The AT&T data breach settlement is a $177 million class-action deal that resolves claims from the two customer data breaches AT&T disclosed in 2024. It covers a March 2024 incident that exposed Social Security numbers and other sensitive details on the dark web, and a July 2024 incident involving call and text records stolen from a third-party cloud platform. The claim deadline has already passed. As of mid-2026, the court held a final approval hearing in January but has not issued a final ruling, and no payments have been distributed.
Which Breach Affected You
The settlement covers two separate incidents, and which one applies to you determines what you can claim.
The first, disclosed on March 30, 2024, involved a dataset from 2019 or earlier that surfaced on the dark web. It affected roughly 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders, about 73 million people in total. Exposed information included names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, AT&T account numbers, and account passcodes.
The second, disclosed on July 12, 2024, involved call and text metadata stolen from AT&T’s workspace on a third-party cloud platform between April 14 and April 25, 2024. The stolen files covered nearly all AT&T wireless customers, customers of mobile virtual network operators using AT&T’s network, and some wireline customers. The records spanned calls and texts from May 1 through October 31, 2022, plus a small number from January 2, 2023. Included were phone numbers involved in communications, the number of interactions, aggregate call durations, and, for a subset, cell site identifiers that can indicate general location. The content of calls and texts, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth were not part of this breach.
Who Qualifies
The settlement created two classes. The first covers all living U.S. residents whose data was part of the March 2024 dark web breach. The second covers AT&T account owners, line users, and end users whose data was included in the July 2024 cloud platform breach.
People affected by both incidents are classified as “overlap settlement class members” and could file claims under both classes. If you received a notice from Kroll Settlement Administration in August 2025, that notice identified which class or classes you belonged to and included your class member ID.
How Much Money You Can Get
The $177 million fund is split into $149 million for the first breach class and $28 million for the second. Attorney fees of up to one-third of each fund, administrative costs, and service awards of up to $1,500 per class representative come out before payments reach claimants.
Claimants had two options under each class.
The first was a documented loss payment. First-breach class members could claim up to $5,000, and second-breach class members up to $2,500, for out-of-pocket losses “fairly traceable” to the respective breach. First-breach losses had to have occurred in 2019 or later; second-breach losses had to have occurred on or after April 14, 2024. Someone eligible under both classes who documented losses from each could receive up to $7,500 total. Documentation was required, and the settlement administrator had authority to ask for additional verification.
The second option was a tiered cash payment for class members without documented losses. For the first breach, people whose Social Security numbers were exposed receive payments calculated at five times the amount given to class members whose SSNs were not compromised. For the second breach, account owners receive a pro rata share of that fund.
Actual per-person amounts depend on how many valid claims are filed and what remains after deductions, so specific dollar figures will not be known until the administrator finishes processing.
Deadlines and the Claim Process
The deadline to file a claim was December 18, 2025. The deadline to opt out or object was November 17, 2025. Both windows have closed, and the settlement administrator is not accepting new claims.
Claims were filed online at telecomdatasettlement.com or by mail to Kroll Settlement Administration LLC in New York. Filers needed a class member ID along with identifying information such as an email address, AT&T account number, or full name.
If you missed the deadline, the settlement’s preliminary approval order enjoins class members from pursuing separate litigation or arbitration against AT&T on related claims while the settlement is pending, unless they properly opted out.
Why No Payments Have Gone Out
The case, In Re: AT&T Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, Case No. 3:24-md-03114-E, sits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas before Judge Ada Brown. Judge Brown granted preliminary approval on June 20, 2025, calling the settlement “fair and reasonable.” AT&T denied wrongdoing and said it settled “to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation.”
The final approval hearing was held on January 15, 2026, and ran about six hours. As of mid-2026, Judge Brown has not issued a final approval ruling. According to the official settlement website, updated April 23, 2026, payments will not be distributed until three things happen: the court grants final approval, the time for all appeals expires, and all claim forms have been reviewed. The docket shows filings as recent as May 28, 2026, but no final order has appeared. The settlement administrator is currently processing claims.
Objections and Appeals That Could Delay Payment
Several class members filed objections before the November 2025 deadline, including both sealed and public filings. Named objectors included Shanee Jackson, Jacob Ihara, Scott Gherman and four co-objectors, Estella Wakat-Aikins, David Nguyen, and Terran Hardy, among others. Plaintiffs’ counsel and AT&T each filed omnibus responses in December 2025.
Earlier, three individuals, Osa Massen, Audrey Jones, and Susan Savala, moved to intervene and oppose preliminary approval. Judge Brown denied the motion without prejudice. They appealed to the Fifth Circuit, but the appeal was dismissed in October 2025 pursuant to a joint motion.
Any further appeals after final approval would push distribution back further, because the settlement website confirms payments are conditioned on all appeal periods expiring.
What This Settlement Does Not Cover
This settlement resolves the two 2024 breaches only. Separate regulatory actions against AT&T, including a $13 million FCC consent decree in September 2024 tied to a January 2023 vendor breach affecting about 8.9 million AT&T Mobility customers, a $57 million FCC forfeiture order in April 2024 over location-data protections, and a $25 million FCC settlement in 2015 over three earlier breaches, are unrelated and do not produce payments to class members here. No FTC or state attorney general enforcement action specifically targeting the 2024 breaches appears in available records, though Michigan’s attorney general issued a consumer alert in April 2024 with protective steps.