OAKLAND — October 29, 2026. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $1.8 million settlement with Lyft on Thursday after a state privacy investigation found the ride-hailing company’s app did not offer users a direct way to opt out of selling or sharing personal information. The agreement resolves the state’s allegations under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and unfair-competition law.

A settlement is not the same as a contested trial verdict. The Department of Justice says the agreement includes civil penalties and requires Lyft to provide a more accessible opt-out option from within the app and notify California consumers about their rights.

What was the alleged problem?

Lyft riders and drivers use the mobile application to access the service. According to the attorney general’s October 29 announcement, the company had been selling or sharing consumers’ personal data for targeted advertising since mid-2023 without providing a direct in-app opt-out. The state said users instead had to navigate multiple links from the app’s privacy policy to an external web form and enter information again to exercise the right.

The investigation arose from a March 2025 enforcement sweep examining the use of geolocation data. The statement references information such as contact details, IP addresses and generalized location information, including cities, states and ZIP codes. It does not mean the attorney general established that Lyft publicly disclosed every user’s precise GPS history.

What must Lyft change?

The agreement calls for a usable in-app choice to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and notices explaining that right. California’s settlement specifies $1.8 million in civil penalties. The state describes this as its ninth CCPA enforcement action.

What can California users do?

Riders and drivers should look for Lyft’s privacy controls and check for the in-app opt-out as the settlement requirements are implemented. Consumers can learn about their CCPA rights from the California Attorney General’s CCPA resources, which explain options such as asking certain businesses to stop selling or sharing personal data.

Separately, California’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) provides a route for California residents to send deletion requests to participating registered data brokers. That system is separate from Lyft’s required in-app opt-out; using DROP alone should not be assumed to have submitted a request to Lyft.

Source and editorial note

California Department of Justice, October 29, 2026, Lyft CCPA settlement announcement.

California58 consumer-protection report, October 29, 2026. The alleged conduct and settlement terms are attributed to the state. Specific rollout timing for the new app interface has not been independently confirmed; readers should not assume that every account already displays the updated control today.

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