Snapchat reaches $35m class action lawsuit deal over biometric data

Social media app was accused of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act

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Snapchat has reached a $35m class action lawsuit deal over claims it used lenses and filters to collect the biometric data of users.

The social media platform denies any wrongdoing in the case brought against it in Illinois but decided to settle the litigation before it went to trial.

People qualify for a payout if they were a Snapchat user in Illinois who used the app features “Lenses” and “Filters” between 17 November 2015, and the present.

Individual settlement amounts will depend on how many people submit a claim and are approved to receive settlement money out of the $35 million pot.

People must submit a claim form by 5 November 2022 to qualify for a payment, which must be approved by the Settlement Administrator.

The form can be submitted online, or be downloaded and mailed to the Settlement Administrator.

Snapchat was accused of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by allegedly collecting voiceprints and scans of facial geometry.

The case was filed in May in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The state’s Biometric Privacy Act bans private sector companies and institutions from collecting biometric data from unsuspecting citizens in the state or online, no matter where the company is based.

In another case, more than one million Facebook users in Illinois received checks following a $650m class action settlement that alleged the company collected and stored digital scans of faces without permission.