University of Phoenix Class Action Lawsuit: $25 Pixel Settlement, Claims Due November 5, 2026
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If an email about a University of Phoenix settlement landed in your inbox in October 2026, it is about one specific case: a privacy lawsuit alleging the school’s website shared student data with Meta. Students enrolled from April 1, 2023 (Illinois: from April 1, 2020) can claim $25. The deadline is November 5, 2026. A separate data breach case and an older FTC case are explained below.
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What the Lawsuits Say Happened
The lawsuit University of Phoenix students are being notified about is Brand, et al. v. The University of Phoenix, Inc. It alleges that the school’s website used tracking tools that disclosed students’ personally identifiable information to Meta Platforms and other third parties without consent. The claims are under the Video Privacy Protection Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Illinois Eavesdropping Act. The university denies that it violated any law.
A related federal case: Janielle Dawson, who is also a named class representative in the settlement, filed a class action against the University in the Northern District of Illinois on April 1, 2025. On January 13, 2026 that court refused to dismiss key claims, holding that a school selling recorded online courses can count as a “video tape service provider” under the video privacy law.
A second, unrelated matter is the data breach. The university says an outside party exploited a previously unknown flaw in Oracle’s E-Business Suite and copied data in August 2025. It detected the incident on November 21, 2025. Exposed fields include names, contact information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account and routing numbers. Published reports put the count at 3,489,274 people.
Case Details
Pixel settlement: Brand, et al. v. The University of Phoenix, Inc., Case No. 2026LA000170, Circuit Court for Sangamon County, Illinois (Seventh Judicial Circuit), before Judge Gail L. Noll. Preliminary approval was granted on September 22, 2026. The Final Approval Hearing is set for November 20, 2026 at 9:30 a.m., by Zoom.
Data breach: the suits naming the University alongside Oracle are part of In re Oracle Corporation Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:25-cv-01805, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. That case also covers other organizations hit through the same Oracle flaw.
Walden University lawsuit: Walden is a different school with a different owner. Its class action was Carroll v. Walden University, LLC, No. 1:22-cv-00051-JRR, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, before Judge Julie R. Rubin.
Status: Pixel Settlement Open, Breach Case Pending
Oracle data breach case — pending. The University and its co-defendants filed motions to dismiss in June 2026. As of the company’s latest quarterly report, those motions were pending. There is no breach settlement, no fund and no claim form.
Walden — closed. Final approval of the $28.5 million settlement was entered on October 17, 2024.
Don't miss the claim deadline
Claims are due by November 5, 2026. We'll email you 7 days and 1 day before the deadline.
Who Is Covered by Each Case
Pixel settlement: everyone in the United States enrolled at the University of Phoenix from April 1, 2023 through October 6, 2026, the date notice went out. In Illinois, the window starts April 1, 2020. Excluded are the school’s officers and directors and the judge.
To file, you need the LoginID and PIN from the notice email. If you were enrolled but got no email, ask the administrator at info@UOPPixelSettlement.com for them.
Data breach: people whose records sat in the university’s Oracle system and who received a notice letter. Letters began going out on December 22, 2025. You do not sign up for that case; nothing is payable from it.
Walden class (closed): Black or female students in Walden’s Doctor of Business Administration program who enrolled between August 1, 2008 and January 31, 2018 and were charged for extra capstone credits.
What Each Case Pays
Data breach: no settlement, no fund, no claim form. The company said it has not accrued any liability for the case. The breach letters offered 12 months of IDX identity protection; enrollment closed March 22, 2026.
Older money: the FTC’s 2019 case ended in a record $191 million settlement — $50 million in cash and about $141 million in canceled school debt. The FTC later mailed 146,804 checks. That program is finished; it did not touch federal or private student loans.
University of Phoenix Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
December 10, 2019 — FTC Settlement
The school and its then-parent settle FTC charges over job-partnership ads for a record $191 million in cash and debt cancellation.
- 2
April 1, 2025 — Pixel Class Action Filed
A student sues in federal court in Illinois, alleging the website shared student data with Meta through tracking tools.
- 3
August–November 2025 — Oracle Breach
Data is copied via an Oracle E-Business Suite flaw in August 2025; the university detects it on November 21, 2025 and starts notice letters on December 22, 2025.
- 4
January 13, 2026 — Key Claims Survive
The federal court in Illinois denies dismissal of core video privacy and wiretap claims against the university.
- 5
September 22, 2026 — Preliminary Approval
The Sangamon County court preliminarily approves the pixel settlement in Case No. 2026LA000170. Notice emails go out October 6, 2026.
- 6
November 5 and 20, 2026 — Deadline and Hearing
Claims, opt-outs and objections are due November 5, 2026. The Final Approval Hearing is set for November 20, 2026.
Three Things to Watch For
A real settlement email arriving alongside a breach of Social Security and bank numbers is an easy setup for imposters:
Breach-claim pages asking for your SSN
The real pixel claim needs only the LoginID and PIN from your notice email. There is no breach settlement at all, so a page asking for your Social Security or bank routing number to “claim your breach payment” is collecting data, not filing anything.
Lookalike settlement sites
The court-authorized site is uoppixelsettlement.com, with the administrator address P.O. Box 25191, Santa Ana, CA 92799. Type the address yourself instead of clicking a link, and see our Simpluris guide for how real notices look.
Fees to unlock FTC or loan money
The FTC refunds were mailed years ago, and the FTC itself warned about debt-relief outfits charging for services that are free. Nobody legitimate charges to release a University of Phoenix refund or loan discharge.
University of Phoenix Class Action — Questions People Actually Ask
Is the University of Phoenix settlement email real?
The pixel settlement is real: Brand, et al. v. The University of Phoenix, Inc., Case No. 2026LA000170, with notice emails dated October 6, 2026. Check the email against the official site, uoppixelsettlement.com, and the administrator’s toll-free line, (866) 675-2696, rather than clicking through.
How much will I get from the University of Phoenix class action lawsuit?
$25 per approved claim, reduced pro rata only if claims push total costs to the $8,750,000 cap. Nothing is paid until the court grants final approval; the hearing is November 20, 2026.
What is the deadline?
November 5, 2026 for claims, exclusion requests and objections. If you do nothing, you get no payment and still give up the right to sue over these claims.
Is there a settlement for the University of Phoenix data breach?
No. As of October 2026 the breach claims sit in In re Oracle Corporation Data Breach Litigation, No. 1:25-cv-01805 (W.D. Tex.), where motions to dismiss filed in June 2026 were pending. There is no fund and no claim form. The data breach settlement calculator shows how such cases usually pay if they settle.
Does the pixel settlement release my data breach claims?
The pixel case is about website tracking and Meta; the breach is about stolen Oracle records. The released claims are listed in Paragraphs 1.25–1.27 of the Settlement Agreement on the official site — read them before you decide.
What about the Walden University lawsuit?
The class action lawsuit Walden University settled was Carroll v. Walden University, LLC (D. Md.). It alleged the Doctor of Business Administration program drew out its capstone phase — students were told 60 credits, but took 94 on average. Judge Rubin approved $28.5 million on October 17, 2024 for more than 2,000 class members. That case is closed; it is not connected to the University of Phoenix.
Can I still get money from the $191 million FTC settlement?
Not as a new claim. Refunds went to students who first enrolled between October 15, 2012 and December 31, 2016 and paid more than $5,000 in total (cash, grants, loans or military benefits). Separately, the Department of Education approved more than 1,200 borrower defense claims, discharging nearly $37 million in loans, in September 2023.
What should I do right now?
If you were enrolled in the class period, file the $25 claim before November 5, 2026 using the PIN from your email. If you got a breach letter, freeze your credit and watch the bank account whose routing number was exposed. Browse other live deals at open class action settlements.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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