If you were a patient of Northwell Health and used its website or patient portal between 2020 and 2024, you may qualify for a payment or free privacy monitoring under a proposed class action settlement. The case, Kaplan v. Northwell Health, Inc. (Case No.
520763/2025), alleges that Northwell deployed Meta Pixel, Google Analytics, and other tracking technologies on its website and FollowMyHealth patient portal that quietly shared sensitive personal and protected health information with third parties like Meta and Google — all without patient consent. The settlement creates two distinct subclasses, and which one you fall into determines whether you receive a $15 cash payment or a 12-month subscription to a privacy monitoring service. For example, if you logged into FollowMyHealth to check lab results or scheduled a doctor’s appointment through northwell.edu anytime between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023, you fall into Subclass 1 and can submit a claim for the $15 monetary payment. If you were a Northwell patient during that broader window through July 25, 2024, but never used the portal or online scheduling, you’re in Subclass 2 and eligible for privacy monitoring instead.
Table of Contents
- Who Qualifies for the Northwell Health Pixel Tracking Settlement?
- What Did Northwell Health’s Tracking Pixels Actually Do?
- Key Deadlines You Cannot Afford to Miss
- How to File Your Claim for the Northwell Pixel Settlement
- What Happens If You Do Nothing — and Common Pitfalls
- The Broader Wave of Healthcare Pixel Tracking Lawsuits
- What This Settlement Signals for Patient Privacy Going Forward
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Qualifies for the Northwell Health Pixel Tracking Settlement?
Qualification hinges on two factors: whether you were a Northwell Health patient during the relevant time period and how you interacted with the health system’s digital properties. Subclass 1 covers patients who logged into the FollowMyHealth patient portal or booked an appointment on northwell.edu between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023. These individuals had the most direct exposure to the tracking pixels because their browsing activity on authenticated pages — where personal health information is more likely to be present — was allegedly transmitted to third-party tech companies. If you fall into this group, you’re eligible to submit a claim for a $15 cash payment. Subclass 2 casts a wider net. It includes Northwell patients between January 1, 2020 and July 25, 2024 who are not already covered by Subclass 1.
So if you visited Northwell facilities during that period but never logged into the patient portal or booked appointments online, you still may have had data exposed through general website tracking. Rather than a cash payment, Subclass 2 members are eligible for a 12-month subscription to a privacy monitoring service, which can help detect whether your personal information has been misused. One important distinction: you cannot be in both subclasses. If you qualify for Subclass 1, that’s your category, and you receive the cash payment option. The subclasses are mutually exclusive by design, so there’s no stacking of benefits. If you’re unsure which group you belong to, the official settlement website at nwpixelsettlement.com should have a lookup tool or additional guidance to help you determine your eligibility.
What Did Northwell Health’s Tracking Pixels Actually Do?
The core allegation in Kaplan v. Northwell Health is that the health system embedded Meta Pixel, Google Analytics, and similar tracking technologies across its website and patient portal. These tools are widely used across the internet for marketing and analytics purposes — they help organizations understand how visitors use their sites and target advertising. The problem, according to the lawsuit, is that when deployed on a healthcare website where patients enter sensitive information, these trackers can capture and transmit data that qualifies as protected health information under privacy laws. In practical terms, this means that when a patient logged into FollowMyHealth to view test results, request prescription refills, or message their doctor, the tracking pixels may have collected information about those interactions and sent it to Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and Google.
The data could have included details about which pages a patient visited, what medical specialties they searched for, and other browsing behavior that, when combined with identifying information, could reveal sensitive health conditions. Northwell has not admitted wrongdoing as part of this settlement. However, if you only visited Northwell’s website without logging in — say, to look up a phone number or find clinic hours — your exposure is different from someone who authenticated through the patient portal. That’s why the settlement distinguishes between the two subclasses. Portal users had a higher likelihood of having identifiable health information captured, which is reflected in the cash payment option for Subclass 1 versus the monitoring service for Subclass 2.
Key Deadlines You Cannot Afford to Miss
The settlement is being overseen by the New York State Supreme Court in Kings County, and several critical deadlines are approaching. The objection and opt-out deadline falls around March 11–23, 2026, depending on the specific source. The claims submission deadline is approximately April 10–20, 2026. And the final fairness hearing, where the court will decide whether to approve the settlement, is scheduled for around April 21–23, 2026. Because reporting sources show minor variations in these dates, you should check nwpixelsettlement.com directly for the exact deadlines that apply to your claim. For context on why these dates matter: if you want to file a claim, you must do so before the claims deadline.
If you miss it, you lose your right to compensation under this settlement. If you want to object to the settlement terms — say, because you believe the $15 payment is too low — you need to file your objection before that earlier deadline. And if you want to opt out entirely, preserving your right to file your own independent lawsuit against Northwell, that deadline is the same as the objection cutoff. As a specific example, suppose you used FollowMyHealth regularly between 2020 and 2023 and you believe the privacy violation caused you real harm — maybe you noticed targeted ads related to a medical condition you had only searched for on the Northwell portal. You might consider opting out to pursue a larger individual claim. But that decision needs to be made before the opt-out deadline, not after. Once the court approves the settlement, class members who didn’t opt out are bound by its terms.
How to File Your Claim for the Northwell Pixel Settlement
Filing a claim should be straightforward for most class members. Visit nwpixelsettlement.com and look for the claim form. You’ll likely need to provide identifying information such as your name, address, and some confirmation that you were a Northwell patient during the relevant period. For Subclass 1 members, you may need to confirm that you used the FollowMyHealth portal or booked appointments online during the January 2020 to December 2023 window. The tradeoff between the two benefit types is worth considering carefully.
The $15 payment available to Subclass 1 members is modest, but it’s straightforward cash with no strings attached. The 12-month privacy monitoring subscription available to Subclass 2 members has a higher retail value on paper — similar services often cost $10 to $25 per month — but it only has value if you actually use it. If you sign up and never check the monitoring alerts, you’re getting less practical benefit than the $15 check. On the other hand, if your health information was genuinely exposed to third parties, ongoing monitoring could catch misuse that a one-time payment cannot. One practical tip: screenshot or save confirmation of your claim submission. Settlement claims processing can take months after the final fairness hearing, and having documentation that you filed on time protects you if there are any disputes about your eligibility later.
What Happens If You Do Nothing — and Common Pitfalls
If you take no action at all, you will remain a class member but will not receive any compensation. You won’t get the $15 payment or the monitoring subscription. You will, however, still be bound by the settlement’s release of claims, meaning you give up your right to sue Northwell separately over the pixel tracking issue. This is the default outcome for most class members in any class action, and it’s the worst possible result — you surrender legal rights without getting anything in return. A common pitfall with healthcare privacy settlements is assuming that because you don’t remember using a particular website feature, you aren’t eligible.
Many patients log into portals infrequently and forget about it. If you received any email from FollowMyHealth, had your doctor’s office set up portal access for you, or ever clicked a link in a Northwell appointment confirmation email, you may have logged into the portal without a clear memory of doing so. Check your email archives for messages from Northwell or FollowMyHealth before assuming you’re only in Subclass 2. Another limitation to keep in mind: the $15 payment is a proposed amount and could be adjusted depending on how many valid claims are filed. If an unexpectedly large number of Subclass 1 members submit claims, the per-person payment could potentially be reduced. Settlement fund distributions in class actions are rarely guaranteed at the exact advertised amount, though the structure of this settlement suggests the $15 figure is the target payment.
The Broader Wave of Healthcare Pixel Tracking Lawsuits
The Northwell settlement doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a nationwide wave of litigation against hospitals and health systems that embedded commercial tracking pixels on their websites. Dozens of healthcare organizations have faced similar lawsuits, including major systems like Advocate Aurora Health, Novant Health, and Catholic Health (which settled its own pixel tracking case alongside Northwell).
The underlying issue is the same across all of them: standard marketing and analytics tools were deployed in contexts where they could capture protected health information, and patients were not told this was happening. These cases have prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance clarifying that tracking technologies on healthcare websites can violate HIPAA when they transmit individually identifiable health information to third parties. For patients, this means that the Northwell settlement is likely not the last one you’ll see — if you’ve used online portals or websites for other healthcare providers, similar settlements may emerge that you also qualify for.
What This Settlement Signals for Patient Privacy Going Forward
The Northwell pixel tracking settlement, while modest in its individual payouts, sends a clear message to the healthcare industry: deploying commercial tracking technology on patient-facing digital platforms carries real legal risk. Many health systems have already begun auditing and removing tracking pixels from their websites and portals in response to this litigation wave. For patients, the long-term benefit may be less about the $15 check and more about the systemic changes these lawsuits are forcing.
Looking ahead, expect continued scrutiny of how healthcare organizations handle digital data. The combination of state privacy laws, HIPAA enforcement, and class action litigation is creating pressure that didn’t exist even three years ago. If you’re a Northwell patient affected by this settlement, filing your claim is a small but meaningful way to hold organizations accountable for how they treat your health information online.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I’m in Subclass 1 or Subclass 2?
If you logged into the FollowMyHealth patient portal or booked an appointment online through northwell.edu between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023, you’re in Subclass 1. If you were a Northwell patient between January 2020 and July 2024 but didn’t use those specific online features, you’re in Subclass 2.
Can I be in both subclasses and receive both benefits?
No. The subclasses are mutually exclusive. If you qualify for Subclass 1, you receive the $15 payment option. You cannot also claim the privacy monitoring service designated for Subclass 2.
What is the deadline to file a claim?
The claims submission deadline is approximately April 10–20, 2026. Check nwpixelsettlement.com for the exact date, as sources show minor variations.
What happens if I do nothing?
You will remain a class member, which means you release your right to sue Northwell over this issue, but you will not receive any payment or monitoring service. Filing a claim is the only way to get compensation.
Is the $15 payment guaranteed?
The $15 is the proposed per-person payment for Subclass 1 members. While this is the target amount, final payments in class actions can sometimes be adjusted based on the total number of valid claims filed.
Does this settlement mean Northwell admitted to violating my privacy?
No. As is standard in class action settlements, Northwell has not admitted any wrongdoing. The settlement resolves the allegations without a determination of liability.