Facebook Probably Owes You Money

Facebook may not be your social media platform of choice in 2023, but if you had an active account at any point in the last 15 or so years, you may be entitled to free money.

Meta, which owns Facebook (and Instagram and WhatsApp), is paying out $725 million to current and former users as part of a class-action settlement, the result of a handful of lawsuits related to Facebook’s poor track record on data privacy. For example, users alleged that their data, and their friends’ data, was shared with third parties without permission. U.S. users dating back to mid-2007 may be eligible for a payment from the settlement.

The exact amount you receive will ultimately depend on how many people file a claim and the sum of legal and administrative fees associated with the suit. In any case, the payment is likely to be small—but something is better than nothing.

How to file a Facebook settlement claim

To be eligible for cash from the settlement, you must have used Facebook between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, and submit a claim by August 25, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Go to the digital form on the settlement website, where you’ll provide your contact information, including your name, address, phone number, and email, as well as at least one email address, phone number, and/or username associated with your Facebook account.

You must also attest that you were a Facebook user and residing in the U.S. between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022. If you had an account during the specified time period but have since deleted it, you must provide the date range you were active.

You’ll also have to provide your preferred payment option—prepaid MasterCard, PayPal, Venmo, direct deposit, or Zelle—should your claim be approved by the settlement.

The website also lists the settlement administrator’s address, email, and phone number in case you prefer to submit the form by mail or have questions about the process.

Note that if you feel invested in the Facebook circus, you should either submit a claim (which is likely to get you some money) by August 25 or opt-out (which allows you to take future legal action if you choose) by July 26. If you do nothing—a perfectly fine option if you don’t care—you give up your claim to cash as well as your right to sue Facebook separately.