How Much Is the Facebook Settlement Payout Per Person?

Most people who filed a claim in the $725 million Meta privacy case received about $29 in the first Facebook settlement payout per person, which began going out in September 2025. Individual amounts ranged from roughly $7.25 to a maximum of $38.36, depending on how many months a claimant held an active Facebook account during the 15-year class period. A second, smaller round averaging about $6 started on June 9, 2026, pushing most combined totals into the mid-$30s.¹²

What Determined Your Amount

Payments were not flat. The settlement administrator used a points-based formula: each claimant received one allocation point for every month they had an activated Facebook account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022. The net settlement fund was divided by the total points across all valid claimants, then multiplied by each person’s individual point total.¹

In plain terms, someone who signed up in 2007 and stayed active the whole time received the top payment of $38.36. A user who joined only a couple of years before the class period closed received closer to the $7.25 floor.³ The average worked out to roughly $29.43.¹

Around 28 million people filed claims out of an estimated class of 250 to 280 million U.S. Facebook users, and at least 17 million claims were validated.⁴⁵

The Second Round of Payments

After the first distribution, more than $100 million sat unclaimed. A May 6, 2026, court report showed that 211,850 physical checks were never cashed and 3 million digital payments expired or went unactivated. A federal judge in California approved sending those leftover funds to roughly 15.65 million people who had successfully collected their first payment.⁶

Second-round amounts run from $4.67 to $7.32, averaging about $6.² Distribution began June 9, 2026, and is expected to run for about four weeks.⁷ After court and administrative fees, about $94.6 million of the remaining $100.5 million is being paid out.⁶

No new claim is required. Only claimants who cashed or activated their first payment qualify.² The original claim-filing deadline was August 25, 2023, and no new claim window has been opened since.⁸

How Payments Are Delivered

Claimants picked their payment method during the 2023 filing process. Choices included PayPal, Venmo, direct deposit, and prepaid Mastercards.¹ An August 27, 2025, court order authorized the administrator to use prepaid Mastercards as the default for anyone who had not selected a digital option.⁹ An email notice usually arrived three to four days before the payment itself.

Spotting a Real Settlement Email

Fake notices have circulated widely, many featuring a “Redeem Virtual Card” button that leads to malicious sites.¹⁰ A few checks will tell you whether the message in your inbox is genuine:

Legitimate emails come from facebookuserprivacysettlement@notifications.kroll.com, the domain of settlement administrator Kroll.¹⁰
Real notices include your specific claimant ID number; scam emails typically do not.¹⁰
Official emails use the subject line “Facebook User Privacy Settlement – Settlement and Distribution Status Update.”¹
The administrator never asks for a Social Security number or any payment to release your award.⁸

The official website is facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. Questions can go to info@FacebookUserPrivacySettlement.com or 1-855-556-2233.¹¹

Why the Fund Didn’t Stretch Further

The $725 million was a gross number. Attorneys’ fees were capped at 25%, roughly $181 million, and administrative costs for the claims website, verification, and payouts consumed additional millions. The eight lead plaintiffs each received $15,000 service awards.¹² What was left, spread across more than 17 million validated claims and weighted by months of Facebook use, is what produced the modest per-person figures.

Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which was granted final approval by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria on October 10, 2023, and became final on May 22, 2025, after the Ninth Circuit rejected objectors’ appeal.⁵¹³¹⁴

1
CBS News. Facebook Privacy Settlement Payments Payout
2
The Hill. Bonus Payments Announced in $725M Facebook Privacy Settlement
3
Claim Depot. Facebook User Privacy Settlement
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WGN TV. Facebook Privacy Settlement Payments Start
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BBC. Meta Settles Cambridge Analytica Case for $725m
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CT Insider. Facebook Second Settlement Checks
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NBC Chicago. Some Users May Get a Second Facebook Settlement Check
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CBS News. Facebook Settlement Claim Money
9
CourtListener. In Re Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Docket Entry 1241
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Fox News. Facebook Settlement Scam Emails
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U.S. News. Here’s How to Claim Part of the $725 Million Facebook Privacy Settlement
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The Hill. Facebook’s $725M Settlement Is Huge, but How Much Will You Actually Get
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Facebook User Privacy Settlement. Facebook User Privacy Settlement
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Courthouse News. Ninth Circuit Upholds $725M Facebook Settlement in Cambridge Analytica Case