Settlemate App Auto-Adds Class Action Against Settlemate to 4.7 Million User Dashboards

Company reports ‘record engagement metrics’ as users file claims against it

SAN FRANCISCO—Settlement tracking app Settlemate automatically added a new $89 million class action lawsuit against itself to all user dashboards Thursday, sending push notifications that informed customers they may be entitled to compensation for the app’s alleged sale of their settlement history data to marketing firms.

“I opened the app to check on my T-Mobile claim and saw a new one: ‘Chen v. Settlemate Inc. - Data Privacy Violation,’” said user Maria Chen. “It had already pre-filled my information using the data they allegedly weren’t supposed to have.”

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Northern District Court, alleges Settlemate violated user privacy agreements by selling detailed claim histories to data brokers, who marketed the information to law firms as “litigation likelihood scores.”

Settlemate CEO Brad Lawson addressed the situation in an investor call, describing it as a “growth opportunity.”

“This validates our comprehensive tracking capabilities,” Lawson said. “We’ve identified that 100% of our user base qualifies for this settlement. That’s the kind of match rate our competitors can’t deliver.”

The app’s algorithm treated the lawsuit like any other, sending users their standard alerts:

• “⚡ New settlement match! You may be owed money from Settlemate”
• “⏰ Deadline approaching for your claim against us!”
• “💰 Users report average payouts of $12-47 from Settlemate privacy violation”

Chief Product Officer Jennifer Walsh defended the automatic addition.

“Our terms of service, which users agreed to, explicitly state we track all class actions that users may qualify for,” Walsh explained. “We’d be violating our own user agreement if we didn’t include this one. We could get sued for that.”

The company’s quarterly report, released the same day, celebrated “record Q3 engagement,” noting that daily active users had increased 340% since the lawsuit was filed, though analysts noted these were primarily users trying to document their claims against the company.

Settlemate’s premium tier, which costs $13.99 monthly, includes a feature to “expedite your claim against Settlemate,” which the company reports has seen “unprecedented adoption.”

“It’s actually brilliant,” said Wedbush analyst Michael Torres. “They’re monetizing their own legal liability. Every user claiming damages is also a paying customer. They’ve turned getting sued into a subscription business.”

The lawsuit’s lead attorney, David Morrison of Morgan & McMichael, admitted to using Settlemate to track the case.

“I got a notification on my phone that I qualify as a class member since I use the app,” Morrison said. “I’m ethically obligated to recuse myself, but I already pre-paid for the annual subscription, so I’m waiting until that expires.”

Internal emails obtained by The Finer Print show product managers debating how to handle the situation:

“Should we remove ourselves from the platform?” asked one developer.

“That would violate our promise of comprehensive coverage,” replied the head of product. “Plus, engagement is up 340%. We’d be idiots to remove our best-performing settlement.”

The app’s review section has been flooded with confused users:

• “Five stars for helping me sue you” - verified purchase
• “The claim form uses my data as evidence that you stole my data” - verified purchase
• “I had to subscribe to premium to get priority processing on my claim against the premium subscription” - verified purchase

Competitors have struggled to capitalize on the controversy. DoNotPay added Settlemate to its database but then had to add itself when users pointed out the hypocrisy. ClassAction.org posted about the lawsuit, generating 47,000 comments asking if reading about the lawsuit made them class members.

Settlemate’s algorithm has begun sending increasingly aggressive retention emails:

• “Don’t delete the app until your claim processes!”
• “Unsubscribing could affect your settlement amount!”
• “Our data shows users who maintain premium subscriptions receive 23% higher payouts!”

The company’s head of data science, Dr. Michael Park, defended the notifications.

“These are factually accurate statements,” Park explained. “Users who maintain their accounts do have better documentation for their claims. It’s not manipulation; it’s optimization.”

Meanwhile, Morgan & McMichael reported that 89% of the claim forms submitted so far include screenshots from Settlemate’s own app as evidence, creating what one paralegal described as “a perfect circle of liability documentation.”

“They’re essentially building our case for us,” said associate attorney Jennifer Martinez. “Every push notification they send becomes another exhibit. Their engagement metrics are our damage calculations.”

The situation has created unusual dynamics in the legal proceedings. During a preliminary hearing, Judge Patricia Williams noted she had received a Settlemate notification about the case while on the bench.

“I’m inclined to recuse myself as I appear to be a class member,” Williams said. “Though I note that according to the app, my claim value increased by $3 while we’ve been sitting here.”

Settlemate’s latest feature update, pushed Tuesday night, includes a “Lawsuit Leaderboard” showing which users have claimed the most money from the company, with badges for “Gold Tier Litigant” and achievements for “First Claim Filed” and “Supporting Documentation Superstar.”

At press time, Settlemate announced a new $4.99 add-on package called “Settlemate Plus Legal,” which provides “advanced analytics on your likelihood of success in your lawsuit against us, based on proprietary data we definitely shouldn’t have about your previous legal history.”

The company’s stock rose 12% on the news.

Tomorrow: “LinkedIn Algorithms Now Recommending Users Apply to Jobs Investigating LinkedIn for Labor Violations”