A court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of the class action lawsuit known as Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc., Case No. 2022LA000708, and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give Final Approval to the Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Circuit Court of DuPage County, Illinois is overseeing this case. The persons who sued, Brianna Boone, Ashley McClinton, and K.F.C., a minor, by and through her guardian, Erin Rentfro, are called the “Plaintiffs” or “Class Representatives.” Snap Inc. is the “Defendant.”

The lawsuit alleges the Defendant violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. (“BIPA”), based on Defendant allegedly collecting and storing biometric identifiers and/or biometric information (collectively, “biometric data”) through the use of Defendant’s “Lenses” and “Filters” features without complying with BIPA’s requirements.

Defendant denies all wrongdoing or liability of any kind whatsoever asserted by Plaintiffs or Settlement Class Members in the Litigation. Specifically, Defendant denies that it collects or stores biometrics and, instead, its Lenses and Filters features utilize object recognition. Additionally, the object recognition data is maintained only on a user’s own device and is deleted from the device when a user closes the Snapchat application. Despite Defendant’s belief that it is not liable for the allegations in the Litigation and despite Defendant’s viable defenses to those allegations, Defendant desires to settle the Litigation, and thus avoid the expense and burden of continued litigation of any action or proceeding relating to the matters being fully settled and finally put to rest in this Settlement Agreement.

The Plaintiffs’ Complaint, Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release, and other case-related documents are posted on the Important Documents page. The Settlement resolves the lawsuit. The Court has not decided who is right.

In a class action, the persons called the “Class Representatives” (in this case, Plaintiffs) sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar claims.

All the people who have claims similar to the Plaintiffs are Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court has not found in favor of either Plaintiffs or the Defendant. Instead, both sides have agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and if the Settlement is approved by the Court, Settlement Class Members who submit timely and valid claim forms will receive a Settlement Payment, as described in the Notice. Defendant denies all legal claims in this case. Plaintiffs and their lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.

The Settlement Class includes the following persons:

All Illinois residents who used Lenses or Filters offered by Snap between November 17, 2015 and the present (the “Class Period”).

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) Defendant; (ii) members of the immediate families of any Defendant who is an individual; (iii) any person who was an officer or director of Snap during the Class Period; (iv) any firm or entity in which any Defendant has or had a controlling interest; (v) parents, affiliates, or subsidiaries of Snap; (vi) the legal representatives, agents, heirs, beneficiaries, successors-in-interest, or assigns of any excluded person or entity, in their respective capacity as such; (vii) the Court and staff (and the immediate family of) to whom this case is assigned; (viii) persons who have already released or finally adjudicated their Released Claims; and (ix) any persons or entities who or which exclude themselves by individually submitting a timely and valid request for exclusion according to the opt-out requirements in the Class Notice and that is accepted by the Court.

If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class or have any other questions about the Settlement, call the toll-free number (844) 939-4343. You also may send questions to the Settlement Administrator at Info@snapillinoisbipasettlement.com.

The Settlement provides for the establishment of a Settlement Fund in the amount of $35,000,000.00 (Thirty-Five Million Dollars), to pay for all Settlement Payments to Settlement Class Members, the Service Award to the Class Representatives, the Fee Award, payment of Administrative Expenses, any federal, state, and/or local taxes of any kind (including any interest or penalties thereon) and any and all other fees, costs or expenses.

Each Settlement Class Member who timely files with the Settlement Administrator a valid Claim Form will receive a settlement payment of a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund.

Click HERE to file a claim online.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form in order to receive a payment. You may download a Claim or request a Claim Form by calling the Settlement Administrator toll-free at (844) 939-4343 or emailing the Settlement Administrator at Info@snapillinoisbipasettlement.com. To be valid, a Claim Form must be completed fully and accurately signed under penalty of perjury and timely submitted.

You may submit a Claim Form by U.S. mail or file a Claim Form on the Settlement Website. If you send in a Claim Form by U.S. mail, it must be postmarked no later than NOVEMBER 5, 2022. If you file a Claim Form on the Settlement Website, then you must do so by NOVEMBER 5, 2022.

Payments to Settlement Class Members will be made only after the Court grants Final Approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see “Final Approval Hearing” below). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.

In order to exercise the right to be excluded, a Member of the Settlement Class must timely send an individual, written letter requesting exclusion from Settlement of the Action to the Settlement Administrator and Class Counsel providing: (i) their full legal name; (ii) Snapchat username; (iii) email address; (iv) a personal attestation that they have lived in the state of Illinois for at least 183 days (6 months) during the Class Period, and during the time they lived in Illinois, used Snapchat’s Lenses or Filters; and (v) at least one Illinois address at which they resided during the Class Period.

A request to be excluded that is not sent individually to the required recipients designated in the Class Notice, or that is not postmarked within the time specified, shall be invalid and the person serving such a request shall be considered a Member of the Settlement Class and shall be bound as Settlement Class Members by the Settlement Agreement, if approved.

Your letter requesting to be excluded from the Settlement must be personally signed by you under penalty of perjury and contain a statement that clearly indicates your desire to be excluded from the Settlement Class.

Your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than OCTOBER 6, 2022. You cannot ask to be excluded on the phone, by email, or at the Settlement Website.

You may opt out of the Settlement Class only for yourself.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue the Defendant for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from this Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.

Unless you opt out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant about the issues in this case, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding. Unless you exclude yourself, all of the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you.

The Class Action Settlement Agreement & Release is available on the Important Documents page. The Class Action Settlement Agreement & Release provides more detail regarding the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firm representing the Settlement Class listed in Question 14 for free, or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Claims or what they mean.

No. You will not get a payment from the Settlement Fund if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent all Members of the Settlement Class.

Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC
3833 Central Ave.
St. Petersburg, FL 33713

You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

Class Counsel intends to request up to 35% of the Settlement Fund, or $12,250,000 as payment for attorneys’ fees, as well as reimbursement out-of-pocket expenses costs in the amounts of $73,723.09. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award.

Class Counsel will also request that a Service Award of $2,000 each be paid to the Class Representatives for their services as representatives on behalf of the Settlement Class.

If you are a Settlement Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. To object, you must by no later than OCTOBER 6, 2022, file your objection with the Clerk of the Court and send copies to the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel, and Defendant’s counsel.

Any Settlement Class Member who intends to object to this Settlement must include in any such objection: (i) his/her full name, address, email address, and current telephone number; (ii) the case name and number of the Action; (iii) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (iv) the identification of any other objections he/she has filed, or has had filed on his/her behalf, in any other class action cases in the last four years; and (v) the objector’s signature. If represented by counsel, the objecting Settlement Class Member must also provide the name and telephone number of his/her counsel. If the objecting Settlement Class Member intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing at his/her own expense, either with or without counsel, he/she must state as such in the written objection, and must also identify any witnesses he/she may call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing and all exhibits he/she intends to introduce into evidence at the Final Approval Hearing, which must also be attached to, or included with, the written objection.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing on NOVEMBER 17, 2022, at 9:00 A.M. at the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, 505 N. County Farm Rd., Room 2016, Wheaton, IL 60187. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website for updates. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Parties will request that the Court consider whether the Settlement Class should be certified as a class pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2 for settlement and, if so, (i) consider any properly-filed objections; (ii) determine whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, was entered into in good faith and without collusion, and should be approved, and shall provide findings in connections therewith; and (iii) enter the Final Approval Order, including final approval of the Settlement Agreement, and a Fee Award. It is unknown how long these decisions will take.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your written objection on time and it complies with all the other requirements set forth above, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend the hearing, but it is not necessary.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing (see Question 16 above). You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do nothing, meaning you do not file a timely Claim, you will not get benefits from the Settlement. Further, unless you exclude yourself, you will be bound by the judgment entered by the Court.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Class Action Settlement Agreement & Release, which you can view at on the Important Documents page.

You may contact the Settlement Administration through mail, email or phone.

MAIL
Snapchat Privacy Settlement c/o Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103

EMAIL
Info@snapillinoisbipasettlement.com

PHONE
(844) 939-4343