fanpop
- 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.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
They take a license on your posts, use them to train AI, serve third-party ads, and can close you anytime.
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
Optional profile details, email, posts and photos, plus IP, browser type, and page logs.
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Privacy policy
“Some information collected by Fanpop is not explicitly submitted by the user; we log your browser-type related information, IP address, requested URL, referring URL, and timestamp.”
Training
They use your posts and messages to train AI and let ad companies track you across sites.
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Privacy policy
“Fanpop, its affiliates, partners, and any successor entities (including acquirers) may use, process, and analyze all content you submit, post, or transmit through our services”
Sharing
Other users see profile and posts; ads and AI partners can get data; they say they do not sell email.
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Privacy policy
“This use includes the right to share such content with our technology development partners and service providers who assist in these activities.”
Kept
You must email them to delete; leftover information may still be kept.
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Privacy policy
“it may be impossible to remove your entry without some residual information being retained by Fanpop.”
Controls
You can edit your profile and turn off some emails; account deletion is by email only.
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Privacy policy
“Registered users who wish to remove their account and delete Personal Identifying Information and Data should send an email to legal@fanpop.com”
Fine print
Rules can change if you keep using the site; they can close you anytime; you them.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Either Party may terminate these Terms of Service for any reason, at any time.”
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.
Email to delete your account and personal data
legal@fanpop.com from the email on the account, include your Fanpop username
Opt out of interest-based ads
http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
Turn off Fanpop emails and friend messages
Profile settings / notification settings
Edit optional profile fields
Your Profile page
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Everything you post or message can be used to train AI systems.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“may use, process, and analyze all content you submit, post, or transmit through our services—including but not limited to comments, posts, wall posts, direct messages, photos”
For example, a private message to a friend could be used to train a machine-learning model.
They get a forever license to use, copy, and your posts even after you leave.
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Terms of service
“you agree to and hereby do grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, Fanpop, its contractors, and the users of the Fanpop Site an , , non-exclusive, , fully ”
For example, a photo you uploaded could still be used or shared after you delete your account.
Outside ad companies track how you use this site and other sites to show ads.
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Privacy policy
“Fanpop uses third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits”
For example, visiting a fandom page could later show you related ads on other websites.
If someone sues them because of what you posted or how you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and hold Fanpop, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees, harmless, including costs and attorneys' fees, from any claim or demand”
For example, if a copyright fight starts over a clip you posted, you could owe their lawyer fees.
They can shut your account with no stated warning or reason.
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Terms of service
“Either Party may terminate these Terms of Service for any reason, at any time.”
For example, your profile and posts could disappear overnight with no email first.
If they change the rules, keeping using the site counts as saying yes, even without a heads-up.
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Privacy policy
“Your continued use of the site indicates your assent to any changes to this Privacy Policy.”
For example, a new AI-training rule could apply just because you logged in again.
The only way they describe to stop AI use of your content is to delete the whole account.
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Privacy policy
“You may withdraw consent by deleting your account.”
For example, there is no in-app switch to keep chatting but opt out of training.
Even after you ask to be deleted, some of your data may stay.
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Privacy policy
“it may be impossible to remove your entry without some residual information being retained by Fanpop.”
For example, an old post or log line might remain after they remove your profile.
Staff can read and remove posts and messages they think break the rules.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You understand and agree that Fanpop may review and delete any Content (Fanpop, links, images, profiles, comments, postings, messages)”
For example, a wall post could be read by a moderator and taken down.
They say they do not sell your email address.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Email information is not sold or given to any 3rd parties and is used solely to improve the Fanpop.com experience.”
For example, your email should not be rented to a mailing list, according to this line.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- 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.
- 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.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
How we got here · grade F · score 32/100 · 14 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides optional profile fields and the content you post, they log IP address, browser type, URLs, and timestamps.
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 all posts, messages, and photos to train AI. The only way they give to withdraw is deleting your account.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They reserve the right to review and delete posts, comments, and messages. No opt-out of that review is described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party ad companies may use data about your visits to this and other sites to show ads. They point to the NAI opt-out.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell personal information except as described, but they share content with AI partners and use ad networks. Extra sharing is supposed to come with notice.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
By posting, you grant an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully sublicensable worldwide license to your content.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You must email legal@fanpop.com to delete your account. They say leftover information may still be kept.
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 industry-standard measures, password protection, and limit employee access. No audit or leak history is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 18 to register, or use it with a parent if younger. They will not knowingly take info from kids under 13. Age is self-declared.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated April 2016. They may change terms without prior notice; continued use means you accept.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
Either side may end the terms for any reason at any time. No export step is described.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The site is as-is, liability is capped at $100 or what you paid in a year, and you must indemnify them for claims from your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
These documents do not describe subscriptions, auto-renewal, or refunds.
The privacy policy is 1,806 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 39.4); the terms are 3,878 words at a college graduate level.
