Most people probably still remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where personal data on millions of Facebook users was collected by Cambridge Analytica without consent for political advertising.
In the aftermath of a lawsuit, Facebook agreed in 2019 to pay a $5 billion fine to the FTC. Then in 2022, Facebook settled a separate class-action lawsuit that sought damages for users affected, agreeing to pay $725 million to said users for its improper data sharing with third parties.
Now, in 2025, that settlement appears to be bearing fruit with users starting to receive payment. Currently, there are only reports from sites such as Android Authority and Android Police with users claiming to receive a settlement payment of around $38.
Who’s getting paid?
Basically, all Facebook users who had an account on the social media platform between May 7th, 2007 and December 22nd, 2022 are entitled to the payout, as they’re most likely affected by the data scandal.
However, in order to receive payment, you must also assert your claim—which means you needed to join the class action and submit a claim before the August 25th, 2023 deadline. If you didn’t submit your claim by the deadline, you’re no longer eligible to receive a payout.
The amount of the payout depends on how many people submitted claims and how long each user was active on Facebook. In other words, a user who was active for several years will receive more than someone who was only active for a few weeks.
Depending on which class action you took part in, the payout may be delayed. According to Android Authority, the distribution process will take place over the next 10 weeks. The money will end up in the account you specified in the class action claim (e.g., PayPal or your bank).
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.