If you’re one of the nearly 18 million Facebook users who signed up to receive a slice of the company’s $725 million settlement pie, your long-awaited payout is coming soon.
That is, if you haven’t already received it. The first payments started rolling out after a court order in late August, and they’ll continue to roll out in September and October, according to the settlement’s website.
Your share — after 25% goes to the lawyers, plus other litigation costs — is expected to range from about $5 to $39, depending on how long you used Facebook during a 15-year period from 2007 to 2022. The average payment is estimated to be about $28.
But if you didn’t previously join the class-action lawsuit, you’re out of luck. The deadline to do so passed more than two years ago.
The money is making its way to users after Facebook’s parent company, Meta, agreed in late 2022 to put an end to multiple class-action lawsuits claiming it had breached the privacy of its users by allowing third parties to use their personal information. That includes advertisers, data brokers and the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was embroiled in a scandal over capitalizing on Facebook users’ data to profile and target voters. Among the firm’s clients were Republicans and their causes, including Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for president.
More than 250 million users were estimated as potentially eligible “class members” in the litigation, 28 million filed claims to be a part of the settlement and nearly 18 million were validated by the court, according to court documents.
Payments are being made over various platforms, including PayPal, Venmo, Zelle and through prepaid digital Mastercards.
If you’re due the cash, the settlement website states that you’ll receive a notification email three to four days before you’re paid. If you’re unsure if you’ve been paid yet or have other questions, you can email inquiries to info@facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. But you must include your claim ID number.
Meanwhile, distributors of this massive pool of money are aware that scammers may seize on the opportunity to trick Facebook users into handing over sensitive information, under the guise that it’s necessary to get their payments. The settlement website warns that the company distributing the settlement money will not ask users for their Social Security numbers, won’t ask for any payment from users in order for them to receive the settlement money and won’t text settlement recipients or ask them to send texts in return.
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
