Users of the popular messaging app Snapchat may be entitled to payment in a new class action lawsuit. Residents of the state of Illinois who used Snapchat’s lenses or filters feature since 2015 can visit the settlement’s website and file a claim from now until Nov. 5, 2022. 

According to the plaintiff’s website, “The Settlement, if approved, would provide $35,000,000 to pay all Settlement Payments to Settlement Class Members.” 

The lawsuit, Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc., alleges that Snap Inc. stored and collected biometric identifiers from Snapchat users through the usage of the app’s lenses and filters feature. The storage of these biometric identifiers violates the Biometric Information Privacy Act of Illinois. 

According to the Illinois General Assembly’s website, biometric identifiers could be considered “any information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier used to identify an individual.”

A judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement on Aug. 8 after it was submitted to the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in DuPage County. The case’s final approval hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.

Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc. is yet another class action lawsuit in recent years related to the privacy act. Similar cases, like the $650 million Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation, all involve the usage and storage of biometric identifiers.

Illinois’ Privacy Act stipulates that private entities, such as Snap Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., cannot store biometric identifiers from its users unless they are first notified. The Biometric Information Privacy Act of Illinois, introduced in 2008, is one of the few laws in the United States that provide individuals this right, according to Sec. 20 of the privacy act.