AT&T reached a $177M data breach settlement. What consumers should know
about claiming their money
[November 14, 2025] By
WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T has reached a combined $177 million settlement over
two data breaches. And impacted consumers have a little over a month
left to file a claim for their chunk of the money.
Several lawsuits emerged across the U.S. — and were later consolidated —
after AT&T notified millions of customers that information ranging from
Social Security numbers to call records were compromised in these
breaches last year. Plaintiffs alleged that the telecommunications giant
“repeatedly failed” to protect consumer data. While AT&T has continued
to deny wrongdoing, it opted to settle earlier this year.
“We have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty
of protracted litigation,” AT&T said in a Thursday statement, adding
that the company remains "committed to protecting our customers’ data
and ensuring their continued trust in us.”
Eligible consumers have until Dec. 18 to file for a settlement payment —
which will still need a judge's final stamp of approval early next year.
Here's what you should know.
What data breaches does the AT&T settlement cover?
The settlement covers two different breaches. Both were disclosed in
2024 — but involve data belonging to millions of current and former AT&T
customers dating as far back as 2019 or earlier.
AT&T disclosed the first of these breaches in March 2024, after the
company said it found that customer information from 2019 or earlier had
been released on the “dark web" weeks earlier. At the time, AT&T said
the breach impacted roughly 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former
account holders — with leaked data including some sensitive info like
Social Security numbers and passcodes.
The other breach involved call and text records of nearly all AT&T
customers from May through October of 2022, as well as a small subset
from Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T said it learned that data was “illegally
downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform” in April
of last year — and began notifying customers in July 2024, after
launching an investigation. The company maintained that the leaked
records included information like phone numbers, but not content of the
calls or texts, or other personally identifiable information.
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An AT&T retail location is shown in Willow Grove, Pa., Feb. 22,
2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
 Several lawsuits emerged over both
of these data breaches — which were later consolidated. The
settlement was reached earlier this year in U.S. District Court in
Texas.
How much money could impacted customers get?
The settlement's cash funds total $177 million to pay those impacted
by both of these breaches — which divvies up to $149 million for the
first “settlement class” and another $28 million for the second, per
a preliminary approval order filed in June.
According to the settlement administrator's website, consumers
impacted by the first breach may be eligible to up to $5,000. And
those affected by the second breach may be eligible for up to
$2,500. It's also possible to be an “overlap settlement class
member,” which would mean you may be eligible for payments from both
of these funds.
Final payment amounts will vary depending on losses documented from
each person — as well as the total number of claims received and
added costs like attorney fees. And the court still has to give the
settlement its final stamp of approval, in a hearing currently
scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.
When is the deadline to file a claim?
In the meantime, consumers have a little over a month left to file a
claim online or by mail. The deadline is Dec. 18.
To learn more, you can visit the website of the settlement
administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration. Class members can
also opt-out or make an objection before Nov. 17.
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