AtCoder
- Your data trains their AI only if you opt in.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
You own your code, but they may share contest answers with AI firms and sponsors if you consent, and ads use your profile.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Email, country, contest answers, ratings, optional job/school/location, cookies, and IP addresses.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We collect the following personal data directly from Users. In cases where the processing of personal data is required pursuant to laws, regulations, or an agreement with a User”
Training
They run contests, customize ads, and with your consent may use answers to train AI.
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Privacy policy
“To use answer data posted on our Website by the Users through their use of the Services, or to provide such data to third parties such as AI developers, for the purpose of using it as training data, etc. for machine learning and the like;”
Sharing
IT vendors, and with consent sponsors, recruiters, and AI developers, including some outside Japan.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“With the consent from the User, we may share answer data posted to the Contests by such User, log data, and metadata related thereto, as well as any other data authorized by such User to be shared with third parties such as AI developers”
Kept
They say they keep it only as long as needed, then delete it promptly; no set number of days.
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Privacy policy
“We will not retain the personal data of Users beyond the period necessary for the aforementioned purposes of use of personal data or the period required by laws and regulations.”
Controls
You can email them to see, fix, stop using, or erase your data after they check who you are.
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Privacy policy
“If a User requests us to suspend the use of or erase their personal data (hereinafter referred to as the “Suspension of Use, etc.”), we will conduct an investigation without delay after verifying the identity of the requesting User”
Fine print
New rules apply when posted; you own your code; they take almost no blame; Tokyo courts.
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Terms of service
“When using the Services after the revised Terms have taken effect, Users shall be deemed as having agreed to the revised Terms.”
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.
Ask to see, fix, or erase your data
Email support[@]atcoder.jp (Personal Information Complaints and Consultation Desk)
Cancel membership through their procedures
Membership cancellation via the prescribed procedures in the Terms
Do not consent to AI or sponsor sharing
Consent screens when they ask to share with AI developers or sponsors
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
They may use your contest solutions to train AI, or give them to AI companies, if they have your consent.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“To use answer data posted on our Website by the Users through their use of the Services, or to provide such data to third parties such as AI developers, for the purpose of using it as training data, etc. for machine learning and the like;”
For example, a solution you submit in a contest could later be used to train someone else’s coding model.
They can tailor ads and pages using things like your age, job, and interests.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“To customize information on the pages of the Services, the Services themselves, and the distribution of advertisements based on the age, occupation, gender, hobbies and preferences, etc. of Users;”
For example, you might see job ads aimed at students if you listed a school.
Contest sponsors can use your data to recruit you if you have agreed.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“In order for corporate sponsors of the Contests in which Users have participated to provide recruitment information to Users, verify application history, and conduct selection activities;”
For example, a company that sponsored a contest could see that you entered and send you hiring messages.
If someone sues over something you did on the site, you pay and you protect AtCoder.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Users agree that in the event they cause damage to any other Members and/or third parties through their use of the Services, they shall be to compensate for such damage at their own responsibility and at their own expense, and hold us harmless from and against any resulting therefrom.”
For example, if another user claims your posted code harmed them, you cover the costs, not AtCoder.
If the site breaks, loses data, or shuts down, they say they do not owe you anything.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We assume no for any defects, temporary interruptions, partial deletions, revisions, or termination of the content of our Website and any damage suffered by Users or third parties arising therefrom.”
For example, if a contest submission disappears, they say they are not responsible.
They can close your account without asking you if they think you broke the rules.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“If the acts of a User fall under any of the aforementioned items, we may revoke the membership of such User without the consent of such User.”
For example, they could drop your account after they decide sharing a login was wrong.
You keep copyright in the code you submit.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“The ownership and copyright of any program posted on our Website through the use of the Services shall belong to the User who created it.”
For example, a solution you wrote for a contest is still yours, not AtCoder’s.
They can use your posted work in their ads.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“In the case where a User has posted on our Website a copyrighted work they created through the use of the Services, such User shall grant us a license to use such copyrighted work in our advertising and announcements.”
For example, they could show your contest code in a promo for AtCoder.
If they post new terms and you keep using the site, you have agreed.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“When using the Services after the revised Terms have taken effect, Users shall be deemed as having agreed to the revised Terms.”
For example, you might not get an email; just visiting after a change counts as yes.
Lawsuits go to a court in Tokyo under Japanese law.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“The Tokyo District Court shall be the court of first instance with over any litigation arising out of or in connection with these Terms.”
For example, if you wanted to sue, you would file in Tokyo, not in your home country.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- model training
- Using your content and conversations as examples to teach an AI system, which can then echo them in future answers. For example, a story you write in a chatbot may be studied by the company to make the next version of the bot.
- 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.
- 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.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- governing law
- Which country's or state's laws are used to settle any dispute, no matter where you live. For example, a user in Ohio may find the terms are judged under California law.
How we got here · grade D · score 39/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 6 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides account and contest answers, they collect location, school or job details, employment intent, cookies, and IP addresses.
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 may use contest answers as AI training data only with the user’s consent.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They customize ads from age, job, and interests, and use Google Analytics cookies.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with service providers, and with consent with sponsors, recruiters, and AI developers.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You own programs you post; they get a license to use them in ads, and AI sharing needs consent.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
They keep data only as long as needed and will erase it if you request after they verify you.
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Not stated in the documents.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated; terms say using the site after posting new rules means you agree.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may revoke membership without your consent if they think you broke the rules; no export is described.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
They disclaim almost all liability and you must hold them harmless if you harm others.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 1,350 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 35.8); the terms are 1,413 words at a fairly hard level.
