, but I’m not on the ballot, so you don’t know whether or not it’s transferrable.”

Trump continued, “You put the Democrats in you’ll end up with open borders again, you’ll end up with crime all over the place. We have no crime anymore. I mean, think of it, the country has the lowest crime it’s had a 125 years. In recorded history. The year 1900, that’s a long time ago. So, it’s very good. No, I don’t know anything about it, I mean I know there’s a race going there. That’s too bad. What can I say? I have nothing to do with it.”

Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement Saturday, “In a Trump +17 district, Republicans had to go all out and still lost this race. Tonight’s results prove that no Republican seat is safe.”

Political pundits have claimed the Republicans face a reckoning in the upcoming midterm elections over Trump’s unpopular policies on deportation and affordability.

Saturday’s result is sure to invite speculation that Trump will get involved in the high-stakes Texas primary for U.S. Senate — a race which some believe could swing control of the chamber. Trump has hesitated to endorse Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), or either of his two main challengers — Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX). But on Sunday, Trump was asked whether he planned to back one of the candidates, and responded that he was “giving it very serious thought.”

“My problem is, I’m friendly with all of them,” Trump said. “Those of the hard ones — I like all of them. All three. You’ll be seeing soon, okay? They say whoever I endorse wins. That’s probably right.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

The post Trump Flails After Candidate He Endorsed Got Clobbered in Texas District He Won By 17 Points: ‘I Had Nothing to Do With it!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

After a dismal pre-opening projection, and then a much sunnier mid-weekend forecast, MELANIA’s opening weekend box office topped the latter, but fell short of the former.

Industry reports out Sunday reveal that the new documentary about First Lady Melania Trump pulled in $7.04 million over the weekend while playing in 1,778 North American theaters. That figure is well ahead of the $3-5 million which was initially projected earlier in the week, but does represent a solid dip from where the box office haul was expected to land after a better-than-expected performance on Friday and early Saturday.

As of Saturday afternoon, MELANIA was projected to finish in third place over the weekend with $8.1 million in ticket sales — a figure which caught industry observers off guard.

“No one saw that coming, with many suggesting Melania was a bomb before it even opened based on empty, or nearly empty, seat maps in cinemas across the country,” The Hollywood Observer’s Pamela McClintock wrote.

But the final total of just above $7 million will reinforce the idea among some critics that MELANIA should ultimately go down as a box office bomb. Amazon plunked down $40 million to make MELANIA (with at least $28 million going to the first lady herself), and $35 million to market it.

The film was almost universally panned by critics, but received high audience response scores on several websites — although many of the user reviews on the website Rotten Tomatoes appear to have come from brand new accounts.

——

The post JUST IN: Final Numbers for MELANIA Slide After Rosy Saturday Projection, Doc Pulls in Just Over $7M in First Weekend Box Office first appeared on Mediaite.

Pete Buttigieg — the Transportation Secretary under former President Joe Biden and potential Democratic 2028 presidential candidate — torpedoed Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany’s claim that the American people “stand” with President Donald Trump’s deportation forces.

Buttigieg appeared on McEnany’s show, Saturday in America, where he argued that Americans believe “we need a different direction” on deportation tactics, as evidenced by the shooting deaths of two people this month in Minneapolis.

“It’s a tragedy any time an American citizen dies, absolutely,” McEnany said. “We heard Tom Homan this week talk about how he prays every time before he goes out. He doesn’t want even the illegal immigrant who might have a criminal record to be harmed in the process of obtaining them.”

McEnany continued, “But at the same time, Americans clearly called for immigration enforcement. They called for not a lawless southern border where two million gotaways happened during the Biden administration. So what’s the response to those in your party who are saying ‘abolish ICE?’ ‘Cause that is not where the American people stand.”

“Yeah, I think Americans want and expect that we’ll have a secure border, understand that we have immigration laws, and that those immigration laws have to be enforced,” Buttigieg said. “But what we’re seeing is not that. What we’re seeing is, the people who are supposed to be enforcing the law are breaking the law. It’s been held in court that they have violated countless court orders, and the people they’re going after are not — increasingly and proportionally — not just the person we can all agree needs to be deported and dealt with, somebody with a criminal record.”

He continued:

But when you see a 5-year-old kid in a Spiderman backpack being treated — being incarcerated — this way, when you see people who did follow the rules, follow the laws, did everything they’re supposed to and they are still getting arrested, mistakenly deported, having their rights violated. When you see an American — this photo of an American woman opening the door to her home and on her doorstep finds half a dozen agents, federal agents, in tactical gear that is more tricked out than what I would take outside the wire when I was in Afghanistan, again, on the door of an American porch — I think most people get that is wrong. It is not making us safer.

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

The post Pete Buttigieg Torpedoes Fox Host’s Claim Americans ‘Stand’ With Trump Deportation Forces first appeared on Mediaite.

LEFT: Don Lemon (Screenshot) RIGHT: Pam Bondi (Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo/X)

Conservative legal commentator and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy delivered warnings to both Don Lemon — the former CNN journalist who has been arrested in connection with his alleged participation with a protest that interrupted a St. Paul church service — and the Department of Justice on Friday.

In a column for National Review, McCarthy reminded readers of a point he has previously made: “Assuming there is an indictment, whether now or in the near future, if Lemon is going to have to try to get the case thrown out on a pretrial motion to dismiss; the First Amendment does not protect a journalist from being charged with a crime; it may protect him from being convicted.”

“The Justice Department gives the press a wide berth based on regulations and norms that honor the First Amendment’s acknowledgment of a free press; there is a reluctance to prosecute or compel the production of information. But the Constitution is not a press shield,” argued the former federal prosecutor. “If a reporter violates a criminal statute — whether or not ostensibly in the course of journalistic reporting — the First Amendment does not immunize the reporter from prosecution.”

“On the other hand, if a reporter truly was acting as a journalist, that may influence a court’s assessment of whether ambiguous evidence shows true criminally culpability. For example, unless there is evidence of involvement in conspiratorial planning or hands-on forcible activity, it would be tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a reporter who was merely present at a riot was not investigating it for journalistic purposes, rather than actionably participating in it,” concluded McCarthy, who noted that there is a “much lower standard” for securing an indictment than convicting a defendant.

The post Fox’s Andy McCarthy Warns Don Lemon He’s Not Immune From Prosecution — But Says It Will Be ‘Tough’ to Convict Him first appeared on Mediaite.

https://enterprise.shutterstock.com/image-photo/openai-logo-displayed-on-smartphone-screen-2520388517

or

https://enterprise.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chatgpt-logo-displayed-on-smartphone-screen-2520385879

Last August, ChatGPT developers OpenAI unceremoniously killed the fan favorite GPT-4o model, before giving in to complaints and bringing it back a week later. Now, the company's taking a second swing at getting its users to move on. In a new post to its website, OpenAI announced that it's retiring GPT-4o again.

The model's set to disappear from ChatGPT's model picker on Feb. 13, alongside other older models like GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-Mini. And OpenAI is clearly nervous about the decision.

"While the announcement applies to several older models," OpenAI wrote, "GPT-4o deserves special context."

According to the company, it has taken user outcry over the initial deprecation of 4o to heart while developing its newest models, GPT-5.1 and GPT-5.2, and has built these models with the idea of maintaining the features fans liked best about the old model. The company says that now "only 0.1% of users" opt for GPT-4o on a daily basis.

As such, the company wants to focus on "improving the models most people use today," which apparently means removing older ones. "We know that losing access to GPT-4o will feel frustrating for some users, and we didn't make this decision lightly," the post reads.

What's the big deal with GPT-4o?

So, what's with OpenAI treating its users so gingerly, especially when GPT-4o is a few generations behind, and there are newer models that supposedly do everything it does, but better?

Well, when GPT-4o was first deprecated, people weren't happy. Users called its successor, GPT-5, "an unmitigated disaster," and accused OpenAI of pulling "the biggest bait-and-switch in AI history."

Some criticized the model's usefulness, saying it got answers wrong and broke code, but what maybe stuck out the most was people calling out its more concise tone.

GPT-4o has been called "sycophantic" by critics, something the company addressed and said it wanted to pull back on in future updates. But I guess one person's "yes man" is another person's "active listener." When the company initially pulled GPT-4o, users complained that its replacement was cold and felt less like a "friend." Even OpenAI acknowledged this, saying in today's post that users "preferred GPT-4o's conversational style and warmth."

In short, in the words of 4o-supporters themselves, they were "grieving" the model.

Is GPT-5.2 a good replacement for 4o?

That said, with so many users now seeming to have moved on from 4o, OpenAI's decision does seem understandable on the surface. Personally, one of the things that drives me away from AI is how much reassuring filler text seems to fluff up most answers ("you're absolutely right" and such), seemingly just to make me feel good about myself. More concise, to-the-point responses would be a little less off-putting for me.

To try to split the difference, OpenAI reworked its Personalization feature in GPT-5.1, so users can simply choose how the chatbot will treat them. There are options for more professional responses, more nerdy ones, more efficient ones, and for those who want that active listener style, more friendly ones.

Going by OpenAI's numbers, that seems to have been enough for most people, but there are still some calling foul at the company's new announcement.

GPT-4o loyalists are still out there

In a Reddit thread responding to OpenAI's new posts, users doubted that the 0.1% number for 4o was accurate, saying that prompts have been "rerouting to 5.2 no matter what" and that "something somewhere in their calculations doesn't add up." Others pointed out that free users can't use GPT-4o and that it's not enabled by default, which will naturally juice the numbers against it.

As such, calls to cancel ChatGPT subscriptions are once again circulating amongst 4o's more dedicated fans. In a popular thread on the OpenAI subreddit, one user called 4o "OpenAI's most advanced and beloved model," and praised its "personality, warmth, and consistency," saying that its fans have built long-term project and "emotional support routines" around it, and that suddenly losing it without even the option for a legacy mode "feels abrupt and deeply disappointing."

"This isn't about resisting innovation," the post writes. "It's about respecting bonds users have formed with specific models."

Whether the fan outcry will work again remains to be seen. However, as ChatGPT chief Nick Turley has previously looked at those kinds of bonds with skepticism, and because keeping old models in operating condition probably takes developer resources away from making new ones, I wouldn't count on it.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Zendaya is busy. Euphoria, which she produces in addition to starring in, is finally set to return for its third season on April 12, four years after our last visit to East Highland, and nearly seven since it premiered.

As frustrating as these between-season breaks can be, they leave plenty of time to explore other tales of the wild lives of high schoolers. It's all relative, though: While growing up in never a picnic, there's drama, and then there's drama. These 15 streamalikes vary widely in tone and style, but they all make clear that being a young person in the 21st century is not f*cking easy. Stream the first two seasons of Euphoria on HBO Max.

The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021 – 2025)

Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) is an endlessly naïve scholarship student; Bela (Amrit Kaur) is an aspiring comedy writer on the make for the hottest guys; Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) is an overachieving athlete and senator’s daughter;and Leighton (Reneé Rapp) is a closeted sorority girl. They're all randomly assigned to room together as freshmen at the fictional Essex College in Vermont. Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, this comedy-drama isn't nearly as salacious as its title suggests. There's sex for sure, but like Sex and the City before it, the funny, queer-friendly show is more about female friendship. Stream The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max.

The Sex Lives of College Girls

at HBO Max

Learn More

Learn More

at HBO Max

My Mad Fat Diary (2013 – 2015)

Period drama is having a moment, and this one goes way, way back...to the 1990s. This British comedy-drama stars the brilliant Sharon Rooney (you might know her as Lawyer Barbie) as Rae Earl, a 16-year-old who just spent several months in a psychiatric hospital for a cocktail of mental health issues, poor body image being near the top of that list. Heading back to school, she tries to conceal the truth of her absence and ongoing challenges—with expectedly mixed results. Despite the show's comedy elements, it's about as good a narrative about growing up with serious mental health issues as you're likely to find. Rooney won a well-deserved Best Actress BAFTA for her performance. Stream My Mad Fat Diary on Prime Video, Hulu, and Tubi.

My Mad Fat Diary

at Prime Video

Learn More

Learn More

at Prime Video

Boarders (2024 – )

This British import feels a bit like a latter-day Skins, featuring a scholastic setting and a talented cast of young stars-in-waiting (including leads Josh Tedeku and Jodie Campbell). At the (fictional) prestigious boarding school St. Gilbert’s, five Black teens are newly attending on scholarships, but their integration into the existing cliques is less than smooth. The blend of coming-of-age drama with a willingness to take the piss when it comes to the whole "rich private school thing" makes this Tubi original a smashing good time. Stream Boarders on Tubi.

Boarders (2024 – )

at Tubi

Learn More

Learn More

at Tubi

Gossip Girl (2007 – 2012)

Teen drama at its finest and most bitchy, Gossip Girl follows the many scandals of a group of young Upper East Side socialites and hangers-on. The tangled teenage lives of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), her best frenemy Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), scholarship kid Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), and plenty more pretty young boys and girls are chronicled in meticulous detail by the title's mysterious, omnipresent Gossip Girl (voiced by Kristen Bell). This one shares with Emily an impeccable sense of style, as its leads never miss a fashion beat. It all seems a bit tame when help up to Euphoria, but the show carved a path nonetheless, scandalizing parents in the mid-aughts. (The two-season 2021 follow-up is also available on HBO Max.) Stream Gossip Girl on HBO Max and Netflix.

Gossip Girl

at HBO Max

Learn More

Learn More

at HBO Max

Prisma (2022 – 2024)

Andrea and Marco are twin brothers (both played by Mattia Carrano) with a broad circle of friends living in modern day Italy. Marco has a history of self-harm that impacted his burgeoning swimming career, while Andrea has a secret social media life,messaging men while presenting as a woman. Sexual and gender exploration is the prime mover here, but the show also deals realistically with issues like drugs and bullying and any number of other coming-of-age trials. A bit of a hidden gem. Stream Prisma on Prime Video.

Prisma (2022 – 2024)

Learn More

Learn More

Elite (2018 – 2024)

With a bit of Gossip Girl’s juicy style, Elite follows a group of working-class friends who wind up with scholarships to Las Encinas, a fictional private school that is, in the show’s universe, the most exclusive in Spain. What they find there is snobbery, for sure, but also mystery, murder, and lots and lots of sex (between and among characters of various sexual orientations and numerical groupings). The smart, wonderfully trashy show ran for an almost shocking (in our modern streaming era) eight seasons, with a couple of regional remakes. Stream Elite on Netflix.

Elite (2018 – 2024)

at Netflix

Learn More

Learn More

at Netflix

Blood & Water (2020 – )

This top-tier teen drama stars Ama Qamata as Puleng Khumalo, a teenage girl who’s lived her entire life in the shadow of a sister who was taken as a baby by human traffickers (Puleng’s parents still hold a birthday celebration for the sister each year). When invited to a party by popular Fikile Bhele (Khosi Ngema), a student at an elite school in Cape Town, Puleng can’t help noticing their similarities. Steeped in the story of her sister, Puleng transfers to the school to get to the bottom of things. There’s plenty of juicy high school drama and family secrets in the mix, but the show is elevated by its unexpected dramatic heft and a multitude of queer characters and storylines. (This is ostensibly a South Africa remake of Elite, but its flavor and sense of identity are so unique that you'd hardly notice.) Stream Blood & Water on Netflix.

Blood & Water (2020 – )

at Netflix

Learn More

Learn More

at Netflix

Overcompensating (2025 – )

Comedian Benito Skinner plays himself, sort of, in this buzzy comedy that sees a former high school jock facing his freshman year in college while desperately trying to convince himself and everyone else that he's as straight as they come (relatable, except for the jock part). Much of the appeal is in its deft blending of tones: It's a frequently raunchy college comedy and simultaneously a sweet coming-of-age story about accepting yourself without worrying about what everyone else thinks. The cast includes Adam DiMarco (The White Lotus) and Rish Shah (Ms. Marvel) and while it definitely doesn't go as hard as Euphoria, there are moments of real drama and heartbreak. Stream Overcompensating on Prime Video.

Overcompensating (2025 – )

at Prime Video

Learn More

Learn More

at Prime Video

Sex Education (2019 – 2023)

Many of us come from families with philosophies that could be described as less than sex positive. Which is not great. This popular British series imagines the life of a teenager with a parent on the opposite end of that spectrum: Mom (Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist who’s not particularly good at romantic relationships. As a result, Asa Butterfield’s Otis Milburn grew up with an ambivalence toward the topic—a lack of interest that held until he realized that his inside knowledge of doing the deed could earn him friends (and paying customers) at school. Alongside some classmates, he establishes his own clinic to help his fellow students with their sexual concerns. In the process, Otis, and the show, address a wide range of issues, from birth control and abortion, to masturbation, sexually transmitted diseases, and developing sexual identities. Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who) also star. Stream Sex Education on Netflix.

Sex Education

at Netflix

Learn More

Learn More

at Netflix

Industry (2020 – )

Industry isn’t concerned with a power struggle among people at the top of the ladder; instead, its focus is the fight to climb said ladder. The young wannabe investment bankers it follows would all love to be the terrible rich people from that other show. The main characters come from a variety of backgrounds, but they’re all competing for a limited number of permanent positions at the fictional Pierpoint & Co., a London bank, and they’ll do anything it takes to earn their shot at the big prize. The setting here is seemingly very different from Euphoria's vague greater Los Angeles, and the whole investment banking thing hardly doesn't line up with the trials of high school, but there's a a definite vibe match, as young people face high pressure situations and fight to stay above water in a world rife with traps and temptations. Stream Industry on HBO Max.

Industry (2020 – )

at HBO Max

Learn More

Learn More

at HBO Max

We Are Who We Are (2020)

Director Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Queer) created this series about two American teenagers, Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seamón), living with their families on a U.S. military base in Chioggia, Italy. Fraser's two moms are both in the army, but he's new to base life. Caitlin, on the other hand, has lived in Chioggia for years with her conservative father. Over the course of a summer, the two gradually bond over their mutual feelings of isolation, as well as their explorations of gender and sexuality. Stream We Are Who We Are on HBO Max.

We Are Who We Are

at HBO Max

Learn More

Learn More

at HBO Max

Baby (2018 – 2020)

As with many teen dramas, Baby kicks off at an elite boarding school (poor kids come of age too, ya know), but this one has a fairly wild spin: It's based (quite loosely) on a real-life Italian scandal involving teen sex workers. Benedetta Porcaroli (Immaculate) stars as Chiara, a rich kid who makes a new bestie in Ludovica (Alice Pagani), who needs money and happens to know a very sketchy guy who might be able to help her earn it. The tone is somehow less lascivious than the premise suggests, although the sex-work-as-teenage-rebellion angle is not for every taste. Stream Baby on Netflix.

Baby (2018 – 2020)

at Netflix

Learn More

Learn More

at Netflix

Heartbreak High (2022 – )

There’s a lot of backstory here that you don’t really need to know to enjoy the show, but in brief, Heartbreak High is a sorta soft-reboot of a popular and long-running 1990s show in Australia, which was itself a spin-off from a 1993 movie. There’s a solid blend of teen drama (sealing with issues related to gender identity, race, and teen sexuality) and comedy (the main characters corralled into the Sexual Literacy Tutorial, with the unfortunate acronym SLT). It all starts with Amelie and Harper, two students at a diverse Sydney high school, who set off a firestorm when they create a detailed map of the sexual exploits of the student body. Stream Heartbreak High on Netflix.

Heartbreak High (2022 – )

at Netflix

Learn More

Learn More

at Netflix

Riverdale (2017 – 2023)

"What the hell is this doing here?" you're probably asking yourself. And, fair. But hear me out: This reimagining of the once entirely wholesome Archie comics universe is generally way over-the-top, but it tackles the trials and tribulations of growing up (including recurring storylines involving substance abuse) in a similarly...let's say "operatic" fashion. It veers wildly between genres, starting out by blending several coming-of-age storylines with a hot-for-teacher whodunnit: The dour, elderly Miss Grundy of the comics is younged up and is having an affair with Archie in the series opener, leading in to a bloody murder mystery. Before long, we're folding in supernatural horror and alternate universes, things made all the weirder by the way the show seems to take itself absolutely seriously in the face of one bonkers plot twist after another. It's the whackadoo comic-book version of Euphoria. Steam Riverdale on Netflix.

Riverdale (2017 – 2023)

at Netflix

Get Deal

Get Deal

at Netflix

Skins (2007 – 2013)

The popular and controversial British series launched names like Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya, and Dev Patel while dealing with hot-button issues like mental illness, substance abuse, and bullying. The show also never forgets—not even for one episode—that it's about teenagers, and doesn't shy away from the sex lives of its large (and ever-changing) cast of characters. There's a pretty straight line to be drawn between the success of Skins and that of Euphoria. Stream Skins on Hulu.

Skins (2007 – 2013)

at Hulu

Learn More

Learn More

at Hulu

To avoid a court proceeding, Google has agreed to a $135 million class-action settlement over its data collection practices with Android. News of the settlement was first reported by Reuters. Upon approval by a judge, the settlement could see Android users in the U.S. getting up to $100 each, provided they qualify.

The settlement was filed in San Jose, California on Tuesday evening, and focused on claims that Google collected unnecessary cellular data from customers even when Google apps were closed, location-sharing was disabled, and screens were locked. The lawsuit alleges that Google collected the data with the intent of "conversion," a legal term that in this case would likely mean using the captured data for product development and targeted advertising.

Google denied any wrongdoing, but as part of the settlement, agreed to not transfer data during Android set-up without consent from the user. The company will also initiate new toggles within Android to stop further cellular data transfers, and disclose any data transfers in its Google Play terms of service.

According to Glen Summers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, the $135 million payout is the largest ever in a conversion case. While the settlement is still awaiting approval from a judge, given Summers' comments, it's likely the plaintiffs will accept it. Here's how to determine if you can claim your slice of that pie.

Who is eligible for a payment in the Android settlement?

Google's settlement covers a fairly wide swath of users: anyone who has used an "Android-powered mobile device" since Nov 12, 2017. However, there appear to be a few caveats. Specifically, because the class-action applies to cellular data, it's unlikely to apply to users of any wifi-only devices, like many Android tablets.

How much you can get in the Android settlement

Payments for the class-action settlement cap out at $100 per class member, although it's unclear whether all users can expect to get that much. Reuters states that lawyers for the class-action may seek up to roughly 30% of the settlement in legal fees, and while there aren't any official numbers on how many Android users there are in the U.S., estimates from third-party firms place the count at roughly 40% of the mobile market overall. As such, $135 million might be spread pretty thin across all eligible class members.

When payments could go out

An initial trial date for the case was originally scheduled for Aug. 5, although the judge could approve the settlement prior to then. Class-action settlements can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to be approved, in order to ensure the settlement is fair to all class members and doesn't show any signs of collusion.

How you'll know when a payment has been sent

The methods of contacting eligible class members varies from case to case. In some instances, payment is automatic. However, in many cases, a website is set up where users must file a claim, and physical mail and emails are sent out with PIN numbers and IDs to ensure as many class members know about their eligibility as possible. The company offering the settlement is often involved in sending out these notices, so if you believe you're affected, keep an eye out for an email or physical letter from Google, as well as for a settlement website to be set up.

If you believe you're eligible but don't receive any communication, there will also usually be an email address you can contact. This email address will usually be specific to the case, and while it hasn't been revealed yet, it might be worth reaching out to Google Support if you're worried about missing any deadlines.

Other current Google settlements you may qualify for

Google's data collection settlement isn't its only big class action payout as of late. The company also recently agreed to pay $68 million in another settlement involving Google Assistant after an accusation that it listened in on users without their consent. Google also denied wrongdoing in this instance.

If approved, the settlement will apply to anyone who had at least one device with Google Assistant pre-installed on it as early as 2016. Those who purchased the device will receive anywhere from $18 to $56, while those who lived in a household with one of these devices in it could earn $2 to $10. Steps for receiving your money will likely be similar to those in the Android data collection case.