April 1 (Reuters) - Google agreed to destroy billions of

data records to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked

the internet use of people who thought they were browsing

privately.

Terms of the settlement were filed on Monday in the Oakland,

California federal court, and require approval by U.S. District

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs valued the accord at more than $5

billion, and as high as $7.8 billion. Though users will not

receive damages, they may still sue individually for damages.

The class action began in 2020, covering millions of Google

users who used private browsing since June 1, 2016.

Users alleged that Google's analytics, cookies and apps let

the Alphabet unit improperly track people who set

Google's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers

to "private" browsing mode.

They said this turned Google into an "unaccountable trove of

information" by letting it learn about their friends, favorite

foods, hobbies, shopping habits, and the "most intimate and

potentially embarrassing things" they hunt for online.

Under the settlement, Google will update disclosures about

what it collects in "private" browsing, a process it has already

begun. It will also let Incognito users block third-party

cookies for five years.

"The result is that Google will collect less data from

users' private browsing sessions, and that Google will make less

money from the data," the plaintiffs' lawyers wrote.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to court papers, Google supports final approval of

the settlement but disagrees with the plaintiffs' "legal and

factual characterizations."

David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement

called the settlement "a historic step in requiring honesty and

accountability from dominant technology companies."

A preliminary settlement had been reached in December,

advertising a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial. Terms were not

disclosed at the time. The plaintiffs' lawyers plan to later

seek unspecified legal fees payable by Google.

The case is Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District

Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664.