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Did you just get a $40.67 payment from Facebook? Here’s an update on those lawsuit settlement checks

A lawsuit settlement involving alleged tracking activity from 15 years ago is finally resulting in payments. Unfortunately, it’s too late to file a claim.

By rifat_haksonPublished about a year ago 2 min read
[Photos: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images, BillionPhotos.com/Adobe Stock]

Many people have been waking up over the last 24 hours to find that they have received a payment of around $40 from Facebook. The first question people have is whether the payment is legitimate. And the good news is: Yes, it is. Here’s what you need to know about the Facebook payment you may have received since yesterday.

Why did I get a payment from Facebook?

Starting yesterday, people began posting on social media that they had received a payment of around $40 from Facebook. That payment is actually part of a class action lawsuit settlement Facebook agreed to back in 2022.

At the center of the class action suit was the allegation that between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011, Facebook improperly tracked its users around the web using its then-newish “Like” button that was displayed on non-Facebook websites.

Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, denied wrongdoing but ultimately decided to settle the class action lawsuit instead of fighting it in court. As part of that settlement, Facebook agreed to pay $90 million, which would be distributed to its users in the United States who were covered under the settlement (after attorney fees and other associated costs were deducted).

The individual user’s payments from that settlement are now being distributed, which is why you may have received one since yesterday.

How much is the Facebook internet settlement payment?

Users on social media are reporting that they have begun receiving a settlement payment of around $40. On this Reddit thread here, multiple users say their payment was for exactly $40.67. Some users on X are likewise reporting that amount.

The payments are showing up as coming from “Facebook Internet Tracking Settlement Administrator,” users are reporting.

The effective date of the settlement was February 24, 2025, according to the settlement website.

The terms of the settlement mandated that Facebook begin sending out the payments within 45 days of the effective date, which meant that the funds would start being distributed on April 10, 2025.

Given the social media reports, that is the same date that people began reporting receiving payments from Facebook.

How are people being paid?

Claimants could choose how they wanted to receive their settlement payment when they submitted a claim, according to Claim Depot.

Claimants reportedly could select from one of five options:

PayPal

Venmo

Virtual Prepaid Card

Zelle

Check mailed to an address the claimant provided

Can I still submit a claim?

No. All claims needed to be submitted by September 22, 2022. If you did not submit a claim by then, you are not eligible for a payment.

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    Written by rifat_hakson