GoodRx’s $32 Million Privacy Settlement Is Now Taking Claims From Anyone Who Used the App or Website Before April 20, 2024

Some of the first people to file a claim in GoodRx’s privacy settlement this month had their claims thrown out, because the website they used was only switched on for testing. The real claim window is now open. Anyone in the United States who used a GoodRx website, app or service before April 20, 2024, can file for an equal share of a $32 million settlement, with a deadline of Dec. 29.

A false start, then an open claim window

The settlement website went live in mid-October, but the administrator said it had been activated only for testing, according to an Open Class Actions account of the rollout. Claims submitted during that period were rejected as untimely, and those people need to file again. The site showed a hosting error on Oct. 18 and a maintenance page on Oct. 21. By Oct. 23 it was accepting claims, and the Dec. 29 deadline did not change.

The official settlement website describes the class simply: people who used any GoodRx website, app or service before April 20, 2024. Meta, Google, the defendants and their affiliates, and the presiding judges are excluded, the notice says. Open Class Actions warns that a staging address hosted on azurewebsites.net is a test server and not the official site.

Anyone who filed in the first days of the rollout and did not receive a confirmation may want to file again on the official site, since testing-phase claims were not counted.

What GoodRx and Criteo are paying for

The case is Doe v. GoodRx Holdings, Inc., No. 4:23-cv-00501, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs allege that from at least 2017 to 2020, GoodRx shared users’ personal and health information, including prescription and health-condition details, with advertising and analytics companies such as Criteo, Meta and Google, through pixels, software kits, cookies and similar tools.

According to the long-form settlement notice, GoodRx and Criteo will pay “thirty-two million U.S. Dollars ($32,000,000)” into the settlement fund. Both companies deny violating any law and say they agreed to settle to avoid the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation.

The lawsuit followed a federal enforcement action. In February 2023, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission accused GoodRx of disclosing millions of users’ health information to third parties without their knowledge, and of displaying a “HIPAA Secure: Patient Data Protected” seal even though it is not a HIPAA-covered entity. Under a stipulated order, GoodRx paid a $1.5 million civil penalty and accepted a ban on sharing health information for advertising, the Justice Department announced. That penalty went to the government, not consumers. The order also required GoodRx to notify affected users, to get affirmative consent before disclosing health information and to notify users of any future breach.

Brian M. Boynton, then principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, said at the time that “consumers have a right to know whether and how their personal health information will be used.”

Equal shares and no receipts

This settlement does not scale payments by how much a person used GoodRx. The notice says each class member who files a valid claim receives an “equal share of the Net Settlement Fund,” after deductions for notice and administration, taxes, attorneys’ fees and expenses and service awards. No per-person amount has been announced, because it depends on how many claims are approved.

The deductions are not small. Class counsel, Lowey Dannenberg and Bursor & Fisher, will ask for fees of no more than one-third of the fund, about $10.67 million, plus up to $125,000 in litigation expenses, and named plaintiffs may request service awards of up to $2,000 each. Those requests are due Nov. 24, 2026, and the court decides them at or after the final hearing.

Filing is light. Open Class Actions reports that no receipts, documents or notice ID are required. The online form asks for a name, address, email, phone number, payment choice and electronic signature, along with an attestation that the claimant lived in the United States and used a GoodRx service before April 20, 2024. An optional ID and PIN field is not required.

Payment options include PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card or a paper check. Checks become void if not cashed within 60 days, and payments go out within 45 days after the settlement’s effective date, which follows final approval and any appeals.

Meta and Google are still in the case

The $32 million covers only GoodRx and Criteo. The notice states that Meta and Google are not part of this settlement and that the plaintiffs continue to pursue their claims against them. Class members who stay in the GoodRx settlement release claims against GoodRx and Criteo tied to the data sharing, including claims they do not yet know about. The case docket remains active for that part of the lawsuit.

For the GoodRx and Criteo portion, Dec. 29, 2026, is the last day for three things at once: filing a claim, opting out and objecting. Online claims are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern; mailed claims must be postmarked by that date. The final approval hearing is set for Feb. 11, 2027, at 11 a.m. in Oakland, and the date or format may change.

Privacy settlements involving household-name tech platforms have stacked up this year, including Google’s $68 million Assistant settlement and 23andMe’s $46.75 million data breach settlement, which has already paid approved claimants.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Battlesnake1 – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons