Disqus
- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- Your data is used for ads and shared with data brokers.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
Comments are public; Disqus sells browsing and profile data for ads.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Shares data with data brokers
Collected
Account info, comments, cookies, device IDs, browsing on partner sites, and data from brokers.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We obtain or receive personal data about you from analytics providers such as Google; advertising partners listed here; and third-party data brokers who sell personal data.”
Training
They use and sell your data for targeted ads across the web, not just to run comments.
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Privacy policy
“Disqus is also a marketing and data company, and uses and shares personal data collected from third party sites where our Service is enabled for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising.”
Sharing
Comments are public; data is shared with Zeta Global, ad partners, brokers, and service providers.
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Privacy policy
“In the past 12 months, we have sold and/or shared all of the categories of personal data listed above with Zeta Global and our Business Partners (as described below).”
Kept
They keep data as long as they think they need it; no set delete-by date is given.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.”
Controls
You can request a copy, deletion, or opt out of sale on their Privacy Choices page.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Visit our Privacy Choices page for more details or to exercise your rights.”
Fine print
They can close you anytime, and they take a license on your posts.
No exact line could be verified.
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 sale or sharing
Privacy Choices page linked from the privacy policy (Section 9)
or a copy of your data
Privacy Choices page, or privacy@disqus.com
Limit cookies in your browser
Browser cookie settings; they also list Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Google Analytics links
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 sell or share many kinds of personal data, including identifiers and more.
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Privacy policy
“In the past twelve (12) months, we have shared or sold the following data: • § Identifiers; • § Personal Information categories listed in California Customer Records Statute”
For example, your cookie ID and browsing on comment-enabled sites can be sold to advertisers.
Ad partners and data brokers can pass your data on again.
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Privacy policy
“These third parties include other companies who participate in cross-context behavioral advertising, and data brokers who may further sell or share your personal data.”
For example, a broker could add your Disqus activity to a larger marketing profile.
They get a forever license to use, copy, and anything you post.
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Terms of service
“you expressly grant, and you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant, Disqus a worldwide, , non-exclusive, , transferable, and license”
For example, they can keep and republish a comment even after you delete your account.
You cannot sue in court with a group.
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Terms of service
“ALL CLAIMS MUST BE BROUGHT IN THE PARTIES’ INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.”
For example, if many users were harmed the same way, you could not join a .
They can shut off your access whenever they want, for any reason.
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Terms of service
“Disqus reserves the right to revoke your license to use the Service at any time and for any reason.”
For example, they could close your account without warning and you would lose access to your profile.
If your use or posts cause a legal fight, you may have to pay their costs.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and Disqus and its subsidiaries, agents, licensors, managers, and other affiliated companies”
For example, if someone sues over a comment you posted, you might have to cover Disqus’s lawyers.
Anything you comment is treated as public.
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Privacy policy
“The Service is a public platform and Disqus or others may search for, see, use, or re-post any of your User Content”
For example, a comment on a news site can be found and copied elsewhere.
If they change the rules, keeping using the site counts as agreeing.
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Privacy policy
“Your continued use of the Site following the posting of any changes to this policy means you accept such changes.”
For example, they could add new sharing and you would be bound if you keep commenting.
They say you can opt out of sale or sharing.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Opt-out of our sale or sharing of personal data about you;”
For example, you can use their Privacy Choices page to ask them not to sell your data.
They say the service is for adults 18 and over.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“The Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect or sell personal information from children under 18”
For example, if they learn an account is for a 16-year-old, they say they will delete it.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 28/100 · 13 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 4 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect more than comments: cookies on other sites, browsing history, device IDs, and data from brokers.
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They do cross-context ads and share with ad partners and data brokers who may resell data.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They sell and share personal data for ads, and they offer an opt-out of sale or sharing.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep rights, but you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to your posts.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can request deletion; they keep data as long as needed for their purposes, with no in-app 30-day promise.
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 commercially reasonable safeguards and password checks; no audit or VDP is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
The service is not for under 18 and they say they do not knowingly collect from children; no age-proofing is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
They update the date at the top; continued use means you accept changes, with no advance notice promised.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may revoke your license and terminate your account at any time for any reason.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is capped at $1,000, and you must indemnify them for claims related to your use or content.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
User terms do not describe a paid consumer subscription; publisher ads and fees are separate.
The privacy policy is 3,761 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 31.8); the terms are 8,008 words at a professional or legal expert level.
