Etsy Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Pixel Tracking Privacy Violations

UPDATE 10-24-25

Attorneys for plaintiff Austin White have filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss claims against Etsy in this lawsuit, likely indicating that they've reached a mutually agreeable settlement.

The same firms also dismissed their similar claims against Bonanza brought by a different plaintiff last month, likely also indicating a settlement was reached in that lawsuit.

While plenty of law firms are still finding success with these pixel tracking suits, often resulting in settlements to avoid trial, the tactic could face new challenges in the near future as some judges have recently shown skepticism and reluctance to apply CIPA to internet communications, resulting in dismissal of some cases.

MIND THE GAP: Court Grants Clothing Retailer’s Motion to Dismiss Third-Party Tracking Claims Arising Out of Embedded Pixels in Marketing Emails

In a recent ruling out of the Northern District of California, the Court dismissed California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) claims against clothing retailer The Gap Inc. (“Gap”), holding that a user’s “click” on a URL within a marketing email does not constitute “contents” of communication under CIPA.

National Law ReviewTammana Malik

Etsy is facing a proposed class action alleging the company allowed third parties to collect personal information from the site's users through the use of pixel trackers.

In a suit filed July 3 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, plaintiff Austin White claims Etsy violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and other state law by using the pixel trackers operated by third parties like Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

According to the suit:

Through the Trackers, the Third Parties collect detailed user information including IP addresses, browser and device type, screen resolution, operating system,pages visited, session duration, scroll depth, touch movements, tap behavior, referring URLs, unique identifiers (such as cookies and ad IDs), and geolocation based on IP.

This information is used for behavioral profiling, ad targeting, cross-device tracking, and participation in real-time advertising auctions (collectively, “User Information”).

Because the Trackers capture and transmit users’ IP addresses, full page
URLs, referrer headers, device identifiers, and other non-content metadata, they function as “pen registers” and/or “trap and trace devices”.

White says he and other potential class members didn’t “consent to the installation, execution, embedding or injection” of the trackers and didn’t “expect their behavioral data to be disclosed or monetized in this way,” alleging the pixel trackers violate CIPA because the trackers are trap-and-trace devices prohibited without consent or a court order.

The suit seeks to include all individuals in California whose browsers had trackers installed or otherwise affected Etsy’s website and is asking for statutory damages, an injunction prohibiting the conduct alleged in the complaint, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

Multiple law firms are also investigating similar potential claims against eBay, though actual suits have not yet been filed.

eBay Faces Potential California Privacy Lawsuits Due To Use Of Third Party Trackers

Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP is seeking to represent eBay users whose privacy may have been violated by usage of third party trackers on the site.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

UPDATE: the same firms bringing this action against Etsy have also filed an almost identical lawsuit against Bonanza marketplace.

Lawsuit Claims Bonanza Sold Out User Privacy With CIPA Violating Pixel Tracking

Bonanza faces proposed class action suit alleging CIPA privacy violations due to pixel trackers allowing 3rd parties to collect users’ personal data.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

The case against Etsy is White v. Esty Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 4:25-cv-05644