Your Cerebral settlement payout depends on which of two separate legal actions you fall under — and the math behind each one works very differently. If you were improperly charged after trying to cancel your Cerebral subscription on or before May 2022, your refund from the FTC settlement is based on how long you were overbilled. If you’re a California resident whose health data was exposed through tracking pixels, your share of the class action settlement is a pro rata slice of roughly $267,000, meaning the more people who file claims, the smaller each check gets. To put that in perspective, the FTC has already sent over $5 million in refunds to 40,249 consumers — averaging around $127 per person, though individual amounts vary significantly based on billing history.
The pixel data breach settlement, meanwhile, has a far smaller pool. If 2,670 people file valid claims against the net fund, each person walks away with about $100. If 10,000 file, that drops to roughly $27. These are two fundamentally different compensation structures, and understanding which applies to you is the first step toward knowing what to expect.
Table of Contents
- How Are Cerebral Settlement Payouts Calculated for Each Case?
- What Determines Eligibility for Each Cerebral Settlement?
- How Cerebral’s Data Sharing Practices Led to These Settlements
- Steps to Maximize Your Cerebral Settlement Payout
- Common Mistakes That Reduce or Eliminate Your Payment
- How to Contact the Refund Administrator
- What These Settlements Mean Going Forward
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Are Cerebral Settlement Payouts Calculated for Each Case?
The FTC settlement and the pixel data breach class action use completely different formulas to determine what you receive. The FTC action, which resulted in a $7 million penalty against cerebral, set aside $5.1 million specifically for consumer refunds. Your individual refund amount is tied directly to what Cerebral charged you after you requested cancellation. Someone who was billed for two extra months at $85 per month would receive a different refund than someone billed for six months. The refund administrator, Epiq Systems, calculated each consumer’s amount based on Cerebral’s own billing records, so there was no claim form to fill out for the FTC refunds — they were sent automatically to affected consumers.
The pixel data breach class action, *Doe I and Doe II v. Cerebral, Inc.*, works on an entirely different model. The total settlement fund is $500,000, but after attorneys’ fees of up to $198,000, expenses up to $25,000, and service awards up to $10,000, the actual pool available to claimants shrinks to approximately $267,000. Every valid claimant gets an equal pro rata share of that net fund. Unlike the FTC settlement, you had to actively file a claim to receive anything. The contrast is stark: one settlement compensates you based on documented financial harm, the other divides a fixed pot among everyone who shows up.
What Determines Eligibility for Each Cerebral Settlement?
Eligibility requirements differ sharply between the two cases, and it’s possible to qualify for one, both, or neither. For the FTC settlement, you needed to have been a Cerebral customer who requested cancellation on or before May 2022 and was subsequently charged. The FTC identified affected consumers through Cerebral’s records, and refunds were distributed without requiring recipients to file a claim. If you received a check or PayPal payment from Epiq Systems, you were already deemed eligible.
For the pixel data breach settlement, the criteria are narrower. You must be a California resident who held a Cerebral account and received a specific data incident notification letter on or about March 6, 2023. If you lived in Texas or New York and had a Cerebral account, you do not qualify for this particular class action — even though Cerebral shared the health data of nearly 3.2 million consumers nationwide. However, if you are a California resident who also tried to cancel and was overbilled, you could potentially receive compensation from both settlements. One does not exclude the other, since they address different harms: improper billing versus unauthorized data sharing.
How Cerebral’s Data Sharing Practices Led to These Settlements
The scope of what Cerebral did with patient data is central to understanding why two separate legal actions exist. According to the FTC, Cerebral shared sensitive health data of nearly 3.2 million consumers with third-party advertising platforms including LinkedIn, Snapchat, and TikTok through tracking pixels embedded on its platform. The data shared was not limited to browsing behavior — it included names, medical and prescription histories, home addresses, phone numbers, and insurance information. For a telehealth company handling mental health treatment, this represented an extraordinary breach of patient trust. The FTC’s response was historic.
The agency issued a first-of-its-kind ban prohibiting Cerebral from using health data for advertising purposes. The original penalty was assessed at $15 million, but it was reduced to $7 million after Cerebral demonstrated an inability to pay the full amount. That $7 million broke down into $5.1 million for consumer refunds and a $2 million civil penalty. Separately, affected California residents pursued the pixel-specific class action, which focused on the tracking pixel data exposure and resulted in the $500,000 settlement fund. The FTC action addressed the broader pattern of deceptive cancellation practices and data misuse, while the class action targeted the specific harm to California consumers whose data was exposed.
Steps to Maximize Your Cerebral Settlement Payout
If you’re eligible for the pixel data breach settlement, the single most important thing you could have done was file your claim before the January 22, 2026 deadline. For those who filed, ensuring your claim was complete and accurate matters — incomplete claims receive nothing. The final approval hearing is scheduled for March 9, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. PT, after which approved payouts will be distributed. If you also received an FTC refund, maximizing your total compensation means making sure you actually redeem the payment.
The tradeoff between payment methods in the FTC settlement is worth noting. Checks sent by mail must be cashed within 90 days, while PayPal payments must be redeemed within 30 days. If you received a PayPal notification and ignored it thinking it was spam, that money is gone after the 30-day window closes. Checks offer a longer redemption period but are easier to lose or forget about. For the pixel settlement, claimants also had the option of choosing a $300 credit toward a self-pay Cerebral Therapy & Medication plan instead of a cash payment. If you’re still using Cerebral’s services and paying out of pocket, that credit could be worth more than your pro rata cash share — particularly if thousands of people filed claims and drove individual cash payouts below $50.
Common Mistakes That Reduce or Eliminate Your Payment
The most frequent reason people lose their Cerebral settlement money is failing to act on the payment once it arrives. FTC refunds were sent through Epiq Systems, and recipients who didn’t recognize the sender may have discarded the check or ignored the PayPal notification. Once the 90-day window for checks or 30-day window for PayPal payments expires, that money is forfeited. There is no appeals process for missed deadlines on payment redemption.
For the pixel settlement, the primary risk was filing an incomplete claim or missing the January 22, 2026 deadline entirely. Claims that lacked required information or were submitted by someone who didn’t meet the eligibility criteria — for example, a non-California resident — would be rejected. Another limitation worth flagging: the pixel settlement’s $500,000 total fund is modest by class action standards. After legal costs consume nearly half the fund, the remaining $267,000 means individual payouts will be small regardless of what you do. If you expected a windfall from either settlement, the reality is that Cerebral’s reduced financial capacity shaped the FTC penalty, and the class action fund was negotiated within those same constraints.
How to Contact the Refund Administrator
If you have questions about your FTC refund status, the designated contact is Epiq Systems, reachable at 1-888-884-6036 or by email at info@CerebralRefund.com. As of May 2025, over $5 million in refunds had already been distributed to consumers, so if you believe you were eligible but never received payment, contacting Epiq directly is the right step.
For the pixel data breach settlement, the official settlement website at cerebralpixelsettlement.com contains the full FAQ, case documents, and claim status information. Do not rely on third-party claim-filing websites — go directly to the official settlement sites or the FTC’s own press releases for accurate information.
What These Settlements Mean Going Forward
The Cerebral settlements set important precedents for the telehealth industry. The FTC’s first-ever ban on a company using health data for advertising signals that telehealth platforms will face serious consequences for monetizing patient information through tracking pixels and third-party data sharing. Other telehealth companies that embedded similar tracking technologies — and many did — are now on notice that the FTC considers this a violation worthy of substantial penalties and industry bans.
For consumers, the takeaway is more cautionary. Even with two separate legal actions, the per-person compensation remains modest relative to the severity of the privacy violations involved. Nearly 3.2 million people had sensitive mental health data shared with advertising platforms, yet the total combined settlement funds amount to $7.5 million — a fraction of what Cerebral likely earned from the practices in question. The settlements do, however, include structural reforms that may provide more lasting value than the checks themselves, including the advertising data ban that applies to Cerebral going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the FTC settlement and the pixel data breach settlement the same thing?
No. These are two separate legal actions. The FTC settlement addresses deceptive cancellation practices and unauthorized data sharing, with $5.1 million allocated for consumer refunds. The pixel data breach class action (*Doe I and Doe II v. Cerebral, Inc.*) is a separate $500,000 settlement for California residents who received a data incident notification letter. You could potentially qualify for both.
How much will I receive from the Cerebral pixel data breach settlement?
Your payment is a pro rata share of approximately $267,000, which is the net fund after attorneys’ fees and expenses. The exact amount depends on how many valid claims were filed by the January 22, 2026 deadline. If 2,670 people filed, each person would receive about $100. If more people filed, each share decreases proportionally.
I received a check from Epiq Systems — is it legitimate?
Yes. Epiq Systems is the FTC-appointed refund administrator for the Cerebral settlement. Checks must be cashed within 90 days. If you received a PayPal payment instead, you have 30 days to redeem it. Contact 1-888-884-6036 or info@CerebralRefund.com to verify.
Why was the FTC fine reduced from $15 million to $7 million?
The FTC originally assessed a $15 million penalty, but reduced it to $7 million after Cerebral demonstrated an inability to pay the full amount. Of the $7 million, $5.1 million went toward consumer refunds and $2 million was a civil penalty paid to the government.
Can I still file a claim for either settlement?
The FTC refunds were distributed automatically — no claim filing was required. For the pixel data breach settlement, the claim deadline was January 22, 2026. If you missed that deadline, you cannot file a late claim. The final approval hearing is set for March 9, 2026.
What data did Cerebral share, and with whom?
Cerebral shared sensitive health information — including names, medical and prescription histories, addresses, phone numbers, and insurance details — with third-party advertising platforms including LinkedIn, Snapchat, and TikTok through tracking pixels. This affected nearly 3.2 million consumers.
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