TikTok Data Privacy $92M Settlement Payouts After Checks as Low as $0.91
By Steve Levine
Published: December 8, 2025
Settlement Amount: $92,000,000
Proof required: No
What was the TikTok Data Privacy Class Action About?
You may have been part of a $92 million open class action settlement that was reached with TikTok Inc., ByteDance, and Musical.ly and related companies over allegations that the TikTok app collected, stored and shared users personal and biometric data without proper notice or consent in violation of state and federal privacy laws.The lawsuit, titled In Re: TikTok Inc. Consumer Privacy Litigation, consolidated more than twenty separate cases that raised claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, among other statutes. TikTok denied wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation. The settlement fund has now been distributed and no new claims can be filed.
What was the Total Settlement Amount?
The court approved a record-shattering $92 million cash fund. Non reversionary meant that, after paying administration costs, attorneys fees, and service awards, the remaining money had to be distributed to class members instead of returning to TikTok. The recent payments as low as 0.91 are part of that final distribution of leftover funds.How Did People Qualify For a Payout?
To qualify, people needed to:• Live in the United States and use the TikTok app before around October 1, 2021 as part of the nationwide class, or
• Live in Illinois and use TikTok in Illinois to create videos before that date as part of an Illinois subclass with specific biometric privacy claims.
Parents could also submit claims on behalf of minor children who used TikTok. Because the March 1, 2022 deadline has passed, there is currently no way to newly qualify or file a claim. The settlement is only being mentioned now because additional small payments are still reaching people who already filed.
How Much Did People Get Paid?
Early estimates suggested that if every eligible person filed, nationwide class members might receive less than one dollar each and Illinois subclass members might receive only a few dollars. In practice, only a fraction of the roughly 89 million users who were eligible actually filed a valid claim.Court filings show that about 1,215,541 valid claims were ultimately approved, including around 1,038,517 nationwide class members and about 177,024 Illinois subclass members. That allowed real world payments to be much higher than the minimum projections.
Most nationwide class members received a first payment in the range of about 27 dollars, while Illinois subclass members received roughly six times that amount. In late 2025, many people started seeing a second, much smaller supplemental payment, sometimes as low as 0.91, which represented a final distribution of money that still remained in the fund after the main checks and prepaid cards went out.
How Many People Were Affected?
The settlement was structured to cover approximately 89 million TikTok users in the United States who used the app before around October 1, 2021. Within that enormous group, about 1.2 million people actually submitted valid claims and qualified for payment, including around 177,000 Illinois users who were part of the biometric privacy subclass.Why Did Some People Receive Only $0.91?
Class actions often pay out in multiple stages. First, a large round of payments goes out based on early estimates of costs and total valid claims. Later, after the administrator finishes processing disputes, refunds, uncashed checks and other adjustments, there can be money left in the fund that still needs to be distributed.The small TikTok deposits appearing in late 2025, sometimes described as “Your supplemental TikTok Data Privacy settlement payment,” are part of that final clean up. Instead of sending out another large check, the administrator divided the remaining dollars by the number of eligible claimants and added a second payment to the same PayPal, Venmo, prepaid card or direct deposit information that people already used.
When that division happens at the end of a case, the result can be very small amounts. After attorney fees, taxes, notice costs, and the initial payments, the leftover total simply was not large enough to produce big second checks. That is why many people are seeing amounts under 10 dollars and in some cases only 0.91.
Could the Payments Have Been Higher?
The payout size in any settlement depends on a few simple factors:• The total size of the fund
• How much is deducted for fees and expenses
• How many people file valid claims
• Whether some smaller payments expire or go uncashed
In the TikTok case, the fund was large at 92 million dollars, but the potential class was enormous. Even with only about 1.2 million valid claims, the typical payment was still in the double digit range, not hundreds of dollars. Once those main payments went out, the extra 0.91 type amounts were only a mathematical leftover that had to be distributed to close out the fund.
What Was the Claim Form Deadline?
The last day to submit a claim for this settlement was March 1, 2022. That date has already passed and the case has moved into the final administration phase. The article you are reading now is for explanation and news purposes only. It is not a new opportunity to file a claim.What Were the Important Dates?
Some of the key dates in the TikTok data privacy settlement included:• Preliminary approval and notice in 2021
• Claim deadline on March 1, 2022
• Final approval hearing around May 18, 2022
• Final approval order later in 2022
• First wave of payments beginning around October 2022
• Supplemental payments such as 0.91 reported by many users in late 2025
When Did the Class Action Settlement Pay Out?
There was no single payday. Payments rolled out in stages:• Late 2022 for the main payments to nationwide and Illinois subclass members
• Additional follow up payments for people who had payment issues or needed reissuing of prepaid cards
• A final supplemental payment in 2025 that sent out the last remaining money in the fund, often in small amounts like 0.91
If you filed a valid claim and never received anything at all, your only option at this point is to contact the settlement administrator. OpenClassActions.com does not have access to individual claim records.
How Much Did Each Class Action Claimant Ultimately Receive?
Exact amounts varied, but based on public reporting and court information:• Many nationwide class members reported receiving around 27 dollars in the initial payment
• Illinois subclass members often reported amounts around 167 dollars
• The 2025 supplemental distribution added a small extra amount on top, sometimes several dollars and sometimes only 0.91
These numbers are approximate, but they show why people saw very different results in their accounts. Location, subclass status, and how many claims were approved all affected the final payout.
Case Overview
The TikTok data privacy settlement came after years of litigation claiming that the app:• Collected and stored biometric identifiers like face geometry from user videos without written consent
• Accessed and analyzed draft videos that users never actually posted
• Tracked users with device identifiers, location data and other technical information
• Shared or exposed this information to third parties without clear disclosure
TikTok has consistently denied that it broke the law or caused harm. As part of the resolution, it agreed to the 92 million dollar fund and to changes in its data practices, including new privacy disclosures and limitations on certain types of biometric and personal data collection.
How Do I Find Class Action Settlements?
Find all the latest class actions you can qualify for by getting notified of new lawsuits as soon as they are open to claims:What Can Consumers Do Now?
Because the TikTok data privacy settlement is closed, there is nothing new that can be filed on this case. However:• If you filed a claim and have questions about what you received, you can reach out to the administrator listed in the official notice.
• If you did not file a claim, you cannot recover money from this particular fund, but you can still watch for future privacy investigations and class actions involving social media, biometrics and tracking technologies.
OpenClassActions.com will continue to track new privacy cases that may offer meaningful compensation for affected users.
Official Settlement Notice
Sources
• Official TikTok Data Privacy Settlement Website• In Re TikTok Inc. Consumer Privacy Litigation, MDL 2948, Case No. 1:20 cv 04699, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Public reporting and class action notices describing the 92 million dollar fund, class size and approved claims
• User reports and administrator communications regarding follow up and supplemental TikTok settlement payments in 2025
Filing Class Action Settlement Claims
Always submit only truthful information when you file any class action settlement claim. False claims can be rejected and may carry penalties. If you are unsure whether you qualify for a current settlement, review the official notice or contact the administrator directly. OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not a settlement administrator or a law firm.
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Submit Claim| Class Action Summary | |
| Status | Settlement Closed, Payments Completed |
|---|---|
| Claim Form Deadline | March 1, 2022 |
| Settlement Amount | $92,000,000 |
| Category | Privacy and Biometric Data |
| Estimated Payout per Person | Nationwide class around $27 initial payment. Illinois subclass around $167. Later supplemental payments as low as $0.91 reported. |
| Case Number | MDL No. 2948, 1:20-cv-04699 |
| Case Title | In Re: TikTok Inc. Consumer Privacy Litigation |
| Court | U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| Final Approval | Settlement was already approved - Supplemental payments reported in late 2025. |
| Claim Website | Close to New Claims |
| Administrator | Musical.ly and or TikTok Class Action, c/o Angeion Group |