Judge Edward M. Chen, of the Northern District of California, dismissed a putative class action that alleged website tracking privacy violations, without prejudice. The court held that the readily available privacy policy disclosed the website’s tracking technology and as such, the claims were time-barred.
Background. Leanos alleged that she used Better Home & Finance’s mortgage website in January 2022, created an account, and submitted a loan application seeking cash from her home. The application included the property address, the fact that the property was an investment condo, and a credit-score range of 700–719. She used the same browser for her Gmail and LinkedIn accounts. The complaint alleged that JavaScript-based trackers from LinkedIn and Google collected and transmitted IP, device, and application data through background HTTP requests to support targeted advertising. She asserted ECPA, CIPA, and California constitutional privacy claims and filed suit in September 2025.
The Court’s Analysis. The court held that the claims were facially untimely. The ECPA claim had a two-year limitations period, CIPA a one-year period, and the California constitutional claim a two-year period, all measured against the January 2022 visit and September 2025 filing. The court rejected delayed discovery under California’s inquiry-notice standard because the Privacy Policy was linked in readable text on the homepage and every subsequent page, and it disclosed collection of IP, browsing, and search history, use of third-party cookies for targeted advertising, and sharing with marketing partners. The court distinguished cases in which privacy policies concealed or denied the challenged practice. The court emphasized that the readily accessible Privacy Policy defeated Leanos’s claim that reasonable diligence would not have uncovered Defendant’s user-data sharing disclosures.
Significance. The decision makes privacy-policy architecture relevant not only to consent but also to accrual and delayed-discovery arguments. A readable, accessible policy that discloses the challenged categories of collection and sharing may shorten the period in which website-tracking claims can be brought.
Leanos v. Better Home & Fin. Holding Co., No. 25-CV-07893-EMC, 2026 WL 962827 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 9, 2026).
