Lumosity Lawsuit: The FTC Case and the Refunds Already Paid
Settled — Claims Period Closed
Claim deadline was August 6, 2016 · as of Oct 21, 2026
The Lumosity lawsuit people search for is FTC v. Lumos Labs, a federal false advertising case filed and settled in January 2016. The FTC alleged the brain-training app was sold on unproven promises about school, work and dementia. The company paid $2 million, and the FTC mailed refund checks on November 15, 2016. As of October 2026 there is no open claim, no new settlement and no form to file.
Questions about this case?
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Can I Still File?
The claim deadline, what the settlement pays and where to file — plus other settlements still taking claims.
No. The claim deadline was August 6, 2016.
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What the FTC Said Lumosity Did
Lumosity is an online and mobile subscription “brain training” program sold by Lumos Labs, Inc. since 2007. According to the FTC complaint, the company advertised that its games would improve performance in school, at work and in athletics, would delay age-related decline in memory and protect against mild cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and would reduce cognitive impairment linked to chemotherapy, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, ADHD, Turner syndrome and stroke.
The FTC alleged those claims were not backed by adequate science, in violation of Sections 5(a) and 12 of the FTC Act. It also alleged deceptive testimonials: per Courthouse News, 46 of the 160 user testimonials came from contests offering prizes such as an iPad, a lifetime subscription and a trip to San Francisco, without that being disclosed. This was the Lumosity false advertising case. The company said the settlement reflected “marketing language that has been discontinued” and did not concern the quality of its products.
Case details
Federal Trade Commission v. Lumos Labs, Inc., d/b/a Lumosity, Kunal Sarkar and Michael Scanlon, No. 3:16-cv-00001-WHO, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. The FTC filed on January 4, 2016. Judge William H. Orrick signed the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order for Permanent Injunction on January 8, 2016 (Document 10). The court kept jurisdiction to enforce it. Read the order on GovInfo.
Status: Settled in 2016, Refunds Paid, Nothing Open
What lasts is the order itself. It permanently bars Lumos Labs from claiming that Lumosity or LumiKids improves school, work or athletic performance, or delays age-related decline, dementia or Alzheimer’s, unless the claim is backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence — human clinical testing. The order regulates promises, not play: nothing in it treats games or puzzles as harmful, so doing a crossword or a free daily word puzzle is just a game. What the Lumosity FTC case targeted was selling a game as medicine for your brain without the proof.
Who Got a Refund
The order made Lumos Labs give the FTC a list of everyone who subscribed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2014. The FTC used that list for the refund program. Fortune, citing the FTC, reported that a customer had to have spent at least $239 in subscription fees to qualify, so most paying users were not eligible.
Separately, current U.S. subscribers from that same period who were on an auto-renewal plan had to receive an email within seven days of the order, with a link to a one-step way to cancel. The order required that email to be sent within seven days of the order. If you subscribed after 2014, you were never part of this program.
What the Refund Paid
According to the FTC’s own distribution report, the FTC mailed 13,128 checks on November 15, 2016, totaling $1,925,540. The smallest check was $120, the average $147 and the largest $542. People cashed $1,865,011, or 93%. That distribution is finished. There is no second round and no fund to claim from today.
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 83,315 other statutory actions casesclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2026, 11.8% of them filed as class actions:
- 25.6% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 22.4% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 25.6% and 47.9%.
- 7.4% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 156 reached a trial (0.6%), after a median of 21.8 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 4.9 months.
- Only 1,756 of them (2.1%) record a money award at all; the median of those is $199,500.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal other statutory actions cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Lumosity FTC Case Timeline
2007 — Lumosity Goes on Sale
Lumos Labs starts selling the Lumosity program online. By the time of the FTC complaint it offered monthly, yearly, two-year and lifetime subscriptions.
January 4, 2016 — The FTC Sues
The FTC files No. 3:16-cv-00001 in San Francisco, alleging unsupported claims about school, work, memory, dementia and other health conditions.
January 8, 2016 — Judge Signs the Order
Judge William H. Orrick enters the stipulated order: a $50 million judgment, suspended after a $2 million payment, plus a permanent ban on unproven claims.
August 6, 2016 — Claim Deadline
Last day to mail the FTC refund claim form to the FTC v. Lumos Labs Refund Administrator.
November 15, 2016 — Checks Mailed
The FTC mails 13,128 refund checks totaling $1,925,540, an average of $147 each.
As of October 2026 — Closed
The refund program is complete. No claim form, no deadline and no new Lumosity settlement exist. The injunction on advertising claims remains in force.
Three Things to Watch For
A well-known name, an old FTC refund and a subscription product are a convenient mix for imposters:
“Your Lumosity refund is waiting” messages
The FTC refund was mailed in November 2016 and the program is finished. A 2026 email or text offering a Lumosity refund in exchange for a fee, bank login or card number is not from the FTC.
Fake “Important Notice” billing emails
The court-ordered email carried the subject “Important Notice – Your Lumosity Subscription Bill” and was ordered in January 2016. A new message copying that wording and asking you to log in through its link is phishing; manage any subscription from the app or your app store account instead.
“Join the Lumosity class action” sign-ups
The money came from an FTC case, not a consumer class action, and it has been paid. A site asking for your details to “register” for a Lumosity class action is collecting leads, not filing a claim.
Lumosity Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Short answers to the questions people ask most about this case.
Is there a Lumosity lawsuit or settlement open right now?
No. The case that made the news is FTC v. Lumos Labs, settled on January 8, 2016. The claim deadline was August 6, 2016 and refunds were mailed November 15, 2016. As of October 2026 there is nothing to file.
What happened to Lumosity brain games?
The FTC sued over the advertising, not the games. The order banned unproven claims about school, work and dementia, and the company paid $2 million. Fortune reported in November 2016 that Lumosity kept operating and was releasing new features; its CEO said the FTC’s issue “was with the advertising language.”
How much was the Lumosity refund?
Per the FTC’s distribution report, checks ranged from $120 to $542 and averaged $147. In total, 13,128 checks worth $1,925,540 were mailed on November 15, 2016.
Can I still get a Lumosity refund?
Not through the FTC case. The claim deadline passed on August 6, 2016 and the distribution is complete. For a charge on a current subscription, contact the company or the app store you paid through.
Is there a Lumosity class action?
The refund came from a federal government case brought by the FTC, not a private Lumosity class action. Our searches as of October 2026 found no consumer class action settlement against Lumos Labs.
Why was the judgment $50 million if Lumosity only paid $2 million?
The order entered a $50,000,000 judgment, then suspended everything above $2,000,000 because of the company’s financial condition as shown in its financial statements. The suspension depended on those statements being truthful, accurate and complete.
Who was eligible for the refund?
The FTC worked from a list of customers who subscribed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2014. Fortune, citing the FTC, reported that you had to have spent at least $239 in subscription fees to qualify.
Does the order stop Lumosity from making any brain claims?
It bans claims about school, work, athletics and age-related decline unless backed by human clinical testing, and requires scientific support for any other benefit claim. The order also covers LumiKids and similar products, and the court kept jurisdiction to enforce it.
About This Information
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology. Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated - $236 billion in real payouts analyzed · See what we found
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Lawsuit status, eligibility, and compensation can change. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and does not represent any party. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.
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