FTC Sends Second Round of Avast Refunds: 91,093 Payments Totaling More Than $1.5 Million to People Who Accepted Their First Payment
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending a second round of payments to people who bought antivirus software from Avast and filed a valid claim before the deadline. This round comprises 91,093 payments totaling more than $1.5 million, and it goes only to people who accepted their first payment.
According to the FTC, the first round of payments, sent in December 2025, returned more than $13.5 million in refunds. Because money remained in the fund, the Commission is sending the balance out as a second round to the same claimants who cashed their first payments. People who never filed a claim are not in this round, and the claims process is closed.
The money comes from Avast's settlement. The FTC alleged that Avast collected and sold users' information to third parties without users' consent. In February 2024, the FTC announced that Avast had agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle the charges and would be banned from selling or licensing any web browsing data for advertising purposes. The FTC's complaint said Avast sold detailed browsing data to more than 100 third parties through its subsidiary Jumpshot, even as its products were marketed as protecting privacy and blocking third-party tracking.
Payments arrive in one of three ways. People who receive a check should cash it within 90 days. PayPal payments are deposited directly into the recipient's PayPal account, and Zelle payments go directly into the recipient's bank account with a note about the settlement.
The FTC stresses that it never asks anyone to pay money to get a refund. The claims deadline was June 5, 2025, the FTC is no longer accepting claims, and it has distributed all available funds. Questions can go to the refund administrator at 1-866-290-0165, or to the FTC's official Avast settlement refund page.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿 Constitution Avenue 与第7街交口的 Apex 大楼，联邦贸易委员会（FTC）总部。Harrison Keely 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at Constitution Avenue and 7th Streets in Washington, D.C. By Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
