Avast antivirus buyers are getting a second round of refunds from the Federal Trade Commission, and the agency says the money is going to people who accepted their first payment. The FTC’s Avast settlement page, updated in October 2026, lists 91,093 payments totaling more than $1.5 million. They go out by check, PayPal or Zelle, depending on how each person was paid before.
Who gets the second payment
The second round is limited to people who bought Avast antivirus software, filed a valid claim before the deadline and accepted the first payment. The FTC says it is sending more because money remains in the fund. The claims deadline was June 5, 2025, and the agency says it is no longer accepting claims and has distributed all available funds. Anyone who did not file then, or did not accept the first payment, is not part of this round.
The FTC’s December 2, 2025 announcement of the first round said payments went to 103,152 Avast customers who filed a valid claim. That makes the second batch smaller, at 91,093 payments. The page does not explain the difference, and it does not say how much any one person will receive.
For people who took the first payment, the practical questions are when the second one will show up and what has to happen once it does. A PayPal or Zelle payment goes straight to an account, so the question there is whether the person recognizes it when it lands. A check is the one with a clock on it, so people paid by check should watch the mail.
A second Avast check has to be cashed within 90 days, and the FTC has posted no mailing date to count from. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a claim log and payment tracker for writing down when each payment arrives and when it has to be cashed.
Track the Avast payment with the Recovery System’s payment tracker →
How the money arrives
The FTC lists three ways. A check comes in the mail, and the agency says, “If you get a check, please cash it within 90 days.” PayPal payments go directly into the recipient’s PayPal account. Zelle payments are deposited into the recipient’s bank account with a note about the settlement.
The page gives no calendar date for when payments go out or when the 90 days begin. Because the agency does not name a start date, the date printed on a check is the one to write down.
What the case was about
The FTC says Avast collected and sold users’ information to third parties without their consent, and that Avast paid money to settle the matter. Related FTC pages cite a $16.5 million payment. Those refunds are the money now being paid out in rounds.
The first round went out in December 2025. For the second round, the FTC’s settlement page gives the count and the total: 91,093 payments, more than $1.5 million.
Divided out, those two numbers come to a little over $16 a payment. That is arithmetic on the FTC’s totals, not an amount the agency has published for any person, and individual payments may be larger or smaller.
Scams around refund payments
Refund programs draw impostors. The FTC states that it never asks anyone to pay money to get a refund, which makes any call, text or email asking for a fee, a gift card or a bank login a scam. People with questions about their payment can call the refund administrator at 1-866-290-0165 rather than any number in an unexpected message.
Handling the second payment when it comes
The free source is the FTC’s refunds listing, which lists the Avast program. Nothing needs to be filed for this round, and no form or fee is involved.
Anyone expecting a check should watch for an envelope from the refund administrator and keep it out of the junk-mail pile. When it arrives, a quick note of the date received and the cash-by date, 90 days later, covers the only deadline the FTC has named. PayPal and Zelle recipients should keep an eye on their PayPal or bank account.
People who accepted the first payment and see nothing by the time several weeks have passed can call the administrator at the number above. The FTC’s page does not say what to do if a payment never arrives, so the administrator is the place to ask.
Ninety days to cash a second Avast check
The 90-day limit starts when the check arrives, and the FTC page gives no date to mark it by. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a claim log and payment tracker, where the arrival day, the cash-by day and the payment method for each refund get written down in one place. It is a 50-page system.
Log the Avast payment and its 90-day cash-by date with the Recovery System →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
