If you received a payment or notice of a pending payment from Facebook recently, you may be wondering why. There are a few potential reasons why Facebook may have sent you money.
You were part of a class action lawsuit against Facebook
One of the most common reasons people receive payouts from Facebook is due to class action lawsuit settlements. Over the years, Facebook has faced multiple lawsuits over issues like privacy violations, unauthorized sharing of user data, facial recognition technology, and more. If you were part of the group of users affected by one of these issues, you may have been eligible to receive a settlement payment.
Some of the major class action lawsuits against Facebook that resulted in payouts include:
- 2010 Beacon Privacy Lawsuit: Paid out around $9.5 million to users who didn’t consent to having their actions shared through the short-lived Beacon program.
- 2012 Sponsored Stories Lawsuit: Paid out $20 million to users whose names or likenesses were used in paid ads without their consent.
- 2013 Fraley et al. Lawsuit: Paid out $20 million to users for the unauthorized use of members’ names, likenesses and images for endorsed “Sponsored Stories” ads.
- 2018 Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Paid out $650 million for allowing third parties like Cambridge Analytica to access user data without consent.
- 2020 Illinois Biometric Info Privacy Class Action: Paid out $650 million to Illinois users for violations related to facial recognition technology.
If you received a larger payment (typically $200 to $400, but amounts varied depending on different factors), there’s a good chance it came from one of these major privacy-related class action settlements.
How to know if you were part of a Facebook class action settlement
Unfortunately Facebook settlement administrators don’t always make it easy to find out which specific case your payment is related to. However, there are a few ways you may be able to get more details:
- Check the payment notice or any other letters/emails you received related to the payout for case details.
- Search online for the lawsuit names to see if dates, affected users, or settlement amounts seem applicable to your situation.
- Visit the official settlement website, which sometimes provides claimant lookup tools.
- Call the settlement administrator’s phone number, which is usually provided in letters or emails about the payments.
If you are unable to determine which specific lawsuit your payment is from, don’t worry too much. The important thing is that if you received a check from Facebook, it means it resolved to pay you settlement funds for a privacy, data usage or other violation in their past.
You reported an app or website for impersonating Facebook
Facebook has a reporting tool where you can flag unauthorized websites or mobile apps that are pretending to be associated with Facebook. These sites or apps are often scams attempting to steal personal information from unsuspecting Facebook users.
If you previously used this reporting tool to identify an app or site impersonating Facebook, the company may have sent you a payment as a “bug bounty” reward for helping improve safety and security on their platform.
These bug bounty payments are usually smaller amounts – ranging from $50 to $500 based on the severity of the reported issue. The amount seems to be at Facebook’s discretion.
How to know if you got the bounty payment
If you received an unexplained smaller payment ranging $50-$500, there’s a decent chance it’s from reporting an impersonation issue. Here are some ways to confirm:
- Check for any emails from Facebook around the time of your report about receiving a bug bounty payment.
- Look for a notice with the payment mentioning you helped report an app or site violating Facebook policies.
- Check your Facebook privacy settings for any authorized submissions to their bug bounty program.
- Search your email inbox for any related messages about submitting a report through Facebook’s impersonation reporting tool.
You helped Facebook identify a platform bug
In addition to impersonation reports, Facebook also has a more general bug bounty program. This rewards security researchers and regular users who identify significant bugs or vulnerabilities on the Facebook platform.
If you stumbled upon and reported a major technical issue on Facebook, such as a critical security flaw or privacy problem, you may have been paid a bug bounty reward.
Payments for general Facebook platform bugs also tend to be smaller, ranging from $500 to $5000+ depending on severity. Larger bounties go to issues like remote code execution bugs and private data leaks.
How to confirm you received a platform bug bounty
To check if your mystery Facebook payment was for identifying a platform vulnerability, look for:
- Emails from Facebook’s bug bounty program confirming you resolved an eligible issue.
- Mention of a bug bounty payment in any notice sent with the funds.
- Records in your Facebook settings showing authorized bug submissions.
- Search your inbox for emails with Facebook about reporting platform bugs or security issues.
You were the victim of fraud or unauthorized charges
Occasionally, people will come across unknown charges or unauthorized transactions on their Facebook accounts. This could happen if your account was compromised, or in some cases due to an App you connected to Facebook engaging in fraud.
If you reported unauthorized Facebook charges or account fraud to the company, they may have refunded the transactions back to you.
The amount of the refund will likely match whatever unauthorized charges occurred. This could be anything from a few dollars for a shady app transaction up to hundreds for compromised Facebook ad spend.
How to confirm Facebook sent a fraud refund
To check if an unexplained Facebook payment was for refunding fraud or unauthorized charges, look for:
- Any emails, messages or notices from Facebook about issuing a refund after you reported unauthorized account activity or charges.
- Records in your Facebook history showing reports of fraudulent/unauthorized transactions.
- Billing statements showing matching unauthorized Facebook charges around the time you reported issues.
- Communications with Facebook customer support about unauthorized events and getting a refund.
You participated in Facebook Research
Facebook occasionally invites users to participate in research studies and surveys via its Viewpoints market research app. In exchange for completing various activities like surveys, app tests or diaries about your Facebook usage, you can earn points.
These points can then be redeemed for cash rewards paid out via PayPal, or for sweepstakes entries. The value depends on the specific tasks completed, but tends to range from $5 to $95 for typical studies.
How to confirm you earned Viewpoints rewards
To see if your Facebook payment came from participating in their research panels, check for:
- Emails or in-app notifications from Facebook Viewpoints confirming completed studies and earned rewards.
- Records in your Viewpoints history showing you redeemed points for a cash payout.
- Matching payment dates/amounts for completed Viewpoints study rewards.
- Facebook confirmation that a points redemption was processed and paid out.
You advertised with Facebook
If you’ve ever run ads on Facebook or Instagram, you may occasionally receive surprise payments from Facebook not obviously related to your recent ad activity.
This can happen due to refunds for ad overspend or disabled accounts, credits related to policy violations or disputes, or bonuses and reimbursements for ad account issues.
How to confirm the payment was ad related
To determine if an unexpected Facebook payment was tied to your advertising history, check for:
- Communications from Facebook’s ads support team confirming any credits, refunds or bonuses.
- Billing statements showing Facebook ad charges corresponding to a refund.
- Payment dates/amounts matching disabled or credited ad accounts.
- Notifications about ad policy violations that may have led to reimbursement.
- History of disputes or issues with Facebook advertising and payments.
You had an account balance
Facebook manages a variety of financial transactions on their platform, including payouts to page owners, refunds for purchases, and user account balances. If issues arise preventing Facebook from disbursing funds owed to a user, those amounts may eventually get paid out as an unexpected “unclaimed balance” payment.
For example, if you had earnings as a Facebook creator that were unable to be paid out previously, or refunds for ticketed events or Oculus store purchases that encountered problems, these funds may have finally reached you via an account balance payout.
Ways to identify unclaimed balance payments
Check for:
- Emails from Facebook about undeliverable/unclaimed payments being returned to your account balance.
- Notifications in your Facebook settings of an available balance payment.
- Match between your balance history and the payout amount.
- Communications about issues receiving owed Facebook funds.
You participated in a small business support program
During challenging economic periods like the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook introduced various financial relief initiatives to help struggling small businesses who advertise on their platforms.
If you received grants or credits from programs like Facebook Small Business Grants or Businesses Nearby Campaigns, this could be the source of an unexpected payout from Facebook that isn’t tied to your recent advertising spend.
Confirming a small business support payment
To check if a Facebook payment matches participation in a small business or COVID relief program, look for:
- Emails or communications from Facebook about receiving grants, credits or financial relief for your business.
- Terms and amounts that align with relief programs like Businesses Nearby or small business grants.
- Lack of recent advertising activity that would have organically led to the payment.
- Confirmation that your business and ad account were eligible/approved for COVID support.
You had an unknown account credit
In some cases, Facebook may issue a credit to your account that is unrelated to any specific issue or activity mentioned above. This can occur for several reasons, such as:
- Goodwill reimbursements when the company makes a mistake.
- Apology credits when technical issues cause problems.
- “Surprise and delight” bonuses used to increase satisfaction.
- Testing of new account crediting systems or flows.
- Policy changes leading to retroactive credits being applied.
When the source of these credits is unclear, Facebook simply identifies them as an “account credit” when processed and paid out.
Verifying an unknown credit was the source
If you can’t link your Facebook payment to any particular activity, here are some final things to check to confirm it came from an unidentified account credit:
- Look for any communication from Facebook referencing a credit but lacking context.
- Ask Facebook support if they show an account credit from around the time of your payment.
- Rule out other more specific possibilities listed above.
- Consider if you had issues with Facebook recently that may have led to goodwill credits.
Conclusion
To summarize, here are some of the most common reasons for receiving direct payments from Facebook:
- Settlements from class action lawsuits over privacy, data usage, biometrics, etc.
- Bug bounty rewards for reporting impersonation, vulnerabilities, or other platform issues.
- Refunds for unauthorized access, fraud or account security issues.
- Earnings from participating in Facebook Research surveys and studies.
- Advertising credits, reimbursements and refunds related to ad disputes, policy issues or account closures.
- Payouts of unclaimed account balances and owed earnings.
- Small business support and COVID relief grants.
- Unknown account credits for miscellaneous reasons.
If you dig through your Facebook history and communications and still can’t determine exactly where an unexpected payment originated, try reaching out to Facebook support directly to request more details on the source of the funds.
Mystery payments from giant tech companies like Facebook can sometimes set off alarm bells around security and fraud. However, in most cases these transfers end up being legitimate – if obscure in origin – and the result of participation in various Facebook programs and initiatives over the years.