Read your email carefully this week: On Monday morning, I received an email from PayPal with the enticing subject line, «Your Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation Settlement Payment.» And no, it wasn’t a scam. I opened it to find my PayPal account had been sent $37.55 as my share of Facebook’s $725 million privacy settlement. 

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

I was glad I spotted the email, because the money would’ve sat there in PayPal until I made a PayPal purchase. Instead, I chose to transfer it to my bank, where it’s expected to show up by Thursday.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you neglected to file a claim by the 2023 deadline, you’re out of luck.

This all stems from what might be the largest privacy settlement in US history: Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is paying $725 million to settle claims involving the sharing of user data with third-party companies.

Back in 2018, Facebook was accused of improperly disclosing users’ personal information. Cambridge Analytica, a UK political consulting firm with ties to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, ended up with the data of as many as 87 million Facebook users. Meta denied any wrongdoing, saying in a 2023 statement that it agreed to the deal because «it’s in the best interest of our community and shareholders.»

A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Payment amounts differ

The official website for the lawsuit has more information about settlement payments. It notes that settlement payments are only being sent to class members with approved claims. Distribution of the payments will continue over the next 10 weeks. If your claim is approved, a notification will be sent to your email a few days before your payment is issued.

If you are unsure of the status of your claim form and would like to check, you can send an email to the Settlement Administrator at info@facebookuserprivacysettlement.com, but you must include your Claim ID.

Some recipients will be paid via direct deposit, Venmo, Zelle, a mailed check or a virtual prepaid MasterCard, based on the method they chose when they filed their claim. I certainly didn’t remember which method I chose back then, but the PayPal email jogged my memory.

Your settlement amount might be slightly different from mine. The website says authorized claimants receive one point for each month in which they had an active Facebook account during the class period. The number of points helps determine the amount you’re paid.

According to CBS News, the average payment amount is $29.43, and the maximum payout is $38.36.