Have you ever used 23andMe or its Family Tree service? If yes, you may be eligible for payment from the settlement that resulted after a class action lawsuit filed against 23andMe after the 2023 data breach.
Here, we have discussed everything you need to know about the 23andMe Data Breach Settlement. Read this article thoroughly to check if you are eligible for payout, how much you can receive, and much more.
23andMe Data Breach Settlement
Between April and September 2013, a credential-stuffing attack took place. During which hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of 6.9 million users. The details that are included include names, birth years, locations, family surnames, ethnicity estimates, and DNA match data.
The company publicly disclosed the details about this data breach in October 2023, and many users filed class action lawsuits. In January 2024, a separate class action lawsuit was filed alleging that the company didn’t notify those of Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage that their genetic information was compromised.
In September 2024, the company agreed to a settlement of $30M without accepting any wrongdoing. In March 2025, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, i.e., asked the court for protection while it figured out how to pay its debts and settle lawsuits.
Latest Update
After the bankruptcy filing, more than 2 million users requested data deletion. The California AG advised users to do so to protect their sensitive information. Note that the claim form for the class members was available up to July 14, 2025, and then in September 2025, the total fund increased to $50M.
The settlement has yet to receive the final approval. The settlement administrator will soon start the payout once the final approval is received. If you have submitted the claim form by the due date, you will surely receive the payment. The details about the payout will be made public after the final approval.
Eligibility Requirement
The payout from the 23andMe Data Breach Settlement will be received by all eligible individuals, which includes:
- You must be a permanent resident of the US as of August 11, 2023;
- You use the 23andMe service between May 1 and October 1 in the year 2023;
- You received a formal notification from 23andMe between October 13, 2023, and February 8, 2024, that informed you about the data breach; and
- You experienced unreimbursed expenses or losses or emotional distress due to a data breach.
Additionally, it is mandatory that you have submitted the valid claim form by the due date with or without a document through the official settlement portal.
Payout Date
It is expected that the 23andMe Data Breach Settlement will receive the final approval in October or November 2025. The payout is expected to start 90 days after the final approval. If it takes place by the expected timeline, we can expect that the payout will be received probably by March 2026.
Note that if the final approval for this settlement is received with appeals, you may have to wait for payout until the appeals are resolved. The payment is going to be received through the direct deposit and paper check you will receive from the one you have chosen.
Payment Amount
The amount you can get from the 23andMe data breach settlement is going to be different from one another for each claimant. Check the details about payout from below:
- If you have submitted a claim form for documented expenses, such as credit monitoring, identity theft recovery, or mental health counseling, you can get a maximum payment of $1,500.
- For the undocumented expenses, the maximum amount you can get is $500.
- If you have submitted extraordinary claims, which require evidence of hardship due to data breach, then you can get up to $10,000.
Additionally, residents of Alaska, California, Illinois, and Oregon will get an additional payment of $100 due to their genetic privacy laws.
Disclaimer: The 23andMe data breach settlement information is for general awareness. Eligibility and payout details are determined by official settlement administrators.