Realtor.com Lawsuit: Website Accused of Illegally Tracking Video Views

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit claims Realtor.com secretly tracked what videos people watched on its website and shared that information with third parties without consent, violating California’s privacy laws.

Consumers Affected: California residents who visited Realtor.com and watched videos on the platform during the relevant time period.

Court: Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles

One of the biggest names in online real estate pries too far into its users’ private lives, a new lawsuit claims. Realtor.com has been secretly tracking what videos people watch on its site and sharing that information with third parties, in violation of California’s strict privacy laws, the proposed class action alleges.

The complaint targets Move, Inc., which owns and operates Realtor.com, a platform with more than 100 million monthly visitors. According to the filing, the company embedded tracking technology, including Meta’s widely used Pixel, into its website to capture personal information and viewing histories. 

That data was allegedly transmitted to advertisers, who could then target users with ads based on which properties they viewed.

Consumers Say They Were Tracked While Seeking Help

The lawsuit was filed by California resident Nicki Apaydin, who says she visited Realtor.com multiple times in the past year to view property-related videos. She didn’t have an account or subscription with the site, but she did maintain a Facebook profile.

According to the complaint, every time Apaydin clicked on a video, her identity and viewing activity were secretly shared with third parties through the tracking pixel. She says she never gave specific consent to this kind of data-sharing and still doesn’t know who has access to her personal information or how it may be used.

Lawsuit Alleges California Privacy Act Violation

At the center of the complaint is the Meta Pixel, a small snippet of code that relays information from websites back to Facebook. The lawsuit claims Realtor.com used this tool to link users’ identities via unique Facebook IDs to their video viewing histories. 

For instance, if someone watched a virtual tour of an apartment, that request and identifying information would allegedly be passed along to Facebook in real time.

The filing also points to Realtor.com’s cookie notice as evidence that the site admits to sharing information with advertisers. However, the lawsuit stresses that users were not given meaningful opportunities to opt in or opt out before their private data was shared.

The lawsuit argues that this kind of undisclosed tracking amounts to an illegal invasion of privacy under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). The law was designed to protect Californians from “eavesdropping upon private communications” and forbids companies from intercepting or disclosing electronic communications without permission.

Tech Companies Face Growing Legal Pushback on Data Practices

Realtor.com isn’t the only company under scrutiny. Tesla, Hilton Hotels, CVS, GoodRx, and Nutrisystem have all recently been accused of similar privacy violations. GoodRx even agreed to pay $25 million earlier this year to settle claims that it shared sensitive health-related data with advertisers.

Other tech companies are facing their own battles, Otter.ai, for example, is being sued for allegedly recording and analyzing private conversations without consent. Together, these lawsuits highlight growing consumer pushback against hidden data tracking practices.

Apaydin wants to represent all California residents who visited Realtor.com and watched videos on the platform during the relevant time period. The lawsuit seeks damages, court orders to stop the alleged tracking, and coverage of legal costs.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Apaydin v. Move, Inc. D/B/A Realtor.com
• Case Number: 2:25-cv-07905
• Court: Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles 

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Eugene Y. Turin (McGuire Law, P.C.)

Have you recently visited Realtor.com website and are concerned about hidden tracking? Share your thoughts in the comments below.