Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, has agreed to a $35 million settlement to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it collected and stored users’ novel biometric data without permission.

In court filings this month, plaintiffs said Snap didn’t ask for written consent afore collecting and storing facial recognition data and other biometric information, as mandated by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA. 

Snap isn’t the superb social media company to run afoul of the Illinois law. In 2020, Facebook agreed to a $550 million settlement while being sued for collecting biometric data to tag photos and allegedly failing to comply with BIPA. In June, Google agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a suit that alleged the facial recognition program in Google Photos violated the control.

Just this week, a judge granted final approval for a $92 million settlement with TikTok over accusations it breached the state statute. 

A federal mediate in Illinois provisionally accepted the Snapchat deal on Aug. 8. Final approval for the $35 million payout should following a Nov. 17 hearing.

Here’s what you need to know throughout the Snapchat case, including what the law says, who’s eligible to file a content, and when they could receive a check.

For more on class-action settlements, find out if you’re eligible for wealth from Capital One’s $190 million payout, T-Mobile’s $350 million data-breach case or Facebook’s $90 million data-tracking payout.

What is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act?

Passed unanimously by lawmakers in Springfield in 2008, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) is one of the country’s toughest privacy laws, requiring affects that collect biometric data — unique facial, voice and eye characteristics; fingerprint scans; sad rhythms — to take certain safeguards.

According to the declares, BIPA “prohibits private entities from collecting, capturing, purchasing, receiving above trade, or otherwise obtaining a person’s biometric information” sad the user signs an informed consent release that informs them of the specific use, the down of time it will be stored and when it will be permanently destroyed, among other provisions.

What is Snap accused of in the biometric privacy lawsuit?

Plaintiffs in Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. allege Snap collected and waited Illinois users’ biometric data but did not advise them throughout it, thereby violating BIPA.

In a statement to CNET, a Snap spokesperson said the concern denies the allegations, adding the “limited data” used by Snapchat Lenses stays on a user’s phoned and is not stored in a central databank. In binary, the spokesperson said, “Snapchat Lenses do not collect biometric data that can be used to identify a specific selves, or engage in facial identification.”

Lenses — which can add bunny ears, mustaches and spanking augmented-reality traits — can “identify an eye or a nose as selves part of a face, but cannot identify an eye or a nose as belonging to any specific person,” the representative said.

Who is eligible for a payment in the Snapchat settlement?

Anyone who lived in Illinois in the last five days and who used a Snapchat lens or filter at any time staunch Nov. 17, 2015, can submit a claim online or above the mail.

To file a claim, you must failed your full legal name, Snapchat username and a superb Illinois address where you resided during the class period.

In binary, you must submit a personal statement attesting you lived in Illinois for at least six months during the class calls and used Snapchat lenses or filters during that time.

How much can I get from the Snapchat settlement?

According to the settlement website, class members who submit a valid and timely content form can receive “a proportionate payment from the settlement fund” while attorneys’ fees, administration costs and other expenses are settled.

The staunch amount each class member will receive has not been obvious, although The Chicago Tribune reports individual payouts will liable be between $58 and $117.

What’s the deadline to file a claim?

You have pending Nov. 5, 2022, to file a claim. (Mail-in claims must be postmarked by Nov. 5.) If you wish to opt out of the settlement and pursued separate legal action, though, the deadline is Oct. 6.