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Zoom paid $85 million into a settlement fund to resolve U.S. class-action claims alleging privacy and security violations, including claims involving data sharing with third parties. The settlement was approved by a federal court in 2022; it was not a trial verdict finding that Zoom unlawfully shared users’ data with Facebook. The court had dismissed the specific privacy claim tied to alleged sharing through Facebook SDK, Zoom’s Android app, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator, according to the plaintiffs’ settlement motion.
What happened in the Zoom class-action lawsuit?
Multiple putative class actions filed in the United States beginning March 30, 2020, alleged that Zoom’s privacy and security practices violated users’ rights, including through data sharing with third parties. The claims sought monetary and injunctive relief. Zoom later reported the litigation and its resolution in a Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Northern District of California preliminarily approved a proposed settlement on October 21, 2021, in In re: Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Privacy Litigation, Case No. 5:20-cv-02155-LHK. Preliminary approval allowed the proposed deal to proceed; it was not the court’s final approval. The court granted final approval on April 21, 2022, according to Zoom’s SEC filing.
Did Zoom share your data with Facebook?
The lawsuit included allegations about information allegedly transmitted through Facebook SDK, Zoom’s Android application, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator. But the settlement does not establish that Zoom unlawfully shared personal information with Facebook, nor does it establish what data any third party actually obtained.
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The plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval recounts that the court dismissed the invasion-of-privacy claim based on those alleged disclosures because the plaintiffs had not sufficiently specified what information third parties obtained. That account is in a settlement filing, not the underlying ruling itself; it should not be treated as a direct quotation of the court. No figure for the number of people whose data was actually disclosed is established by the cited records.
How much was the Zoom settlement?
Zoom reported paying $85 million into escrow for claims by settlement-class members, attorneys’ fees and expenses, administration costs, and service payments to plaintiffs. That is the reported settlement fund, not a guaranteed amount for each class member or proof of a particular person’s payment.
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Zoom’s filing also said two objectors appealed the final approval order on May 19, 2022. The filing confirms that the appeal was made, but it does not establish its later outcome. Whether a person can still submit a claim or request payment is likewise not established by these records; the settlement dates alone do not show current claims availability.
How the private lawsuit differed from the FTC case
The class action and the Federal Trade Commission matter were separate proceedings with different allegations and outcomes.
| Question | U.S. privacy class action | FTC matter |
|---|---|---|
| Who brought it? | Private plaintiffs filed putative class actions in federal court. | The Federal Trade Commission pursued a regulatory action. |
| What conduct was at issue? | Alleged privacy and security violations, including alleged third-party data sharing. | Alleged misleading claims about meeting security and security compromises affecting some Mac users. |
| What was the resolution? | A court-approved $85 million classwide settlement fund, as Zoom reported to the SEC. | A security program and related oversight requirements. |
| What does the resolution establish? | Final approval of a settlement resolving claims; not a trial finding that the Facebook-related allegations were true. | The requirements imposed by the FTC settlement; it was not the private class-action settlement. |
The FTC finalized its separate settlement with Zoom in January 2021. It required Zoom to implement a comprehensive security program, review software updates for security flaws before release, obtain independent assessments of the program every two years, and notify the FTC of data breaches. The FTC said it received 12 comments on the proposed settlement and voted 3–2 to finalize it on January 19, 2021; those figures describe the FTC process, not the class action.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the settlement means for users
The practical takeaway is that Zoom resolved a set of U.S. privacy and security claims through a court-approved settlement, while the specific Facebook-related privacy claim had been dismissed for insufficiently specific allegations, as described in the settlement motion. Neither the fund amount nor final approval tells an individual user whether their data was transmitted, what information was received, or whether they can still claim money. Those individual and current-status questions require authoritative case or settlement-administrator information.
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