A class action lawsuit has forced Netflix to change its privacy policy, with the company agreeing to no longer retain identifiable rental histories of former customers after one year. Subscribers of the popular service are being alerted of the settlement via email, but despite Netflix shelling out $9 million towards a settlement fund (already factored into financial forecasts), they won't be eligible for any sort of monetary award. As usual it's the lawyers coming out ahead, collecting $2.25 million in attorneys' fees compared to just $30,000 being split among five named plaintiffs in the suit. The rest of that money will be going to non-profit organizations and various charitable groups, so there is some good resulting from this situation.

If you'd like to try your own hand at suing the entertainment giant over the same privacy concerns, you'll need to exclude yourself from the proposed settlement by November 14th. Final approval for the deal is expected to come at a court hearing scheduled for December 5th.