ArtStation
- The policy says your content is not used for AI training.
- Your data is used to target ads at you; you can opt out.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
You keep your art, but they take a license, can close you without notice, and cap at $500.
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Collected
Name, address, photo, payment details, plus IP, browser, and how you use the site.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may collect various information from you, including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, photograph, credit card details, preferred means of communication, your interaction with our website”
Training
They run the site, customize ads, and use your art for safety and search—not for generative AI.
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Terms of service
“ArtStation agrees, whether or not Your Content is NoAI Content, not to use any of Your Content or to license any of Your Content to third parties for use (a) in datasets utilized by Generative AI Programs”
Sharing
They say they do not sell or rent your info, but share it with partners, affiliates, and other users.
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Privacy policy
“We will not sell or rent your personal information to third parties, and we will obtain your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information except where we are authorized or required by law”
Kept
You can delete in account settings; they keep data while needed for law, disputes, and business.
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Privacy policy
“We provide you with the ability to cancel your ArtStation account and delete your information from within your account settings.”
Controls
Projects get a NoAI tag by default; you can delete your account or withdraw consent with notice.
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Terms of service
“This tag will be applied to your projects or Your Content by default; you must actively remove this designation from your projects containing Your Content to disable the “NoAI” tag.”
Fine print
They can close you with no notice, keep a forever license, and outside the EU cap damages at $500.
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Terms of service
“If you are a user residing outside the EU, ArtStation may also terminate or suspend any or all of the Services at any time without prior notice.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Delete your account and information
Account settings, or email privacy@artstation.com
Keep the NoAI tag on your projects
Profile / project settings (on by default; remove it only if you want to allow AI use by others)
Opt out of extra product emails
Follow the opt-out they mention for third-party product and service messages
Ask for a copy of your data
Written request to privacy@artstation.com (they say within 30 days after they verify you)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
You still own your art, but they get a forever license to copy, change, and share it to run and promote the site, even after you leave.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You hereby grant a worldwide, non-exclusive, , fully paid-up, , , (through multiple tiers) right and license to ArtStation to use, reproduce, publicly display, adapt, modify, reformat, and distribute Your Content”
For example, they could keep showing or promoting a piece you posted even after you delete your account.
If you live outside the EU, they can shut off your account whenever they want and do not have to warn you first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“If you are a user residing outside the EU, ArtStation may also terminate or suspend any or all of the Services at any time without prior notice.”
For example, you could log in one day and find your portfolio gone with no email warning.
If the account ends, leftover paid time, credits, or points are gone and you do not get money back.
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Terms of service
“any unused or remaining time, credits, points or in your account at the date of termination will be permanently forfeited and revoked from you, and you will not receive any refund or credit for any of them”
For example, unused Pro time you already paid for would not be refunded if they close the account.
If someone sues them because of your posts or how you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“YOU WILL ARTSTATION AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, LICENSORS AND LICENSEES”
For example, if a buyer claims your marketplace file copied their work, you could owe ArtStation’s lawyer fees.
Outside the EU, even if they are at fault, they say they will not pay you more than $500.
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Terms of service
“IF, DESPITE THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS, ARTSTATION BECOMES TO YOU IN RESPECT OF THE SITE, THE ARTSTATION CONTENT, THE ARTSTATION TOOLS OR THE SERVICES, OR A COMBINATION OF THE FOREGOING, THAT WILL BE LIMITED TO USD $500.”
For example, if a bug wiped a large paid project, they claim you could recover at most $500.
They use what they know about you to change ads and what you see on the site.
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Privacy policy
“to customize the advertising and content that is presented to you on our website”
For example, after you browse 3D models, you might see more ads for similar tools.
Your information can go to partner companies, related companies, and other people on the site, not only to vendors who host the site.
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Privacy policy
“We may share your personal information with: • Business partners; • Other KitBash LLC entities; • Other users (for example, if you use chat or social features on the ArtStation services);”
For example, a chat message or profile details could be seen by other users or a partner company.
They promise not to feed your art into generative AI models or license it to others for that.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“ArtStation agrees, whether or not Your Content is NoAI Content, not to use any of Your Content or to license any of Your Content to third parties for use (a) in datasets utilized by Generative AI Programs, (b) in the development of Generative AI Programs, or (c) as inputs to Generative AI Programs.”
For example, they say they will not put your illustrations into a dataset that trains an image generator.
New projects are marked NoAI unless you turn that off, which tells others not to scrape them for AI.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“This tag will be applied to your projects or Your Content by default; you must actively remove this designation from your projects containing Your Content to disable the “NoAI” tag.”
For example, a new portfolio piece starts as NoAI so scrapers are told not to use it for AI training.
They still run machine learning on your art to catch rule-breaking and to power search and recommendations.
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Terms of service
“We use Your Content to improve how our Safety and Discovery Tools operate.”
For example, your images can be used to train their spam filter and “you might like” rankings.
The privacy rules can change when they post a new page; they do not promise to email you first.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the revised Privacy Policy on our website. Please check our website regularly for these changes.”
For example, a new sharing rule could go live and you would only notice if you re-read the policy.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- sell or share
- Under California law, selling means passing your data to others for money or other value; sharing means passing it on for targeted ads. For example, letting an ad network use your browsing history in return for ad space counts as a sale.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- irrevocable
- Cannot be taken back or cancelled once given, even if you change your mind or delete your account. For example, an irrevocable licence to your photos means you cannot withdraw it later.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- inputs and outputs
- Inputs are what you type, say or upload to an AI; outputs are what it gives back to you. For example, the question you ask a chatbot is an input and its answer is an output, and both may be stored.
How we got here · grade C · score 41/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and payment details plus usage and device data such as IP address, browser type, and access times.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Not stated in the documents.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
They say they will not use your content in generative-AI datasets, training, or inputs. They do use it for safety and discovery tools.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They customize advertising based on your use. You can opt out of some marketing messages, but a full ad-tracking opt-out is not clearly described.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they will not sell or rent personal information, but they share it with business partners, related companies, other users, and service providers.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership, but you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license so they can use, change, and share your content to run and promote the service.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete in account settings, but they keep information as needed for law, disputes, and agreements, with no set “gone by” date.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they use reasonable security arrangements, but they do not describe audits or a vulnerability program.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 18. That is a stated rule you agree to when you register, not a described ID check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy can change when they post a new version; they tell you to check the site. Terms for non-EU users bind after 30 days of posting or email.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
Outside the EU they can terminate without notice. Unused credits are forfeited, and they may delete your content; their license still lasts.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
Outside the EU the site is “as is,” liability is capped at $500, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your content or use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Paid features are charged in advance; they may change fees; on termination they say you get no refunds and unused credits are lost. Auto-renew is not clearly spelled out.
The privacy policy is 2,515 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 33.5); the terms are 8,791 words at a college level.
