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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The $85 million figure was not Yahoo’s final U.S. consumer settlement. CyberScoop reported on October 24, 2018, that Yahoo had agreed to an arrangement worth up to $85 million in consumer class actions. A later amended agreement created a $117.5 million national consumer settlement fund, paid equally by Altaba and Verizon. A federal court granted final approval in 2020.
What the $85 million figure represented
CyberScoop’s October 24, 2018 report described a proposed consumer class-action resolution worth up to $85 million. Its reported components were:
| Component | Reported amount | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer reimbursement fund | $50 million | Money proposed for eligible consumers |
| Attorneys’ fees | Up to $35 million | A proposed fee amount, not payments to consumers |
| Credit monitoring and identity-theft protection | Additional settlement benefits | Services for participating class members under the proposal |
That report used the $85 million figure for the proposed arrangement, combining the consumer fund and potential attorneys’ fees. It was not the final amount of the amended national consumer settlement fund.
Why Yahoo’s breaches led to the lawsuit
The 2018 report discussed two incidents. Yahoo later said the breach disclosed in 2016 involved all 3 billion accounts in the 2013 incident. The company had also disclosed in September 2016 that a 2014 breach affected more than 500 million users. Those figures describe accounts or users associated with the incidents; they are not counts of settlement claimants or necessarily unique individuals.
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The settlement changed to $117.5 million
An amended agreement filed on April 9, 2019 established a $117.5 million national consumer class-action settlement fund. Altaba and Verizon were each responsible for half of that fund. The Northern District of California preliminarily approved the amended deal on July 20, 2019.
The court’s amended order granting final approval was filed on July 21, 2020. It identifies $117.5 million as the final settlement fund and says the parties had estimated the settlement class at 194 million people. That was an asserted estimate of the settlement class—not the number of breached accounts, the number of affected users in either incident, or the number of people who filed claims.
“the fact that the $117.5 million Settlement Fund is a significant sum in absolute terms.”
The quotation appears in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s amended final approval order.
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Proposal versus final settlement
| Issue | 2018 reported proposal | 2019–2020 amended settlement |
|---|---|---|
| Headline amount | Up to $85 million | $117.5 million |
| Date and status | Reported October 24, 2018 as a proposed resolution | Agreement filed April 9, 2019; final approval filed July 21, 2020 |
| What the amount described | $50 million consumer reimbursement fund plus up to $35 million in attorneys’ fees | Final national consumer class-action settlement fund |
| Who paid | Not the final allocation | Altaba and Verizon, in equal shares |
| Class-size figure | Not stated as the final settlement-class estimate | 194 million, an estimate cited by the court |
Can you still claim money from the Yahoo settlement?
No. The settlement administrator lists July 20, 2020 as the deadline to file a claim. The deadlines to object to the settlement or exclude yourself were March 6, 2020. Those dates have passed, so the claim window for this U.S. settlement is closed.
The administrator identifies the case as In re: Yahoo! Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, case 5:16-MD-02752-LHK.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret the numbers
- $85 million: a 2018 reported proposal, including a proposed consumer fund and potential attorneys’ fees.
- $117.5 million: the amended and court-approved national consumer settlement fund.
- 3 billion accounts: Yahoo’s later-reported scale for the 2013 breach, as recounted in the 2018 report.
- More than 500 million users: the scale Yahoo disclosed for the 2014 breach.
- 194 million: the parties’ estimated settlement-class size cited in the 2020 final approval order.
These measurements answer different questions. Breach-impact figures concern accounts or users connected with the incidents; the settlement-class estimate concerns people covered by the litigation; and claimants would be only those eligible class members who submitted claims before the deadline.
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