Home / Business and Economy / Millions of Facebook Users Receive Long-Awaited Privacy Settlement Payouts
Millions of Facebook Users Receive Long-Awaited Privacy Settlement Payouts
10 Sep
Summary
- $725 million privacy settlement for Facebook data breaches
- Payments started in September 2025, processed in batches
- Eligible users had active accounts between May 2007 and December 2022
After years of waiting, millions of Facebook users are now receiving payments from a $725 million privacy settlement. The settlement resolves claims that Facebook allowed personal information from millions of users to be accessed without consent, including by political consulting firms.
Payments started in September 2025 and will continue over about 10 weeks, processed in batches for approved claimants. Anyone in the U.S. with an active Facebook account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, who submitted a claim before August 2023 is eligible. Payouts are calculated using a points system, where each month of active account use counts as one point, so longer-term users will receive larger amounts.
The settlement comes from the 2018 discovery that Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from roughly 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app. This data was used to influence voter behavior in the 2016 U.S. election, raising huge concerns about data privacy. While the payouts may not be life-changing for most, the settlement is an important reminder that online data privacy is crucial and that companies can be held accountable for misusing personal information.
