After years of legal wrangling, the Facebook user privacy lawsuit has finally paid out. The case, In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, centered on allegations that Facebook shared user data with third parties without proper consent. In 2023, a $725 million settlement was reached, covering U.S. users who had accounts between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022. Eligible claimants who submitted a claim before the deadline last year are now finally receiving their payments.
The settlement administrator is distributing funds in several forms, including PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, direct deposit, and prepaid Mastercards. If you’re among those who received a virtual Mastercard, you may be wondering how best to use it, especially since prepaid cards can sometimes be tricky to spend down to the last cent.
The easiest solution I’ve found is to add the prepaid Mastercard directly to your Amazon account. From there, you can use it just like any other payment method, including applying the balance to purchase or refill an Amazon gift card. That way, the full amount transfers into your Amazon account balance, making it simple to use without worrying about partial charges.
For example, I recently received my virtual Mastercard worth $35.50. Adding it to my Amazon account and using the balance to refill my Amazon gift card worked seamlessly. If you’d like step-by-step instructions for how to do it, you can follow my detailed guide on How to Use Mastercard, Visa, Amex Gift Card on Amazon.
If you filed a valid claim and haven’t yet received your payment, keep an eye on your email and settlement notifications – the administrator is continuing to send them out.
[Image credit: AI-generated via DALL·E]
