Google `paid $1bn for search on iPhone`

Google paid tech rival Apple $1bn in 2014 to keep its search function the default option on iOS devices.

A transcript of court proceedings from a copyright lawsuit against Google allegedly contains reference to a deal between the Silicon Valley firms.

The alleged agreement involves Google paying Apple a percentage of revenue - as much as 34% - gained through iOS devices.

Both companies declined to comment.

Bloomberg added that the referenced document has since been removed from the web.

"The transcript vanished without a trace from electronic court records at about 15:00," the report noted.

The court proceedings in question regard a lawsuit by Oracle Corp. in which the firm claims that Google used its Java software to develop Android but failed to pay for it. -BBC