Rahul Somvanshi
That email from “Facebook User Privacy Settlement Administrator” sitting in your inbox? It’s legit. The long-awaited payouts from Meta’s massive privacy settlement are finally flowing to millions of Americans this month.
Meta agreed to pay $725 million after accusations that Facebook improperly shared user data with third parties. The Cambridge Analytica scandal sparked the lawsuit, though Meta never admitted wrongdoing throughout the legal battle.
Court records confirm roughly 28.6 million claims were filed, with approximately 19 million validated claims after removing duplicates and fraudulent submissions. Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco even remarked during a 2023 hearing: “I was kind of blown away by how many people made claims.”
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The payout math works like this: each valid claimant gets “allocation points” based on their Facebook usage – one point per month active between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022. Your slice of the settlement depends on your percentage of the total points pool.
But don’t expect a windfall. After attorneys take their $181.25 million cut (plus $4.1 million in expenses) and lead plaintiffs receive $120,000 collectively ($15,000 each for eight representatives), the remaining $540+ million gets divided among users. Court documents reveal payments range from a minimum of $4.89 up to $38.36 (for 188 months, the maximum). The average payment is $29.42.
Angeion, the settlement administrator, began distribution in late August/early September 2025. They’ll continue sending payments in batches over ten weeks, so watch your inbox for notification. No immediate action is needed from approved claimants – whether you chose Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, prepaid Mastercard, direct deposit, or paper check, your payment is coming automatically. However, if an electronic payment fails, the administrator may contact you to fix it.
The settlement covers all U.S. Facebook users from May 24, 2007 through December 22, 2022. Payments vary based on account duration, with a minimum payment of $4.89 set.
The payment distribution process has started and will continue for approximately 10 weeks. You should monitor email — the administrator says you’ll get an additional notification approximately 3–4 days before your payment is issued.
