Engadget
- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- 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.
A news site that logs visits, uses third-party ads, and can change rules or cut access without warning.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Visit logs like IP and browser, plus email and open/click data if you subscribe.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“When you visit a Static Media Website, Static Media's servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website ("Log Data").”
Training
They use logs to run the site and newsletter data to send mail and target ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“This data helps us send newsletters, marketing opportunities from us and our partners, and administrative communications while allowing us to provide relevant content and target advertisements.”
Sharing
Ad partners and tools can get log data and hashed emails; they say they do not sell your email.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may share hashed emails with third-party advertising providers for ad targeting, but your actual email address will never be shared.”
Kept
Unsubscribing does not delete newsletter records; you must ask them to delete.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Unsubscribing changes your status to 'Unsubscribed' in our email service provider but does not delete your data, which we retain in order to be able to record our compliance with your request.”
Controls
You can unsubscribe, use cookie tools, ad opt-outs, or email privacy@static.com to delete.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can unsubscribe from newsletters or marketing communications at any time using the link in the email.”
Fine print
They can change the rules without warning and cut off access at any time with no notice.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Static Media reserves the right to change this policy 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.
Unsubscribe from newsletters in the email link
The unsubscribe link in the newsletter email
Ask them to fully delete your records
Submit a request at privacy@static.com
Use the site cookie management tool
Cookie management mechanism listed for Engadget.com in the privacy policy
Opt out of interest-based ads via industry tools
http://optout.networkadvertising.org/ and https://optout.aboutads.info
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 specially protect the visit data they collect.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Because Static Media does not collect any personally identifiable information from the Static Media Websites, Static Media does not take any specific security measures to protect the information we do collect.”
For example, if log data were leaked, they have already said they do not take specific security steps.
They can lock you out whenever they want and do not have to warn you first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Static Media reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Static Media Websites or any portion thereof at any time, without notice.”
For example, you could lose access to the site overnight with no email explaining why.
Rules can change without them telling you in advance. You are expected to check the page yourself.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Static Media reserves the right to change this policy at any time without prior notice. Any changes to this policy will be posted here.”
For example, they could start using newsletter data in a new way and only update the posted policy.
Ad companies can get your visit logs and use cookies to personalize ads. This site does not control those companies.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Third party advertisers, or companies working on their behalf, may serve directly to your browser the advertisements that appear on the Static Media Websites, which allows them to receive Log Data (as defined above).”
For example, an ad network could use your IP and cookies to show you ads on other sites.
If you subscribe, a coded version of your email can be used so advertisers can target you.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may share hashed emails with third-party advertising providers for ad targeting, but your actual email address will never be shared.”
For example, signing up for a newsletter could help advertisers match you across other sites without seeing your raw email.
If you send them ideas anyway, they can use those ideas forever, share them, and not pay you.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“If, despite our request, you send us creative suggestions, ideas, drawings, concepts, inventions, or other information (collectively, “Submissions”), you grant Static Media a world-wide , , (to any number of tiers) nonexclusive right and license to exploit your Submissions in any way Static Media sees fit”
For example, a product idea you email them could be used in their business with no payment to you.
The site is offered with no promises it will work, and they limit what they will pay if something goes wrong.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE STATIC MEDIA WEBSITES AND ALL STATIC MEDIA CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.”
For example, if a recipe or gadget article is wrong and you lose money, they say you use the site at your own risk.
Clicking unsubscribe stops mail but keeps your record. Full deletion needs a separate request.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Unsubscribing changes your status to 'Unsubscribed' in our email service provider but does not delete your data, which we retain in order to be able to record our compliance with your request.”
For example, after you unsubscribe they still keep your email so they can prove they stopped mailing you.
They say they will not sell your actual email, and you can stop marketing mail from the message itself.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We will not sell or rent your email address. You can unsubscribe from newsletters or marketing communications at any time using the link in the email.”
For example, you can click the unsubscribe link in a newsletter instead of hunting through account settings.
If your browser sends Do Not Track, they say they will not track you for ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Static Media will treat a “do not track” signal as a request not to track the user for advertising purposes.”
For example, turning on Do Not Track in your browser is treated as an ad-tracking opt-out here.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- warranty
- A promise that a product will work as described; most apps say they make no such promise at all. For example, if a paid feature never works on your phone, a no-warranty clause says that is your problem.
- 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.
How we got here · grade C · score 42/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides optional newsletter email, they automatically collect log data such as IP address, browser type, cookies, and tracking pixels.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
This is a news website. The policy does not describe collecting voice, face, or body data.
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?
Third-party advertisers can receive log data and use cookies and pixels to personalize ads. Newsletter data is also used to target ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they will not sell or rent your email, but they share hashed emails with ad providers and work with ad partners. Industry opt-outs are listed.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
If you send creative ideas anyway, you give them a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to use those submissions however they want.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Unsubscribing does not delete newsletter data. To fully delete records you must submit a request at privacy@static.com.
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 take no specific security measures because they claim not to collect personal information from the sites.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
The sites are not directed to children under 18. They say they will remove information if they learn a child under 13 provided it. There is no described age check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policy is dated, but they may change it at any time without prior notice and only post the new version.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can end your access at any time without notice. The terms do not describe exporting your data first.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The site is provided as is with no warranties, and they disclaim almost all damages. Your only stated remedy is to stop using the site.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
The documents describe newsletters and contests, not a paid subscription with auto-renewal.
The privacy policy is 2,225 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 40.4); the terms are 1,660 words at a college graduate level.
