California narrowed private lawsuits over website trackers in late September, while a $59.5 million period-app settlement nears its filing deadline. The change reduces new cookie-and-pixel class actions, but health-data and wiretap claims still offer payout chances.
A pen-register claim says a cookie, pixel or analytics tool secretly records where you click. Privacy class actions bundle many users with the same allegation to seek payment or policy fixes. October matters because the new California limit was just signed and one major claim window closes mid-month.
Table of Contents
- What did California change for tracker lawsuits?
- Can you still file a tracking claim?
- What is the Flo settlement deadline?
- What changed for kids' and students' data?
- What should you watch next?
What did California change for tracker lawsuits?
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 690 on Sept. 30, 2026. It narrows website-tracking claims under Penal Code §638.51 for cookies, pixels and analytics said to act as pen registers. Clark Hill describes that limit in its Oct. 2 summary. The law takes effect Jan.
1, 2027. It ends private suits for covered website and app pen-register conduct and leaves enforcement to the California Attorney General. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney reports it also applies retroactively to actions filed in the prior two years in its Oct. 2 analysis. The stakes were large: more than 4,700 digital-wiretapping suits were filed since 2022. About two-thirds included a CIPA pen-register claim, and CIPA allows $5,000 per violation. Clark Hill cites Reuters for those figures.
Can you still file a tracking claim?
The new law does not end private claims under CIPA §631 for wiretapping. It also leaves other privacy claims intact, so plaintiffs are expected to shift theories rather than stop filing. Courts denied class treatment in July–September 2026 for cookie-ID classes built on pseudonymous identifiers. Judges cited lack of predominance and problems showing who belongs in the class.
Health-pixel cases advanced during the same period, ZwillGen notes in its Sept. 23 review. If your browsing was only linked to a cookie ID, certification is now harder. If an app or site allegedly sent sensitive health entries to an ad pixel, that type of case has more momentum.
What is the Flo settlement deadline?
The $59.5 million Flo/Period Tracker settlement covers U.S. users who entered menstrual or pregnancy data from Nov. 1, 2016 to Feb. 28, 2019. Claims are due Oct.
15, 2026, and the final hearing is Oct. 29, 2026, according to the settlement notice. Check these points before you file: Keep your app-store receipt, account email, or device records if you still have them. Payment still needs final court approval at the Oct. 29 hearing.
- You used Flo in the United States during the covered dates
- You entered menstrual-cycle or pregnancy-related information in the app
- You submit the claim form by Oct. 15, 2026 with your current contact details
What changed for kids' and students' data?
The FTC's amended COPPA Rule took full effect April 22, 2026. It requires separate parental consent before sharing children's data with third parties. Finnegan reports penalties reach up to $53,088 per violation. The FTC gave final approval June 5, 2026 to its order against Illuminate Education.
It requires a data-security program, limits on collection and retention, deletion of unneeded student data, and a public retention schedule. The case followed a breach affecting millions of students, the FTC said. Parents will not file claims from these actions now. Save school or vendor breach letters, because they often contain eligibility and deadline details for later relief.
What should you watch next?
Plaintiff firms are expected to refile under wiretap and other privacy theories. Watch whether the Attorney General brings tracker cases after Jan. 1, 2027.
Watch fall rulings on health-pixel certification and any new filing guidance. If you may qualify for Flo, file before Oct. 15 because late filing risks loss of payment.
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