Popular anime streaming service Crunchyroll has been hit with a new class-action lawsuit accusing the platform of violating federal privacy laws by disclosing subscribers’ personally identifiable information and detailed viewing habits to a third-party marketing firm without consent.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (case number 2:26-cv-02373), revives scrutiny on the Sony-owned company’s data practices just years after a similar high-profile settlement.
According to court documents cited in multiple reports, the lawsuit centers on Crunchyroll’s integration of Braze’s Software Development Kit (SDK) into its mobile app. Braze, a customer engagement platform formerly known as Appboy, provides tools for personalized marketing, push notifications, in-app messaging, and email campaigns.
Plaintiffs allege that this SDK facilitated the transmission of sensitive user data, including email addresses, unique device IDs, and specifics such as the exact anime titles and episodes being watched, directly to Braze without obtaining explicit consumer consent.
The core claim invokes the **Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)**, a 1988 U.S. federal statute enacted in response to the public release of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental history. The VPPA prohibits video service providers from knowingly disclosing personally identifiable information about a consumer’s video selections or viewing history, except in narrowly defined circumstances such as with written consent, court order, or ordinary course of business.
Plaintiffs argue that Crunchyroll’s actions fall outside these exceptions, enabling Braze and potentially its partners to construct detailed, long-term profiles of individual users’ anime preferences through repeated data transmissions across viewing sessions.
The suit seeks certification of two subclasses of affected U.S. users within the applicable statute of limitations: one for adult subscribers and another specifically for minors who created accounts and watched content on the app.
Damages demands include statutory penalties of up to $2,500 per violation per class member, punitive damages to deter future conduct, injunctive relief requiring Crunchyroll to cease such disclosures, delete improperly collected data, and implement stronger compliance measures, plus attorney’s fees and costs. Given Crunchyroll’s vast user base over 130 million registered accounts and millions of paid subscribers—the potential liability could theoretically reach billions, though class-action settlements in similar cases often resolve for far less.
This is not Crunchyroll’s first encounter with VPPA allegations. In late 2023, the company and parent Sony Pictures Entertainment settled a prior nationwide class action for $16 million, addressing claims that tracking tools like the Facebook (Meta) Pixel had shared viewing data with third parties, including Meta, Google, and Adobe without consent. That settlement, covering users from September 2020 to September 2023, provided roughly $30 per eligible claimant and included commitments to reform tracking practices. The new complaint describes the alleged ongoing conduct as “particularly egregious” in light of that history, suggesting a pattern of non-compliance despite prior assurances.
Crunchyroll has not yet issued a public response to the latest filing or requests for comment from media outlets covering the story. Industry observers note that the case aligns with a broader wave of VPPA litigation targeting streaming services and websites employing common analytics and marketing SDKs. Recent court rulings and even Supreme Court interest in related disputes such as clarifying who qualifies as a “consumer” under the VPPA have kept privacy enforcement active in the digital video space.
For anime fans, the implications extend beyond legal technicalities. Crunchyroll hosts a vast library encompassing everything from family-friendly series to mature content featuring violence, gore, or sexual themes viewing choices many users consider deeply personal. Unauthorized sharing of such data raises concerns about profiling, targeted advertising, or unintended exposure of private interests.
As the case proceeds, it underscores ongoing tensions between personalized digital services and user privacy in an era of pervasive tracking technologies. Whether this lawsuit results in another settlement, stricter reforms, or escalated penalties remains to be seen, but it serves as a reminder that even niche entertainment platforms face mounting accountability for how they handle viewer data.
