Nest (Google)

Google DISABLES its Nest 'Familiar Faces' facial-recognition feature specifically in Illinois — the one state with a strong biometric consent law — while offering it elsewhere (Google's help page adds that, depending on where users live, they may need to get consent). That's effectively Google admitting the feature wouldn't survive a state that actually requires consent for facial scanning, and choosing not to fix that everywhere, only where it's legally forced to. As of July 2026, at least TWO separate lawsuits against Google target the same feature (Fennessy v. Google and Trevino v. Google, N.D. Cal.), alongside a parallel suit against Amazon's Ring: Nest cameras reportedly scan the face of ANYONE who walks into view — a neighbor out for a walk, a delivery driver, a friend visiting next door — mapping their exact facial geometry into a permanent biometric template, with no warning and no way to opt out, even for children. With smart doorbells and cameras now common in US households, plaintiffs allege Google can build biometric profiles of people who never bought a Nest device themselves, simply by living in a neighborhood that has one.

• Severity
• Evidence tierUnassigned
• Claims confirmed
• Last verified2026-08-04

Case status. Private litigation; the legal tier of its sources has not been assigned yet.

Primary source. www.classaction.org/news/google-lawsuit-claims-nest-cameras-doorbells-collect-facial-data-without-consent — Verified - primary source confirmed.

Arbitration

Not independently confirmed this pass — standard binding arbitration + class action waiver expected.

Data sharing

Referenced directly in the Fitbit row's acquisition-precedent discussion: when Google acquired Nest (2014), it initially kept Nest data SEPARATE from Google's broader ecosystem, then merged it in within about a year — explicitly cited by researchers as a cautionary precedent for how Google's 2019 promise to keep Fitbit data separate/ad-free might not hold indefinitely either. Nest's core products (smart cameras, thermostats, smoke detectors) collect in-home audio/video/presence data, placing it in the same 'in-home surveillance device' risk category as Ring/Amazon Alexa documented elsewhere in this tracker, and Nest-specific biometric suits were filed against Google in 2026 (see headline).

Contacts

Privacy contact. Not recorded.

Legal notice. Not verified this pass. If publicly traded: SEC Form 10-K cover page gives the official corporate address; the Secretary of State business-entity search in the state of incorporation gives the registered agent, which must accept service. If private: the state registered agent is usually the only reliable route.

Mailing address. Not recorded.