Is Redfin.com Sharing User Data with Facebook? Attorneys Investigate Potential Privacy Violations

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have reason to believe that Redfin may have violated a California privacy law by sharing consumers’ personal information without permission and are now looking into possible legal action.

Specifically, they suspect that Redfin may be using a tracking tool on its website to secretly transmit details about certain users and their activities on Redfin.com to Facebook – even if they’ve opted out of advertising cookies. This data may tie a user’s online actions (which could include location and financial details) to their Facebook ID, a unique identifier that can be used to match the individual to their Facebook profile.  

How Could Redfin Be Violating Users’ Online Privacy?

Many website operators gather data about the people who visit their websites by using an invisible tracking tool called the Meta (formerly known as Facebook) pixel.

The pixel, which can be embedded on any webpage, can be programmed to record every action a visitor takes, such as the buttons they click, the searches they perform and the content they view.

In the case of Redfin.com, attorneys are specifically looking into whether the website is tracking things like a user’s location, mortgage information and other financial details and sending that data to Meta along with each person’s Facebook ID. A Facebook ID is a unique identifier linked to an individual’s Facebook profile and could potentially be used to match up a specific person with their online activity.

In general, the data collected by a website through the Meta pixel can be used by both the website operator and the social media giant to better target advertisements to their users.

Importantly, Redfin.com allows California users to either “accept all” cookies or opt out of cookies used for targeted advertising – but attorneys suspect that users may still be tracked via the pixel regardless of whether they opt out of these cookies.

The attorneys believe Redfin’s suspected data sharing practices may violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits the interception and disclosure of certain personal information without consumers’ consent.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Redfin.com’s terms of use contain both a class action waiver and an arbitration clause requiring users to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury.

It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you will get or whether your claim will be successful. However, the California Invasion of Privacy Act stipulates that consumers could be owed $5,000 for each violation.

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