Brief - The Hustle

Josh Browder’s DoNotPay lets users ‘swipe right’ on court settlements and sue for $25k

Written by Lindsey Quinn | Sep 23, 2020 1:51:35 AM

Last week, loose cannon techie Joshua Browder launched a new version of DoNotPay: a Tinder-esque app that helps users file lawsuits and claim awards from class-action settlements. 

And, the people are loving it. In the week since the 21-year-old Stanford student re-released the app, it’s been downloaded more than 10k times. 

The Browder family motto? ‘F*ck the system’

Joshua Browder’s great-grandfather was a presidential candidate who ran America’s Communist Party, his grandfather was a National Medal of Science-winning math prodigy, and his father is an investment fund CEO, activist, and the most wanted man in Russia.

But Joshua Browder decided to carve out his personal legacy as a digital vigilante, earning the nickname “Robinhood of the internet” after creating a bot to help people fight parking tickets in court 3 years ago at age 18.

DoNotPay targets bureaucratic systems that are public, but prohibitively time-consuming and expensive. Then, it helps individuals claim everything from expedited DMV appointments to reimbursements for late packages. 

Swiping may not find you love, but it will find you lawsuits

Browder has since expanded DoNotPay into a legal services app that lists class-action lawsuits like dating profiles and uses AI to win up to $25k in small-claims court. 

The platform offers 15 different “products” ranging from “sue anyone” to “get free prescription drugs.” The “free government and settlement money” option lets users “swipe right to sue” when they find a suit that catches their eye.

Browder told The Washington Post the app has already helped users win $16m in parking ticket fees and an average of $7k in Equifax reimbursement.

Breaking down the bureaucracy

“Your money belongs to you — big corporations try to take it — let DoNotPay get it back” prompts the app once downloaded. 

The service — which is funded by customer donations and $1.1m in seed money — is free, and it lets users keep 100% of the money they win in court. Eventually, Browder plans to charge for case-specific legal assistance, while keeping the app’s 15 existing tools free. Guess it’s time to lawyer up…