If you were a patient of Northwell Health and used its website or patient portal between 2020 and 2024, you may be entitled to compensation under the Northwell Health Pixel Tracking Class Action Settlement. The settlement resolves claims that Northwell embedded Meta Pixel and Google Analytics tracking technologies on its website, which allegedly transmitted patients’ personally identifiable information to third parties without consent. Depending on which subclass you fall into, you could receive a $15.00 cash payment and a 12-month privacy monitoring subscription, or the monitoring subscription alone. Claims can be filed online at nwpixelsettlement.com/form/claim or by mail, but the deadline to submit is April 20, 2026. The case, formally known as *Kaplan v.
Northwell Health, Inc.*, Case No. 520763/2025, was filed in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County. The core allegation is straightforward: Northwell’s website contained tracking pixels that quietly relayed sensitive patient data — including information about appointment bookings and portal activity — to companies like Meta and Google. For a patient who logged into FollowMyHealth to check lab results or schedule a follow-up visit, that browsing activity may have been shared without their knowledge.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Northwell Health Pixel Tracking Class Action Settlement and Who Qualifies?
- How to File a Claim for the Northwell Pixel Settlement
- Understanding the Privacy Monitoring Benefit
- Key Deadlines and How to Protect Your Rights
- Common Issues With Pixel Tracking Settlement Claims
- Why Healthcare Pixel Tracking Lawsuits Are Proliferating
- What Happens After the Final Fairness Hearing
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Northwell Health Pixel Tracking Class Action Settlement and Who Qualifies?
The settlement addresses a growing category of healthcare privacy litigation. Hospitals and health systems across the country installed third-party tracking tools on their websites — tools originally designed for marketing analytics — without fully considering that those tools could capture and transmit protected health information. In northwell‘s case, the allegation is that Meta pixel and Google Analytics code embedded on the Northwell website collected data about patients’ browsing behavior, portal logins, and appointment scheduling, then sent that data to third-party servers. Plaintiffs argued this violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and various state and federal statutes governing patient privacy. The settlement divides eligible individuals into two subclasses. Settlement Subclass 1 includes individuals who were Northwell patients and either logged into the FollowMyHealth patient portal or booked an appointment on Northwell’s website between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023.
These individuals had the most direct interaction with the tracked pages, which is why they are eligible for both the $15.00 cash payment and the 12-month privacy monitoring subscription. Settlement Subclass 2 covers individuals who were Northwell patients between January 1, 2020 and July 25, 2024 but did not log into the portal or book appointments online during the Subclass 1 period. These members qualify for the privacy monitoring subscription only. The distinction matters. If you visited Northwell for care but never touched their website, you likely fall into Subclass 2. If you used the portal even once during the covered period — say, to message your doctor or view a billing statement — you are almost certainly in Subclass 1. There is no overlap; if you qualify for Subclass 1, you are explicitly excluded from Subclass 2.
How to File a Claim for the Northwell Pixel Settlement
Filing a claim is relatively straightforward, but there are details worth paying attention to. The official settlement website at nwpixelsettlement.com hosts the online claim form, accessible directly at nwpixelsettlement.com/form/claim. The site uses a login-based system, so you will need to enter identifying information to access and complete the form. You can also file a claim by mail if you prefer a paper submission, though the claim must be postmarked by the April 20, 2026 deadline. When completing the claim form, expect to provide your name, contact information, and details that confirm your eligibility — specifically, that you were a Northwell patient during the relevant period and, if claiming under Subclass 1, that you used the FollowMyHealth portal or booked an appointment online.
However, if you no longer have login credentials for the portal or cannot recall whether you booked appointments through the website versus by phone, do not assume you are disqualified. The settlement administrator may be able to verify your eligibility through Northwell’s records. That said, if you are certain you never interacted with Northwell’s website, filing under Subclass 1 would not be appropriate and could delay the processing of legitimate claims. One practical note: the online form is the faster option. Mailed claims introduce postal delays and the risk of a missed postmark. If you are reading this close to the April 20 deadline, file online to eliminate that uncertainty.
Understanding the Privacy Monitoring Benefit
Both subclasses receive a 12-month subscription to privacy monitoring, which is the primary non-cash benefit of this settlement. Privacy monitoring services typically scan the internet, data broker databases, and dark web marketplaces for signs that your personal information is being misused or sold. Given that the underlying allegation involves the unauthorized sharing of patient data with third-party tech companies, this benefit is designed to address the downstream risk that your information may have been further distributed or exposed. For Subclass 1 members, the privacy monitoring comes on top of the $15.00 cash payment.
Fifteen dollars is not a large sum, but pixel tracking settlements tend to produce modest per-person payouts because the class sizes are enormous — Northwell is one of the largest health systems in New York, serving millions of patients. The real value for many claimants may actually be the monitoring service, which, if purchased independently, can cost $10 to $30 per month depending on the provider. A specific example: if a Northwell patient used the FollowMyHealth portal to schedule a cardiology appointment in 2021, tracking pixels may have transmitted data points about that visit to Meta’s advertising infrastructure. The privacy monitoring is intended to flag if that type of information surfaces in unauthorized contexts. Whether the monitoring service offered through this settlement catches every potential exposure is another question — no monitoring product is comprehensive — but it does provide a layer of protection that most affected individuals would not otherwise have.
Key Deadlines and How to Protect Your Rights
The settlement has several critical dates, and missing them means forfeiting your options. The claim filing deadline is April 20, 2026. If you want to receive any benefits, your claim must be submitted online or postmarked by mail before that date. There is no grace period for late filings in most class action settlements, and this one is no exception. If you want to opt out of the settlement — meaning you want to preserve your right to sue Northwell independently — you must do so by March 23, 2026. This is nearly a month before the claim deadline, which catches some people off guard.
You cannot both file a claim and opt out; the two are mutually exclusive. Opting out makes sense only if you believe your individual damages are significant enough to justify a private lawsuit, which for most class members is not the case. Similarly, if you want to object to the settlement terms, the March 23 deadline applies. The final fairness hearing is scheduled for April 21–23, 2026, during which the court will decide whether to approve the settlement. The tradeoff is clear: filing a claim is the path of least resistance and guarantees you receive whatever benefits the settlement provides. Opting out preserves legal options but requires you to fund and pursue your own case. For the vast majority of affected patients, filing the claim is the practical choice.
Common Issues With Pixel Tracking Settlement Claims
One of the most frequent problems claimants encounter is uncertainty about whether they actually used the Northwell website during the class period. Northwell operates dozens of facilities across New York, and many patients interact with the system exclusively through in-person visits and phone calls. If you fall into that category, you are likely a Subclass 2 member, not Subclass 1. Filing under the wrong subclass will not necessarily disqualify you, but it can create processing delays if the settlement administrator needs to reclassify your claim. Another issue is the login-based claim form system.
Some claimants report difficulty accessing the online form, particularly if the settlement website requires information they do not have readily available. If you encounter technical issues, the settlement website at nwpixelsettlement.com should have contact information for the claims administrator. Switching to a mailed paper claim is always an option, though again, you should account for postal transit time if the deadline is approaching. A broader limitation worth noting: this settlement only covers tracking activity on Northwell’s website. If other healthcare providers you visited also used pixel tracking — and many did — those would be separate cases with separate settlements. The Northwell resolution does not provide compensation for tracking that occurred on other health systems’ websites, even if the same Meta Pixel or Google Analytics tools were involved.
Why Healthcare Pixel Tracking Lawsuits Are Proliferating
Northwell is far from the only health system facing this type of litigation. Hospitals nationwide embedded Meta Pixel and similar tools on their websites for years, often without fully understanding that the code was capturing and transmitting patient-specific data. A 2022 investigation revealed that hundreds of hospital websites were sending patient information to Meta through the pixel, triggering a wave of lawsuits.
Catholic Health, NorthBay Healthcare, and numerous other systems have faced similar claims, with several reaching settlements of their own. The pattern is consistent: a health system installs marketing analytics tools on its website, those tools capture data about patient interactions, and the data flows to third parties whose privacy practices do not align with healthcare privacy standards. For patients, the takeaway is that if you have used any hospital’s website or patient portal in recent years, your data may have been shared in ways you did not authorize. Checking whether settlements exist for other healthcare providers you have used is worth the effort.
What Happens After the Final Fairness Hearing
The final fairness hearing, scheduled for April 21–23, 2026, is the last major milestone before benefits are distributed. At that hearing, the court will evaluate whether the settlement terms are fair, reasonable, and adequate for the class. If approved, the settlement administrator will begin processing claims and distributing payments and privacy monitoring enrollments. The timeline for actual distribution varies but typically falls several weeks to a few months after final approval.
If the court does not approve the settlement or requires modifications, the process could be extended. This is uncommon in cases that have progressed to the fairness hearing stage, but it is not impossible. Claimants who have already filed will not need to refile if the settlement is approved as proposed. Filing your claim before the deadline ensures you are in the queue regardless of the hearing’s outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I am in Subclass 1 or Subclass 2?
Subclass 1 includes Northwell patients who logged into the FollowMyHealth patient portal or booked an appointment on Northwell’s website between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023. Subclass 2 includes Northwell patients from January 1, 2020 through July 25, 2024 who are not in Subclass 1. If you only visited Northwell in person and never used the website, you are likely in Subclass 2.
How much money will I receive from the Northwell pixel tracking settlement?
Subclass 1 members are eligible for a $15.00 cash payment plus a 12-month privacy monitoring subscription. Subclass 2 members receive only the 12-month privacy monitoring subscription with no cash payment.
What is the deadline to file a claim in the Northwell Health settlement?
The claim filing deadline is April 20, 2026. Claims can be submitted online at nwpixelsettlement.com/form/claim or mailed with a postmark by that date.
Can I opt out of the Northwell Health pixel tracking settlement?
Yes, but the opt-out deadline is March 23, 2026, which is earlier than the claim deadline. Opting out means you receive no settlement benefits but preserve your right to file an individual lawsuit against Northwell.
What tracking technologies were involved in this case?
The lawsuit alleges that Northwell Health embedded Meta Pixel and Google Analytics on its website, which transmitted patients’ personally identifiable information to third parties without consent.
Is this settlement related to a data breach?
Not in the traditional sense. This case involves tracking pixels that were intentionally placed on Northwell’s website for analytics purposes but allegedly transmitted patient data to companies like Meta and Google without patients’ knowledge or consent. It is a privacy violation claim, not a hack or unauthorized access incident.
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