Apple has agreed to pay out $25 million to resolve a category action lawsuit over its Family Sharing feature, which lets users and up to 5 of their relatives fragment salvage entry to to apps, music, motion photos, TV shows and books that they aquire. The lawsuit, which changed into first filed in 2019, alleged that “Apple misrepresented the ability to exercise its Family Sharing feature to fragment subscriptions to apps.”
The tips changed into first reported by MacRumors.
The lawsuit says that Apple denies that it made any misleading misrepresentations and “denies all allegations of wrongdoing.” The settlement settlement notes that “Apple has concluded that persevering with to defend this Movement will most doubtless be burdensome and costly. Apple enters into this Settlement without in any manner acknowledging any fault, liability, or wrongdoing of any kind.”
The tech massive did not acknowledge to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
Court paperwork from the lawsuit articulate that Apple marketed Family Sharing as an option on apps that did no longer purple meat up Family Sharing.
“The overwhelming majority of subscription-essentially based mostly Apps, which is a rising share of Apple Apps, can no longer be shared with designated relatives,” the court file reads. “They’re on hand handiest to the particular particular person one who downloads the App and sets up a subscription. All or almost all of these Apps, nonetheless, incorporated the assertion that they purple meat up Family Sharing on their touchdown pages through January 30, 2019.”
The lawsuit alleges that Apple changed into conscious that the subscription-essentially based mostly apps did not purple meat up Family Sharing, but aloof positioned an ad for Family Sharing on them. The court file goes on to say that “hundreds and hundreds of buyers gain downloaded subscription-essentially based mostly Apps believing that they are on hand for Family Sharing, handiest to learn after price has been made that they are going to not be so on hand.”
U.S. residents who were enrolled in a Family Sharing neighborhood and not using a decrease than one other particular person between June 21, 2015 and January 30, 2019 and obtained a subscription to an app from the App Retailer for the period of that time could possibly moreover be eligible for a price. Eligible class participants will be receiving an e mail this week.
Each and each class member that files a claim is eligible to receive $30, but this is able to possibly moreover simply vary searching on how many participants file claims. Nonetheless, the cost will no longer exceed $50 for each class member, and $10 million from the settlement will budge toward authorized legitimate costs.
Eligible class participants gain until March 1, 2024 to file a claim. A final approval listening to is scheduled for April 2, 2024.
