The Avast refund was a genuine Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement, but new claims are closed. The FTC says the June 5, 2025 deadline has passed and all available funds have been distributed. Payments announced in December 2025 went only to consumers who submitted valid claims.
What is the Avast refund program?
The program is an FTC redress distribution linked to allegations that Avast marketed its antivirus products as privacy-protective while collecting detailed browsing information and selling it through its subsidiary, Jumpshot. The FTC said the data was provided to more than 100 third parties and could be re-identified or linked to individual users. Those are allegations addressed through a settlement order, not a finding after a trial. The FTC announced the claims process and allegations in February 2025.
Under the settlement, Avast agreed to pay $16.5 million, stop misrepresenting its data practices and stop selling or licensing browsing data from Avast-branded products to third parties for advertising. The case record is available from the FTC case page.
The $16.5 million settlement is not the same figure as the later distribution. In December 2025, the FTC announced that nearly $15.3 million had been sent to 103,152 valid claimants. Administrative and distribution costs can account for a difference, but the FTC has not published a detailed cost breakdown.
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Can you still file an Avast FTC claim?
No. The FTC says claims are no longer accepted, the filing deadline was June 5, 2025, and all available funds have been distributed. The FTC’s official Avast refund page is the controlling source for the program’s status.
The former administrator website still displays historical claim-authentication information and the June 5, 2025 deadline. Its continued availability does not reopen the program: avastsettlement.com/file-a-claim.
Who was potentially eligible?
The FTC’s consumer notice identified people who bought Avast antivirus software between August 2014 and January 2020 as potentially eligible. The FTC planned to notify about 3,690,813 consumers. Buying Avast in that period did not by itself guarantee money; a person also had to submit a valid claim on time.
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The official materials do not describe this as a refund of every Avast product, every subscription charge or every customer account. The payment announcement concerns valid claimants, not everyone who purchased Avast.
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This is the historical process, not an application route that remains open:
- Start at the FTC Avast refund page.
- Select “Apply for a Refund.”
- Enter the claim number and confirmation code from the FTC or settlement email.
- Submit the claim by June 5, 2025.
If you did not complete those steps by the deadline, there is no new FTC form that can be submitted now.
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How payments were sent
The FTC announced payments by check, PayPal or Zelle, depending on the method selected during the claims process. Follow the deadline printed on your payment notice or check, because payment-specific instructions control.
| Payment method | FTC instruction |
|---|---|
| Check | Cash it within 90 days, as indicated on the check. |
| PayPal | Accept or redeem the payment within 30 days. |
| Zelle | The payment is deposited directly into the recipient’s bank account. |
The FTC’s December 2025 payment announcement is available at ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-sends-payments-consumers-impacted-avasts-deceptive-privacy-claims.
How much did each claimant receive?
The FTC has not stated a universal payment amount. Nearly $15.3 million divided among 103,152 valid claimants produces a calculated average of approximately $148.33, but that is not a guaranteed individual payment. Actual amounts could differ because payment amounts depended on factors including the number of valid claims.
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This was not a promise to refund the full price of an Avast subscription, and it did not pay every user a fixed $148.
If you filed but have not received a payment
Use the refund administrator’s contact information published by the FTC:
- Administrator: Rust Consulting, Inc.
- Phone: 1-866-290-0165
Have your claim information available when you call. The official sources do not establish that contacting the administrator will reopen an expired claim, increase a payment or guarantee reissuance, so do not rely on anyone promising those results.
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How to distinguish a real payment from a scam
A real settlement does not make every message mentioning Avast legitimate. The FTC says it will not require you to pay money to obtain a refund or provide account credentials to file a claim or receive one.
Warning signs
- A new “final” deadline after June 5, 2025.
- An upfront processing fee or a request for cryptocurrency, gift cards or a wire transfer.
- Requests for your email password, banking login, one-time security code or remote computer access.
- A recovery service claiming it can obtain a missed settlement payment for a fee.
- A look-alike FTC or Avast website, or a message urging you to click immediately.
Safer verification steps
- Do not use links in an unsolicited email or text.
- Type the FTC’s Avast refund address into your browser or find it through FTC.gov.
- Compare any administrator name and phone number with the details published on the FTC page.
- Open PayPal or your bank’s Zelle service independently rather than through a message link.
- Never send money back because someone says a check was issued for too much. Verify the check and settlement details first.
You can also review the FTC’s consumer guidance at consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/05/money-avast-antivirus-software-users.
Is this the same as an Avast subscription refund?
No. An FTC settlement payment compensates eligible, valid claimants for the privacy-related allegations covered by the settlement. An ordinary Avast refund is a separate customer-service or payment dispute involving a specific purchase, renewal, cancellation or recent charge.
If you are disputing a recent subscription charge, contact Avast through its normal support channels or your payment provider. That separate process cannot substitute for a missed FTC settlement claim and does not show that the FTC program is still open.
What to do now
- Filed a claim and received a payment: Follow the check or electronic-payment deadline immediately.
- Filed a claim but have no payment: Contact Rust Consulting at 1-866-290-0165 using the FTC-published details.
- Never filed: There is no new Avast FTC claim to submit.
- Received a suspicious message: Do not pay or share credentials; verify independently through FTC.gov and report suspected impersonation through the FTC’s fraud-reporting channels.
The FTC refund page remains the best starting point for status updates: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds/avast-settlement.
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