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Cybersecurity

How to claim your share of the $2.5 billion Amazon Prime settlement — and cancel unwanted subscriptions

The online giant is accused of enrolling millions of unwitting customers in Amazon Prime, then making it hard to cancel.

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There are only a few months left to claim a portion of Amazon's record $2.5 billion class action settlement.

In a lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claimed that the online giant enrolled millions of customers in Amazon Prime without their knowledge and made them jump through hoops to cancel. 

"For years... Amazon used manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns' to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions," according to the initial 2023 complaint.

Although it denied any wrongdoing, Amazon agreed to the massive payout in September 2025, claiming in a statement that it "allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers."

In addition to $1 billion in FTC fines, Amazon agreed to pay $1.5 billion to affected customers and work to simplify its cancellation process.

Amazon issued the first wave of automatic refunds in November and December 2025. Members who were not eligible for automatic payments now have until July 27, 2026, to submit a claim for compensation.

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Who is eligible for the Amazon Prime settlement?

To qualify for part of the settlement, you must have tried unsuccessfully to cancel your Prime membership between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.

Some members received automatic payments last year. In this current phase, only eligible Amazon customers who used their Prime benefits 10 or fewer times over any 12-month period should submit a claim.

The window for filing opened on January 5, 2026, and closes July 27, 2026. 

To qualify, you should meet all three criteria:

1. You are a U.S. consumer who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and

2. You used more than 3 but fewer than 10 Prime benefits in a 12-month period between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.

3. You unintentionally enrolled through a challenged enrollment flow or tried to cancel through the online cancellation flow but were unable to do so.

How do I file a claim?

Customers who used Prime between 3 and 10 times in any 12-month period can file a claim on the official settlement website.

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How much money can I get from the Amazon Prime settlement?

Of the 2.5 billion settlement, $1 billion is earmarked as an FTC fine. The remaining $1.5 billion will be divided among eligible claimants, based on the total Amazon Prime membership fees they paid during their subscription.

Individual payouts are capped at $51 per claimant.

When will Amazon send out payments?

Customers who qualified for automatic payments should have received them between Nov. 12 and Dec. 24, 2025.

According to the settlement website, Claimants approved for the second wave of payments should begin receiving their checks in September.

Amazon has 30 days to review each claim form.

Beware of settlement scams

The FTC has warned consumers about the prevalence of scammers who exploit news about large public settlements.

"The FTC will never contact you about this refund," the agency said in a statement. "No one from the FTC or Amazon will ask you for money to get a refund."

If someone promises special access or guarantees your refund, the commission added, it's likely a scammer.

Unsolicited calls, texts or emails can be reported to the FTC's Fraud Prevention Division

How to keep track of subscriptions

One way to manage your subscriptions and ensure you cancel the ones you don't want is to use a subscription tracker like Rocket Money. It detects and cancels unwanted subscriptions and, for an additional premium, can negotiate subscription refunds on your behalf.

Rocket Money

  • Cost

    The basic plan is free. Rocket Money Premium is $7 to $14 a month with a 7-day free trial. Bill negotiation services cost 35% to 60% of the first-year savings, if the negotiation is successful.

  • Standout features

    Easily cancel unwanted subscriptions, track your spending and credit score, automate savings and get help lowering bills. Rocket Money Premium includes additional services like net-worth tracking, credit reports and a subscription cancellation concierge service

  • Security

    Rocket Money accesses transaction data via an encrypted token, uses Plaid API so user credentials are never stored, provides bank-level 256-bit encryption and hosts servers on Amazon Web Services

  • Availability

    Offered online and on both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)

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Amazon Prime settlement FAQs

Amazon users who enrolled in Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and tried unsuccessfully to cancel their Prime membership may be eligible to receive payment. 

Customers who started their sign-up on Amazon's Universal Prime Decision Page, Shipping Option Select Page, Prime Video enrollment flow or Single Page Checkout could also be eligible.

While $1.5 billion has been set aside to pay claims, individual claimants are capped at $51 payments.

There are several top subscription trackers with both free and paid tiers, including Rocket Money and OneMain® MyMoney. You can also keep on top of your subscriptions yourself by setting reminders when a free trial period is over and it's time to renew. Creating a separate email account just for your subscriptions will help ensure your reminders aren't missed.

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At CNBC Select, our mission is to deliver high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make informed financial decisions. Every article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial productsWhile CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content independently of our commercial team and any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on maintaining high journalistic standards and ethics.

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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
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