Facebook users who filed a claim in parent company Meta’s $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal may soon get a payment.
It’s been over two years since Facebook users were able to file claims in Meta’s December 2022 settlement. The class-action lawsuit began after the social media giant said in 2018 that as many as 87 million Facebook users’ private information was obtained by data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, which had worked with President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Meta was accused of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties, including developers, advertisers and data brokers, to access private information about Facebook users. The social media giant was also accused of insufficiently managing third-party access to and use of user data.
Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Following the Cambridge Analytica incident, Facebook restricted third-party access to user data and “developed more robust tools” to inform users about how data is collected and shared, according to court documents.
Here’s what you need to know about the settlement payments.
Any US Facebook user who had an active account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, was eligible to file a claim, even if they have deleted the account.
The deadline to file was August 25, 2023. Almost 29 million claims were filed and about 18 million were validated as of September 2023, according to Meta’s response in a 2024 legal document.
According to the settlement site, payments would be determined by whether a claim was valid and “how long you were a user on Facebook” between .May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022. Those who did not file a claim are ineligible to receive a payment.
Two appeals were filed after the settlement that were not resolved until May 14, 2025, according to the settlement site.
The settlement was finalized on May 22, 2025, and on August 27, the court ordered that settlement benefits be distributed.
“The distribution of settlement benefits has commenced and will continue for approximately 10 weeks. We thank you in advance for your patience,” according to the site’s September 3 update.
Approved claims are notified by email up to four days before their payouts are issued.
Anyone who is unsure about the status of their claim can contact the settlement administrator at [email protected], with their claim ID.
Of the $725 million settlement fund, roughly $540 million will cover approved settlement claims.
According to the settlement plan, a system of “allocation points” will determine payments. One allocation point is assigned for each calendar month a person had a Facebook account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022.
“Class members who were active on Facebook longer, and who therefore may have more valuable claims, will receive a larger share of the settlement,” Meta said in the 2024 legal document.
Payments will either be sent directly to the bank account provided on the claim form, or via PayPal, a virtual prepaid Mastercard, Venmo or Zelle. Unsuccessful or expired payments will receive a “second chance email” to update the payment method.