The Crunchyroll lawsuit claim form is closed. The deadline to submit a claim in the $16 million Video Privacy Protection Act settlement was December 12, 2023, the court granted final approval on January 17, 2024, and payments of roughly $31 per claimant went out around April 2024. If you missed the window, your only realistic path forward is a separate VPPA class action filed against Crunchyroll in March 2026 over similar data-sharing allegations, which is still in its early stages.
What the Claim Form Asked For
The form was hosted on the settlement website run by Kroll Settlement Administration. It was short, but a few fields caused confusion.
- A Class Member ID from the notification email or postcard. Without it, you could enter the email address tied to your Crunchyroll account and the administrator would look you up manually.
- Full legal name and current mailing address.
- A payment choice between digital (PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle) and a paper check. Digital payments required an actively monitored email.
- An electronic signature certifying eligibility and accuracy.
Eligibility was limited to U.S. residents who watched video content on any Crunchyroll website, app, or on-demand service between September 8, 2020, and September 20, 2023. A paid subscription was not required; free registered users who streamed even a single video during the class period qualified.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2710 – Wrongful Disclosure of Video Tape Rental or Sale Records Employees, officers, and directors of the defendant, their immediate family, and anyone who had opted out or released their claims elsewhere were excluded.
If You Filed a Claim and Still Haven’t Been Paid
Payments went out in spring 2024 through the method each claimant selected. If you chose a paper check and it never arrived, or if you received one and never cashed it, settlement checks typically expire after 90 to 180 days. Uncashed funds usually get turned over to your state’s unclaimed property office, where you can search by name and reclaim them.
If you selected a digital payment and no deposit showed up, the first step is contacting Kroll Settlement Administration directly. A payment notification sent to an abandoned email address is one of the more common reasons a digital payment never reaches the claimant.
Do You Owe Taxes on the Payment
Privacy settlement payments are generally taxable income. The IRS treats all income as taxable unless a specific code section excludes it, and the exclusion for damages received on account of physical injuries does not cover a data-privacy claim.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments
In practice, most claimants did not get a 1099-MISC. For tax years beginning after 2025, the reporting threshold for information returns rose from $600 to $2,000, and a $31 payment falls far below that line.3Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns The absence of a 1099 doesn’t make the money tax-free. You’re technically supposed to report it, though the IRS is unlikely to chase a $30 discrepancy on an individual return.
The New 2026 Crunchyroll VPPA Lawsuit
A separate class action, Cabonios et al. v. Crunchyroll, LLC (Case No. 2:26-cv-02373), was filed on March 5, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleges that Crunchyroll shares users’ email addresses, device identifiers, and the titles of videos they watch with Braze Inc., a marketing and analytics company, through a software development kit embedded in the app, and that this disclosure violates the VPPA because users never gave the separate written consent the statute requires.
There is no claim form yet. The case is in its early stages, no settlement has been reached, and no eligibility window has been set. If a settlement is eventually approved, the court will order a new notice program with its own deadline. Users who watched Crunchyroll after September 20, 2023 are the group most likely to be covered if the case gets that far.
The quickest way to catch a future claim form is to monitor a class action tracking site or sign up for docket alerts on the case directly. VPPA claims are personal, so no outside organization can file on your behalf or aggregate your claim with others without you.
Why the Original Payout Was So Small
The VPPA provides for at least $2,500 in liquidated damages per violation in a standalone lawsuit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2710 – Wrongful Disclosure of Video Tape Rental or Sale Records The $31 class payment was far lower because the $16 million fund was divided among a very large group of users after attorney fees, administrative costs, and service awards for the named plaintiffs were deducted. Class members who opted out before the deadline kept the right to pursue individual VPPA claims; everyone who stayed in released their right to sue Crunchyroll or Sony Pictures over the same conduct during the September 8, 2020 to September 20, 2023 class period. That release does not block participation in a case over different conduct or a different time window, which is why the 2026 lawsuit can proceed on its own facts.