FTC Announces Refunds for NGL Users Affected by Alleged Deceptive Tactics

January 11, 2026/Richard Newman

On January 6, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has launched a refund claims process for some consumers who were charged for a subscription to the anonymous messaging app NGL without their authorization.

In July 2024, the Federal Trade Commission and Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office alleged that NGL and two of its co-founders engaged in a host of law violations related to their anonymous messaging app, including unfairly marketing the service to children and teens. The agencies charged NGL and its co-founders with sending bogus messages that appeared to come from real people and tricked users into signing up for paid subscriptions to NGL Pro by falsely claiming that doing so would reveal the identity of the senders of messages.

The complaint also alleged that the company encouraged users to purchase a paid version of the app to learn the identity of the people who sent them anonymous messages, however after consumers upgraded they did not actually learn the senders’ identities.

NGL and its co-founders also allegedly failed to obtain consent for recurring charges.  The order settling the agencies’ complaint banned the defendants from marketing anonymous messaging apps to kids and teens under 18 and required them to pay $4.5 million to provide refunds to impacted users.

According to an FTC compliance attorney, the FTC is using that money to provide payments to customers who meet the following requirements:

  • paid for NGL Pro between January 2022 and July 2024; and
  • experienced unauthorized charges.

Consumers must be at least 18 years old to submit a refund claim form. Users under 18 need their parent or guardian to complete and submit the form on their behalf. All claims will be reviewed before eligibility is determined.

Richard B. Newman is an FTC attorney at Hinch Newman LLP focusing on digital marketing and regulatory defense.

Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. This article is not intended to and should not be construed as legal advice. May be considered attorney advertising.

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Richard Newman

Richard B. Newman is a nationally recognized FTC advertising compliance, CID investigation and regulatory enforcemetn attorney. He regularly provides advertising counsel and represents clients in high-profile investigations and enforcement proceedings initiated by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, departments of consumer affairs, and other federal and state agencies with jurisdiction over advertising and marketing practices. Richard is also an ecommerce lawyer and spam defense attorney. His practice additionally focuses upon false advertising defense, data privacy, cybersquatting, intellectual property law and transactional matters relating to the dissemination of national advertising campaigns, including the gamut of affiliate marketing, telemarketing, lead generation, list management and licensing agreements. Richard advises clients on how to minimize the legal risks associated with digital marketing, email marketing, telemarketing, social media influencer campaigns, endorsements and testimonials, negative option marketing models, native advertising, online promotions and comparative advertising,
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Hinch Newman LLP’s advertising and marketing practice includes two decades successfully resolving some of the highest-profile Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general digital advertising and telemarketing investigations and enforcement actions. The firm possesses superior knowledge and deep legal experience in the areas of advertising, marketing, lead generation, promotions, e-commerce, privacy and intellectual property law. Through these advertising and marketing law updates, Hinch Newman LLP provides commentary, news and analysis on issues and trends concerning developments of interest to digital marketers, including FTC and state attorneys general advertising compliance, civil investigative demands (CIDs), and administrative/ judicial process. 

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