Classmates
- The policy allows AI training; it does not describe an opt-out.
- 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 policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
Your school profile is public, they share data for ads, auto-renew with no refunds.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Capped at C (the answers alone would give D): Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Name, school, birth date, email, device IDs, browsing, and sometimes Facebook photos and friends.
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Privacy policy
“When you register for the Services, you may be required to provide certain information, such as your name, maiden name (if applicable), mailing address and/or zip code, email address, phone number, birth date or year, marital status, password, and, in the case of the Classmates Services, one or more community affiliations (such as a school).”
Training
They run the site, send mail, target ads, and say they use data to improve AI technologies.
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Privacy policy
“To facilitate the operation of and improve the technologies made available when you interact with us and the Website, including AI technologies;”
Sharing
Other members see your name and school; affiliates, ad networks, and service providers also get data.
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Privacy policy
“We also may share your information with our affiliates and brands for their direct marketing purposes.”
Kept
They keep it while your account is open and may keep some after you cancel.
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Privacy policy
“We will retain your personal information for as long as your account is in place or as needed to provide you these Services or to comply with our legal obligations and internal policies.”
Controls
You can edit Account settings, cancel membership, and some states can opt out of ad sharing.
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Privacy policy
“If you wish to have your account canceled for any reason, please click here.”
Fine print
Subscriptions auto-renew with no refunds; they can close you anytime.
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Terms of service
“All fees relating to Paid Services, including the initial fees and any subsequent automatic renewal fees (as described above), are non-refundable.”
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.
Turn off automatic renewal
Account portion of Classmates.com, then Account & Billing, change renewal from automatic to manual
Opt out of sale/sharing or targeted ads
Cookie banner, DAA link, GPC, or privacy@classmates.com / State Law Data Privacy Request form
Cancel membership or
Help section / Member Care, or email privacy@classmates.com
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 can shut your account whenever they want and do not have to warn you first.
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Terms of service
“We may terminate your account, for any or no reason, at any time, with or without notice.”
For example, you could lose access to yearbooks and messages overnight with no email.
If you pay for a membership, you generally cannot get that money back, including after auto-renewal.
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Terms of service
“All fees relating to Paid Services, including the initial fees and any subsequent automatic renewal fees (as described above), are non-refundable.”
For example, if you forget to cancel before renewal, they keep the charge.
If someone sues them because of something you posted or how you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You shall and , and at our request, defend us, our parents, subsidiaries, and other affiliates”
For example, a fight over a comment you posted could leave you covering their lawyers.
They can copy, share, and reuse what you post, and let others do the same, without paying you.
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Terms of service
“you hereby grant us a , worldwide, transferable, , non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, publish, store, distribute, display, communicate, perform, transmit, create derivative works based upon, and promote such Content”
For example, a reunion story you wrote could be used in their marketing.
Outside ad companies can track you on the site to show targeted ads.
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Privacy policy
“We may also allow other unaffiliated companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to display advertisements containing cookies, pixels, web beacons or other technologies on the Services.”
For example, looking at a reunion page could later show you ads on other websites.
Signing up makes your name and school years public to other people on the site.
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Privacy policy
“once you are registered your name, community affiliations and years associated with those affiliations will be displayed on the Classmates.com Website and you will no longer be ”
For example, someone searching your high school can see you attended in 1998.
They say they can use information from your use of the site to improve AI tools, with no training opt-out described.
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Privacy policy
“To facilitate the operation of and improve the technologies made available when you interact with us and the Website, including AI technologies;”
For example, how you use search or profiles could help them build AI features.
They say they do not read private messages except for safety, fraud, or legal reasons.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We respect the privacy of these member-to-member communications and do not read or disclose them unless we believe it is necessary in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud”
For example, a private reunion message should not be read unless they suspect a scam.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- 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.
- auto-renewal
- Your subscription keeps charging you at the end of each period until you cancel it. For example, a free trial turns into a paid monthly plan unless you cancel before it ends.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
- tracking pixels
- Tiny invisible images or bits of code in a page, app or email that report back when and where you opened it. For example, a pixel in a marketing email tells the sender the moment you read it.
- de-identified
- Data with your name and obvious identifiers removed, though it can sometimes still be traced back to you. For example, your chats with names stripped out may still be kept and studied after you delete your account.
How we got here · grade F · score 34/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 1 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and school details plus device IDs, browsing, Facebook friends and photos, invite-a-friend emails, and extra marketing data.
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 may use collected information to improve technologies including AI, and they do not describe a way to turn that off.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say they do not read private member messages except for illegal activity, fraud, safety, or policy violations.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party ad networks use cookies, pixels, and similar tools, and they share limited data so those networks can target ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with affiliates and advertising partners and describe that sharing as a sale or share in some states, with opt-out paths.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You grant a worldwide, transferable, sublicensable license to use and promote content you post; they do not claim they own it.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You cancel or request deletion through Member Care or email; they may still keep data for legal and dispute reasons, with no 30-day wipe promised.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They build public profiles and draw inferences, and they add third-party data, but they do not describe a memory feature you can fully turn off.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe encryption for card numbers and physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards, but they do not guarantee security.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
The site is for people 18 and older; you certify your age by using it, with no extra age check described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policies are dated, but changes take effect when posted and continued use means you accept them.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can close your account anytime without notice and may delete related information; paid fees are not refunded.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is capped at $100 or a year of fees, and you must indemnify them for claims from your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew at the then-current price and all paid-service fees are non-refundable.
The privacy policy is 10,020 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 34.1); the terms are 6,902 words at a college level.
