Sonder Privacy Investigation: Violations of California Tracking Laws?
Last Updated on March 27, 2024
Investigation Complete
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter.
Check back for any potential updates and take a look at our open investigations here. The information on this page is for reference only.
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- California residents who have a Facebook account, booked room accommodations through Sonder within the past two years and declined cookies upon visiting the website.
- What’s Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe Sonder may be using tracking tools to secretly record users’ activities — including details about the rooms they book — and then sharing the data with Meta. They’re now signing up Sonder users in California to pursue mass arbitration against the company over potential privacy violations.
- What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?
- You’re signing up for what’s known as mass arbitration, which involves hundreds or thousands of consumers bringing individual arbitration claims against the same company at the same time and over the same issue. This is different from class action litigation and takes place outside of court.
- Does This Cost Anything?
- It costs nothing to sign up, and the attorneys will only get paid if they win your claim.
- How Much Could I Get?
- While there are no guarantees, the California Invasion of Privacy Act states that consumers who have had their rights violated under the law can seek recovery of $5,000 per violation.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether legal action can be taken against the operator of Sonder.com over potential violations of California privacy laws.
Specifically, they’re looking into whether Sonder.com is using tracking tools to gather information about users — including details about their booked accommodations, such as locations and check-out dates — and then sharing the data with Meta for advertising purposes. It’s possible that consumers’ travel information is being shared along with their Facebook IDs, unique identifiers that can be used to locate each person’s Facebook profile. Sonder.com may also be failing to disable website cookies at users’ request.
How Could Sonder Be Sharing Booking Details with Facebook?
Many website operators use tracking tools on their websites to gather data about their users.
One such tool, called the Meta pixel, can be embedded on any webpage and programmed to capture nearly every action a visitor takes on the page. This data can then be used by both the website operator and Meta to better target advertisements to their users.
In Sonder’s case, the attorneys believe the website may be using the Meta pixel to track information about users’ bookings. It’s possible that this data is being shared with Meta along with each person’s Facebook ID, which is a unique identifier that could potentially be used to match the person’s reservation information with their individual Facebook profile.
The attorneys believe Sonder’s suspected data sharing practices may violate certain California privacy laws.
What Am I Signing Up For? Is This a Lawsuit?
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.”
Sonder’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 could get or whether your claim will be successful. However, the California Invasion of Privacy Act states that consumers who had their rights violated under the law can seek recovery of $5,000 per violation.
Before commenting, please review our comment policy.