Meta’s $725 million privacy payout is finally hitting wallets (yours too)

If you’ve been holding out hope for a payout from the big $725 million Facebook privacy settlement, your patience might finally be rewarded. 

The administrators say the money faucet has officially been turned on, and your cut could arrive within weeks.

Quick refresher: Back in 2018, Facebook was accused of letting Cambridge Analytica, a UK political consulting firm tied to Trump’s 2016 campaign, harvest the personal data of up to 87 million users. 

That kicked off years of lawsuits, denials, and corporate throat-clearing. Fast forward to 2023, and Meta agreed to a massive class action settlement. 

However, it, of course, said it did nothing wrong and only signed the check because it was “in the best interest of our community and shareholders.”

Now, after months of waiting, the settlement site says that “distribution of settlement benefits has commenced” and will roll out over the next ten weeks. 

If your claim was approved, you’ll get a warning email a few days before the money hits your account. 

Look out for a message titled “Facebook User Privacy Settlement — Settlement and Distribution Status Update” from the thrillingly official donotreply@facebookuserprivacysettlement.com.

So, how much are we talking? Don’t get too excited: after judges approved $120,000 for eight lead plaintiffs, $180 million for lawyers, and nearly $4 million in miscellaneous costs, about $541 million remains for the rest of us plebs. 

That breaks down to payouts ranging from $4.89 on the low end to $38.36 on the high end. 

How much you get depends on how addicted you were: each month you spent on Facebook between 2004 and 2022 equals one “allocation point.” Heavy users (up to 188 points) get the bigger slice of the pie.

It’s not exactly retirement money, but hey, consider it a latte or two on Meta. 

After all, if the company made billions mining your data, it seems only fair you get a few bucks back, even if it’s just enough to cover the coffee you drank while doomscrolling in the first place.

Is Meta’s $725 million settlement with payouts of just $5-38 per user adequate compensation for the Cambridge Analytica data breach, or does this tiny amount prove that privacy violations are still just a cost of doing business for tech giants? Should class action settlements focus on meaningful individual compensation or broader systemic changes to prevent future data misuse? Tell us below in the comments, or reach us via our Twitter or Facebook.