Discourse
- The policy says your content is not used for AI training.
- 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.
They say they do not train AI on customer data, but they use ads, brokers, and cookies, and hosting customers must them.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, posts, messages, cookies, logs, and sometimes data from brokers and marketing lists.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may also receive data about you, including your name, email address, or other contact information from third parties, including marketing databases and data brokers.”
Training
They say they do not train AI on customer data, but they do analytics, marketing, and targeted ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We do not use customer data to train AI models, nor do we share it with third parties for that purpose.”
Sharing
Forum users and admins can see posts; cookies and data may go to Google, HubSpot, and brokers.
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Privacy policy
“We may disclose personal information to data brokers and marketing databases for valuable consideration, such as access to additional data.”
Kept
They keep account and post data while the account is open; hosted customer copies go after about 30 days.
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Privacy policy
“CDCK stores your account data as long as your account remains open.”
Controls
You can edit your profile, download activity, close some accounts, and email privacy@discourse.org.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can change your account data at any time by visiting the profile settings page for your account.”
Fine print
Hosting is as-is with a damages cap; you them; lawsuits go to San Francisco.
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Terms of service
“Except for its obligations in CDCK’s Obligations, CDCK provides Customer’s Forum and all work “as is”.”
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.
Opt out of interest-based ads and broker-style sharing
thenai.org/opt-out, youradchoices.com, Cookie Settings, GPC, or email privacy@discourse.org
Download your forum activity
Your account activity page (CSV download); admins use the Administrator Dashboard for full database export
Close or your account
Profile settings page for your account, if the forum allows it
Email privacy requests
privacy@discourse.org
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 say they do not sell data for cash, but they may trade your info with brokers to get more data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may disclose personal information to data brokers and marketing databases for valuable consideration, such as access to additional data.”
For example, your email from a forum visit could be swapped with a marketing list so they can email you about paid plans.
They can use what they know about you to show ads based on your behavior across sites.
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Privacy policy
“We may also disclose and use personal information for targeted or cross-context behavioral advertising.”
For example, visiting discourse.org could later show you Discourse ads on other websites.
Other companies can track you on Discourse sites and elsewhere on the internet.
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Privacy policy
“Yes, we may allow third parties to use the CDCK Websites and Forums to collect and record personal information about both your activities on the CDCK Websites and Forums and your online activities over time and across different online products, websites, services, and applications.”
For example, an ad company cookie could follow you from discourse.org to other sites you browse.
If someone sues over how you run the forum, you may have to pay Discourse’s legal costs.
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Terms of service
“Customer agrees to give CDCK for any Legal Claim based on Customer’s breach of this agreement or Use of Customer’s Forum at Customer’s Own Risk.”
For example, if a user posts illegal content and Discourse is sued, your company might have to cover their lawyers.
They mostly promise no extra if the hosted forum fails beyond the written SLA credits.
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Terms of service
“Except for its obligations in CDCK’s Obligations, CDCK provides Customer’s Forum and all work “as is”.”
For example, if a plugin bug loses posts, they may not owe more than the limited credits in the contract.
Private messages are not fully private; forum admins can read them.
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Privacy policy
“CDCK also collects data about private messages that you send through the forum. CDCK makes private messages available to senders and their recipients, and also to forum administrators.”
For example, a DM you send another user can be opened by the site’s admin.
They say community posts are not used to train AI and are not given to others for training.
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Privacy policy
“We do not use customer data to train AI models, nor do we share it with third parties for that purpose.”
For example, a support thread on a customer forum should not be fed into a public chatbot model.
After a hosting contract ends and the download window closes, they say they delete customer copies within 30 days, except scheduled backups.
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Terms of service
“CDCK agrees to delete all its copies of Customer Data for Customer’s Forum within thirty days after its obligation under Provide Downloads of Customer Data ends.”
For example, if you cancel hosting, you can export first, then they wipe the live copies within a month.
Hosting does not transfer who owns the software or the content already owned.
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Terms of service
“This agreement does not change ownership of any Intellectual Property Right held by either side.”
For example, your company’s posts stay yours; Discourse still owns its software.
Hosting disputes go to court in San Francisco.
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Terms of service
“Both sides agree to bring any Lawsuit in San Francisco Courts.”
For example, a billing fight would be filed in San Francisco.
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.
- data broker
- A company that buys, collects and resells information about people, usually without ever meeting them. For example, your phone number and shopping habits can be sold as part of a list to a company you never heard of.
- 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.
- 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.
- as is
- You get the service in whatever state it is in, with no promise that it works or will keep working. For example, if the app deletes your photos by mistake, it is not promising to fix that or pay you back.
- targeted advertising
- Ads chosen for you based on what you have done across other apps and websites, not just this one. For example, you look at shoes in one app and see shoe ads in a totally different app the next day.
- 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.
How we got here · grade A+ · score 69/100 · 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 accounts, posts, messages, cookies, and logs, and may also get names and emails from marketing databases and data brokers.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They say they do not intentionally collect biometric data as a controller.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
They say they do not use customer data to train AI models and do not share it for that purpose.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say they access customer data to host, stop abuse, do support, or follow the law; forum admins can also read private messages.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They use third-party cookies and allow others to track you across sites for targeted and behavioral ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell data for money but may share it with brokers for other value, and they list a right to opt out of those exchanges.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
The hosting terms say the deal does not change who owns intellectual property on either side.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can close some forum accounts in settings. For paid hosting they say they delete customer copies within 30 days after the download window ends.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They describe public forum profiles you can edit, not a lasting AI memory of you.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they take security precautions and point to a security brief; no independent audit is described in these pages.
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?
Both documents are dated. Hosting terms get 30 days’ notice; the privacy notice mainly says they will post the next version.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
Customers can end anytime; CDCK needs about three months’ notice and must offer database downloads. Some email-rule breaches can suspend without notice.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The forum is as-is with a fee-based damages cap, and the customer must indemnify CDCK for many claims about how the forum is used.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Hosting fees are paid in advance each service month. You can end anytime; SLA credits apply to future bills and are not paid out as cash except in a special refund case.
The privacy policy is 4,970 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 41.7); the terms are 4,112 words at a college level.
