Etsy
- 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.
Etsy takes a broad license to your listings, uses ads tracking you can opt out of.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, purchases, device and browsing data, photos you post, location, and marketing inferences.
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Privacy policy
“We may collect and may have collected during the 12-month period prior to the Last Updated date of this California Notice the following categories of Personal Information about you:”
Training
They use your data to run the shop, personalize it, and show interest-based ads.
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Privacy policy
“We use your Personal Information for our business and commercial purposes including: providing the Services, processing orders and transactions, internal business analytics, tailoring and personalizing the Services to you”
Sharing
Buyers, sellers, vendors, ad networks, analytics firms, social networks, and partners may receive data.
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Privacy policy
“We may share your Personal Information by allowing certain third parties (such as online advertising services) to collect Personal Information through automated technologies on our Sites and Apps for targeted (cross-context behavioral) advertising purposes.”
Kept
You can ask to delete data in account settings, but the policy does not say how long they keep it.
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Privacy policy
“If you would like to correct, access, or delete your Personal Information, you can do so through your Etsy account settings.”
Controls
You can opt out of sale/sharing for ads in Privacy Settings or with a browser privacy signal.
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Privacy policy
“You can opt out of the sale or sharing of Personal Information for interest-based ads, and related tracking, by clicking the “Privacy Settings” link (or for California residents, the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Info” link) at the footer of our homepage or through your account privacy settings.”
Fine print
You give a lasting license to your posts.
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Terms of service
“By posting Your Content, you grant Etsy and, as authorized by Etsy in its sole discretion, third parties, a non-exclusive, worldwide, , , , license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content.”
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 sale/sharing for interest-based ads
Footer “Privacy Settings” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Info,” account privacy settings, or Global Privacy Control
Request access, correction, or deletion
Etsy account settings, Help Center contact form, or chat support
Close your account if you reject new terms
Account settings (Help article linked from the Terms)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
You still own your photos and listings, but Etsy and people they pick can keep using them forever, even to promote other shops.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“By posting Your Content, you grant Etsy and, as authorized by Etsy in its sole discretion, third parties, a non-exclusive, worldwide, , , , license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content.”
For example, a photo of your necklace could show up on a billboard or another site after you close your shop.
If your use of Etsy gets them sued, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“you agree to defend and us. That means, without limitation, you’ll defend, reimburse, compensate, and hold Etsy (including any of our employees, officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, and affiliates) harmless from any allegation, claim, demand, lawsuit, loss, , or expense of any kind (including reasonable attorneys’ fees)”
For example, if a listing you posted leads to a lawsuit against Etsy, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
Ad companies can collect data on the site to show you ads based on your activity elsewhere.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may share your Personal Information by allowing certain third parties (such as online advertising services) to collect Personal Information through automated technologies on our Sites and Apps for targeted (cross-context behavioral) advertising purposes.”
For example, looking at handmade mugs could lead to mug ads on other websites.
If you answer optional surveys, they may collect sensitive details like race or sexual orientation for marketing research.
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Privacy policy
“Demographic Information: such as your age or gender, or, where you have provided such information to Etsy voluntarily, demographic information about your race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity, provided in connection with market research or marketing campaigns we conduct.”
For example, a campaign survey you fill out could store your sexual orientation with your other data.
If things go wrong, there is a low cap on what they pay you, often as little as $100.
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Terms of service
“IN NO EVENT SHALL ETSY’S FOR ANY DAMAGES EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) $100, (B) ANY AMOUNTS DUE UNDER THE ETSY PURCHASE PROTECTION PROGRAM UP TO THE PRICE YOU PAID FOR AN ITEM SOLD BY A THIRD PARTY ON ETSY”
For example, if the site being down costs your shop a lot of sales, they may only owe a small fixed amount.
Closing the account can wipe listings and other posts, and they generally tell you first unless they have a legal reason not to.
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Terms of service
“If you or Etsy terminate your account, you may lose any information associated with your account, including Your Content.”
For example, if they shut your shop, your listing photos may disappear from your account.
You can turn off the kind of sharing they treat as a sale for targeted ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can opt out of the sale or sharing of Personal Information for interest-based ads, and related tracking, by clicking the “Privacy Settings” link (or for California residents, the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Info” link) at the footer of our homepage or through your account privacy settings.”
For example, use Privacy Settings in the site footer so ad partners stop collecting for interest-based ads.
The stated age is 18, and 13–17 year olds may only use a parent’s account with supervision. They do not describe extra age checks.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You must be 18 years or older to use our Services. Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are only permitted to use our Services through an account owned by a parent or legal guardian with their appropriate permission and under their direct supervision.”
For example, a 16-year-old is supposed to shop only on a parent’s account, not their own.
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.
- opt out
- Something is on by default and stays on until you find the setting and turn it off. For example, your chats may be used for training unless you go into settings and switch it off.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 29/100 · 16 of 16 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 6 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect more than account and listings: device IDs, browsing activity, purchases, photos and videos you post, general location, precise location with consent, and optional sensitive demographics.
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?
Ad companies can collect your information on Etsy for interest-based ads. You can opt out in Privacy Settings.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell data for money, but sharing with ad partners may count as a sale, and you can opt out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You own your posts, but you give Etsy a worldwide, irrevocable, sublicensable, perpetual license to use them to run and promote the service.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Not stated in the documents.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They build inferences about your interests and marketing segments. The notice does not describe viewing or editing that profile beyond ad opt-outs.
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?
You must be 18. Ages 13–17 may only use a parent’s account with permission. They do not describe extra age checks.
Can you sue or join a class action if things go wrong?
Arbitration, but you can opt out within a window
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The terms are dated. For material changes they say they will tell you in advance, and keeping using the site means you accept. Retention periods are not spelled out here.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They generally notify you before closing an account for rule breaks, but you may lose your content, and they do not describe an export tool here.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” their payout is capped (often $100), and you must cover their legal costs if your actions get them sued.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 3,231 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 30.9); the terms are 6,242 words at a fairly hard level.
