The Snapchat lawsuit claim form is no longer being accepted. The filing window for the Snapchat BIPA class action, Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. (Case No. 2022LA000708), closed on November 5, 2022, and the settlement administrator is not taking late submissions.1Snapchat Privacy Settlement. Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. – Snapchat Privacy Settlement If you filed on time, your claim is in the distribution phase. If you did not, keep reading for what that means for you.
If You Already Filed a Claim
The court held the final approval hearing on November 17, 2022, and the appeal period followed. As of early 2025, plaintiff attorneys indicated check distribution was imminent.
A few things to do while you wait:
- Check snapillinoisbipasettlement.com for status updates, or contact the settlement administrator directly.
- Confirm your mailing address is current if you chose a paper check. An outdated address is the most common reason payments go undelivered.
- If you selected electronic payment through Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, direct deposit, or a prepaid Mastercard, make sure the handle or account information you gave on the form is still active.
If you cannot find your confirmation number or receipt, the administrator can look up your claim using the email address or Snapchat username tied to your account.
What a Valid Claim Required
To verify your submission was complete, the form asked for your full legal name, current mailing address, the email address tied to your Snapchat account, your exact Snapchat username, and a Class Member ID if one was sent to you in the notice. Claims without a Class Member ID were accepted but went through additional verification. The form included a certification, signed under penalty of perjury, that you were an Illinois resident and used Snapchat Lenses or Filters at any point after November 17, 2015.1Snapchat Privacy Settlement. Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. – Snapchat Privacy Settlement
Both residency and in-state usage were required. An Illinois resident who only used the app while traveling out of state, or a non-resident who used it while visiting Illinois, would not have qualified.
How Much You Can Expect to Receive
The settlement fund is $35 million, but claimant payments come out of what is left after attorney fees, administrative costs, service awards to the named plaintiffs, and taxes.1Snapchat Privacy Settlement. Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. – Snapchat Privacy Settlement
Class counsel initially projected payments between $58 and $117 per person, assuming a moderate filing rate. The actual filing rate was much higher. One independent projection estimated roughly 800,000 claims and a per-person payout near $28.75. Your final amount depends on how many claims the administrator approved as valid.
Taxes on Your Payment
BIPA settlement payments are generally taxable income. The IRS uses a “replacement test” to determine what a settlement is meant to replace. Damages tied to physical injury or physical sickness can be excluded from gross income under IRC Section 104(a)(2), but a biometric privacy claim is not a physical injury, so the payment falls into the non-physical-injury category and is includable in gross income.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments
Starting January 1, 2026, the IRS reporting threshold for settlement payments rises to $2,000. Individual payments in this case are expected to fall well below that, so most claimants will not receive a Form 1099-MISC from the administrator. The income is still reportable on your return; the reporting burden simply shifts to you.
If You Missed the Deadline
The claim deadline was November 5, 2022. The exclusion and objection deadlines both fell earlier, on October 6, 2022.1Snapchat Privacy Settlement. Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. – Snapchat Privacy Settlement No late claims are being accepted.
If you were eligible but did not file or opt out, you are still bound by the settlement’s release of claims. You gave up the right to sue Snap individually over the same biometric data collection covered by this case. You get no payment, and you cannot bring a separate lawsuit on these facts.
If you believe you had a valid claim and were never notified about the settlement, your only real option is to consult an attorney about whether a procedural argument exists for reopening your claim. Courts rarely grant that kind of relief, and inadequate notice is one of the few grounds that could support it.
BIPA continues to apply in Illinois. If a different company collects your face geometry or other biometric data without written notice and a signed release going forward, that would be a separate potential claim unrelated to this settlement.3Illinois General Assembly. 740 ILCS 14 – Biometric Information Privacy Act