Wednesday, January 21st is the last day you can file to grab your share of YouTube's $30 million class action settlement. The Google-owned video streamer agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action suit that claimed YouTube violated the privacy of children by collecting their data while they viewed content on YouTube. One week ago today, Tuesday, January 13th, the court granted the plaintiffs their final approval in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.
Six years of litigation culminated in this settlement
More specifically, the final approval wrapped up six years of litigation during which parents of children under the age of 13 accused YouTube of collecting their kids' personal data without their permission. The lawsuit against YouTube and Google alleges that when "children watched cartoons, nursery rhymes, and other child-directed content on YouTube, Google collected personal data from viewers and used the information for its advertising business."
Will you file a claim?
Yes. I love free money.
42.86%
No. After the attorneys take their cut, what's left?
28.57%
I'm not eligible.
28.57%
The personal data collected allegedly included the serial numbers of devices used by children, geolocation data, and IP addresses. Despite agreeing to settle the case, Google denied the claims in the lawsuit and said that it did nothing wrong. Minors in the U.S. who watched cartoons or other content directed at children on YouTube could receive part of the settlement if they were under 13 years old between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020. Looking at this another way, people aged 6 to 25 at present could be eligible to receive a slice of the settlement.
You have two ways to file a claim and filing online is the easiest way
Steven Bloch, an attorney for class members, estimated that there could be as many as one million legitimate claims from the class. After attorney's fees and expenses, each person with a valid claim could end up with $20 to $30 of settlement money.
Here's information about how to file a claim for your share of YouTube's $30 million settlement. | Image credit-YouTubePrivacySettlement
Now here's the deal. If you qualify for a share of the settlement, click on this link. print out the form and get it in the mail immediately. The postmark deadline is 11:59 p.m. PST on January 21, 2026. Send the claim form to:
As long as the postmark meets the deadline, you will have sent your claim in on time regardless of the day that it actually arrives. But I have even better news to tell you. You can file this form online and skip the trip to the mailbox avoiding the snow and bitter cold. Again, you must submit this by 11:59 p.m. PST on January 21, 2026 (which is 2:59 a.m. EST on January 22nd 2026). Click on this link and use your phone, tablet, or computer QWERTY to type in the response on your display.
Submitting your claim in this fashion is certainly a great convenience and I suggest that if you are eligible to file a claim, you use this method to do so. Remember, you are eligible to submit a claim if you watched cartoons and other content streamed to children on YouTube, and were under 13 years old between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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