Kenvue Inc . the former Johnson & Johnson consumer unit, has reached a settlement in a headline-making class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court over its Neutrogena Skin360 app , closing a significant chapter in the evolving debate over facial recognition and biometric data in the beauty industry.
Background of How Neutrogena Skin360 Landed in Court On May 26, 2022 , plaintiff Helene Melzer filed a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (J&J) , alleging violations of the
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) . The complaint centered around the popular Neutrogena Skin360 app , which provides users with a personalized at-home skin assessment by asking them to complete a 180-degree facial scan via smartphone.
The app’s software analyzes skin health , generates a Skin360 score , and offers product recommendations—all using AI and a database of thousands of skin images.
What made the suit particularly alarming to privacy advocates was the claim that Neutrogena Skin360 not only scanned users’ faces but linked that biometric data to other personally identifying information , including names, birth dates, email addresses, sleep and exercise habits, stress levels , and location— all without the user’s explicit consent .
The Legal Arguments and the Court’s Stand J&J initially sought to have the case dismissed on the grounds that Skin360 constituted a healthcare tool—and was thus exempt from BIPA’s requirements. But in March 2025, U.S…
