A group of eight app makers, including Twitter Inc., Instagram LLC and Yelp Inc., have agreed to settle a long-running privacy class action accusing them of inappropriately accessing the address books of customers using Apple mobile devices. According to court papers filed Monday, the proposed deal would dole out $5.3 million to a class of 7 million affected users, but attorney fees will potentially cut into the total payout to plaintiffs.

Lead plaintiffs lawyers on the case at Phillips, Erlewine, Given & Carlin and Kerr & Wagstaffe have indicated that they will seek up to 30 percent of the settlement funds, or $1.59 million. Kerr & Wagstaffe's Michael von Loewenfeldt declined to comment, citing a firm policy against discussing proposed settlements before notice has gone out to class members.

The proposal is subject to approval from U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who has been overseeing the cases originally filed against the app makers and Apple in 2013 after the New York Times reported that scores of popular applications tapped into users' address books in ways that appeared to be prohibited by Apple policies.