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Avast data settlement – UK users offered free software to waive claims. Possible group action?
Yesterday I received an email from Avast relating to the FTC case against Avast Software.
As I understand it, this relates to the $16.5 million Federal Trade Commission settlement concerning Avast’s collection and sale of users’ browsing data.
The email offers me two years of Avast services free of charge, apparently worth around £160, but accepting the offer also appears to require me to agree not to bring any legal claim against Avast in relation to the matters covered by the settlement.
Has anyone else in the UK received the same email or offer?
I haven’t accepted it at the moment. What makes me cautious is the requirement to give up the right to take further action. Before doing that, I’d rather understand exactly what rights I might be signing away and what they could potentially be worth.
I’m also not convinced that two years of free Avast products represents a particularly significant financial cost to Avast itself. The retail value may be around £160 to me as a customer, but providing software licences is unlikely to have the same financial impact on the company as paying cash compensation or facing a successful group claim.
That is one of the reasons I’m wondering whether this could be worth looking at as a collective or group action for affected UK customers. If a significant number of UK users were affected, a successful group action could potentially have a much greater financial impact than issuing free subscriptions.
Another thing that has made me hesitate is that, according to the offer I received, it is limited to the first 120,000 eligible users who accept.
I may be reading too much into it, but combining a limited number of offers with a requirement to waive potential legal claims creates a degree of pressure to accept quickly. From my perspective, that makes it even more important to understand what is being given up before clicking accept.
I’m not saying Avast is deliberately trying to prevent a group action or that a larger compensation payment is definitely available. However, I do wonder whether the offer could have the effect of reducing the number of people who might later be able to participate in any legal action.
I’ve already checked the websites of KP Law and Leigh Day, as they are two firms that regularly deal with data breach and group claims, but I can’t currently find any mention of an Avast claim on either site.
Of course, the US FTC settlement doesn’t automatically mean UK customers have a valid compensation claim, and there is no guarantee that any UK group action would succeed.
For now, though, I’m reluctant to exchange potentially valuable legal rights for around £160 worth of software, particularly when the actual cost of providing those licences to Avast may be considerably lower than their retail value.
Has anyone else received this?
- Have you accepted the offer or are you holding off?
- Has anyone contacted a solicitor about it?
- Has anyone found a UK law firm or consumer organisation looking into an Avast group claim?
- Does anyone have a better understanding of exactly what claims the waiver covers?
- What do others make of the 120,000-user limit?
It may turn out that the two-year subscription is the best compensation available, but I think it is worth understanding the alternatives before signing away any rights.
Comments
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I suspect it's a phishing/scam email of some sorts. That claim has apparently been settled and the deadline to submit a claim in the USA over a year ago.
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What loss have you suffered? How much are you after?
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It appears to be genuine from information openly accessible via web searches.
If you are an affected customer, Avast will contact you regarding the only compensation being offered to UK customers, being a 2 year subscription upgrade. Cash settlement is for the US only.
The claim registration window for the UK Jumpshot/AVG settlement runs from August 27, 2026, to January 27, 2027.
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Hi b0ff. I’ve had the same email and drawn the same conclusion I.e. that it’s designed to head-off a class action against the company. So, I’ve not agreed to its free subscription offer either. There needs to be a more just conclusion to Avast’s breach of UK customers’ trust, as there’s been in the USA with the FTC ruling and it will require all Avast customers in the UK to come forward. Will MSE step up and raise the issue with the Information Commissioner’s Office?
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Avast were fined 13.7 million euro for their GPDR breach, so I’d say their formal fine outside the FTC has already been applied.
The UK was still part of the EU’s gpdr framework for this case so no separate UK ICO investigation.
As @Aylesbury_Duck said, you should look at the loss incurred from the breach.
I think finding a number of people who have incurred loss and wish to attempt remediation is a high bar and taking the offer makes sense.
gpdr decision1 -
I've had this email. I used Avast on my Android phone for years as it was free and had excellent reviews. Looks like they were offering it for free to rinse your details and flog them. The email looks genuine, but as above, if there is the prospect of financial compensation I'd rather do that. It's much more of a lesson learned for them and aucj greater benefit to me. Making a time and number limited offer has all the hallmarks of a hard sell, which is only ever in the interests of the person making the offer. I'd be happy to join any action taken by MSE or others.
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they’ve had £25 million in fines from the ftc and gpdr, so a reasonably expensive lesson.
Do the the 3 avg customers here have an actual loss that would form the basis of an English case? I suspect not.The email / offer is genuine and a response to a grievance brought by two uk users who had been impacted.
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You could start one yourself.
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The € 13.7 million was not an EU fine but a Czech Republic punishment for the GDPR breach. So, it appears to have excluded all other EU countries, UK included. The collection of the names of those in the UK who have been affected is easy if the ICO insists that Avast hand over the names. The issue of determining a financial loss that’s also been raised, misses the point somewhat. Customers’ personal data has been disclosed unlawfully for money to unknown parties which is a fundamental breach of the Human Rights Act.
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If there was any money in this. All the Ambulance chasers would be all over it.
Take the offer it will be the best you will get in the UK.
Life in the slow lane1
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