Slamming ‘astronomical’ attorney fees, judge likely to OK $56 million menstrual app privacy deal

The judge said he would grant final approval of the settlement with Google, Flo and Flurry next week, but said attorneys' request for one-third of the settlement is "just taking money out of consumers' pockets."SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge indicated Thursday he would grant final approval to a $56 million settlement over a lawsuit that accused period tracking app Flo of sharing users’ highly sensitive information with third parties.A class of app users sued Flo Health in 2021, claiming the company was improperly sharing personally identifiable information and private health data with third parties, including Facebook (now known as Meta), Google, ad analytics company AppsFlyer and defunct analytics company Flurry.Google reached a settlement in principle with the class in July 2025. Flurry settled with the users in March of that year, and the class voluntarily dismissed its claims against AppsFlyer in 2022. Last May, U.S. District Judge James Donato preliminarily approved the plaintiffs’ $3.5 million settlement with Flurry.The judge initially denied preliminary approval of the proposed settlement for Google and Flo Health, asking the plaintiffs for further clarification on issues related to the class and notice plan. The settlement was preliminarily approved in April.In August, a jury found Meta violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act when it intentionally recorded the sensitive health information of millions of women through Flo following a two-week trial. Flo settled mid-trial and admitted no wrongdoing.Under the settlement agreements, Google will pay $48 million, and Flo Health will pay $8 million. Compensation will be available for class members who entered menstruation and/or pregnancy information into the Flo app in the U.S. between Nov. 1, 2016, and Feb. 28, 2019.The plaintiffs say they sent direct notice of the settlement to more than 3 million class members identified in Flo’s records, reaching an estimated 33% of the class. The settlement administrator estimates another 4.8 million class members will be reached by indirect notice. Class members can expect an estimated recovery ranging from $12.69 to $31.94, depending on the number of claims submitted.Attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the court for more than $19 million in attorney fees, representing nearly a third of the Google settlement, and 20% each of the Flurry and Flo settlements.Donato voiced his skepticism about the large number of law firms submitting bills for the case, saying the attorneys’ request for 32.5% of the total settlement is “just taking money out of consumers’ pockets.”“I have no idea what these people were doing. I can’t do anything with this,” the Barack Obama appointee said. “I am deeply suspicious there was no duplicative work among these people.”However, the judge said he didn’t have the time to address his billing concerns and instead said he would reduce the attorneys’ settlement request by 5%. He also said he would grant the attorneys’ request for $3 million to reimburse litigation expenses, despite calling the amount “astronomical.”“That is probably even more than you should get. It is clear to me this is just an epic ball of yarn in terms of billing issues,” he said.Donato indicated he would sign an order granting final approval of the settlement next week.The judge then turned to the fallout of the jury’s verdict against Meta, ordering representatives for the plaintiffs, Meta, and Covalynt, the company the plaintiffs used to help identify potential class members, to meet in a jury room the week of Thanksgiving and not leave until they resolve their issues.“This is such a disservice to the court system and the jurors and the people waiting for their claim,” he said.Eligible class members will receive up to $5,000 — the amount of statutory damages allowed per violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act.The plaintiffs claim to have identified 1.2 million unique California Flo app users and have the contact information for close to 222,000 of them. They are asking the court for a separate notice program to identify additional potential class members.However, Meta is requesting all data the plaintiffs used to identify possible class members so they can verify class membership.Donato ordered the plaintiffs and Meta to exchange the requested data by the opposite party 10 days before they meet.“You’re both acting like this is an East Berlin cult meet-up, voicing paranoid suspicion,” he said. “Just stop. Just exchange the data. If someone doesn’t do that, they will be held to account. They will not have a happy Thanksgiving. You will be in that room until you reach a deal. The class is waiting.”Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads