Gravatar
- 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.
Gravatar is public by default; Automattic tracks ads, can close you anytime, and subscriptions often auto-renew with no refunds.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, public profile (photo and often email), logs, device IDs, cookies, and sometimes payments or location.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We collect log information when you use our Services — for example, when you create or make changes to your website on WordPress.com.”
Training
They run the service, market to you, show targeted ads, and use cookies with ad partners.
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Privacy policy
“Automattic uses cookies and other technologies like pixel tags to help us identify and track visitors, usage, and access preferences for our Services, as well as track and understand email campaign effectiveness and to deliver targeted ads.”
Sharing
Vendors, ad partners, site owners, and anyone who looks up your public Gravatar; some sharing is a “sale” you can opt out of.
No exact line could be verified.
Kept
They say they keep data only while needed; logs about 30 days; some data can stay after you close your account.
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Privacy policy
“We generally discard information about you when it’s no longer needed for the purposes for which we collect and use it — described in the section above on How and Why We Use Information — and we’re not legally required to keep it.”
Controls
You can close your account, hide your Gravatar, reject cookies, opt out of ads sharing, and in some places.
No exact line could be verified.
Fine print
They can shut you off without notice, cap damages at $50, make you them, and auto-renew paid plans with few refunds.
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Terms of service
“We may terminate your access to all or any part of our Services at any time, with or without cause or notice, effective immediately”
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.
Make your Gravatar private or disable the account
WordPress.com Gravatar settings or Gravatar.com profile
Opt out of sale or sharing of personal information
“Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link in the website footer, app settings, or GPC browser signal
Close your account
Account closure instructions for WordPress.com accounts (linked from the privacy policy Choices section)
Cancel paid subscriptions before renewal
WordPress.com Manage Purchases or Woo My Subscriptions, or contact support; cancel at least one month before annual renewal
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Your avatar profile and even your email can be looked up by anyone unless you change that.
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Terms of service
“By default, information you include in your Gravatar is public, including your email address, which means that anyone can look up your Gravatar profile with your email address.”
For example, a site that has your email can show your photo and profile to the world.
They can cut off your account instantly and do not have to warn you first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may terminate your access to all or any part of our Services at any time, with or without cause or notice, effective immediately”
For example, your Gravatar could stop working on blogs overnight with no email.
If someone sues them because of how you used the service, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and Automattic, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all losses, liabilities, demands, damages, costs, claims, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your use of our Services”
For example, if a photo you uploaded causes a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
Unless the law or a special policy says otherwise, money you pay is gone.
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Terms of service
“In all other cases, there are no refunds and all payments are final.”
For example, if you buy a year of a paid plan and cancel next week, you may get nothing back.
Ad companies can track you across sites using cookies and device IDs.
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Privacy policy
“we and our users do use cookies to share certain device identifiers and information about your browsing activities with our advertising partners, and those advertising partners may use that information to show you personalized ads”
For example, visiting WordPress.com sites can help other sites show you ads later.
They say they do not sell your name for cash, but ad sharing can still count as a sale you can turn off in some states.
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Privacy policy
“To the extent that we share your information with certain advertising, marketing, or analytics vendors, this can be considered a “sale” or “share” in certain U.S. States, which you may have the right to opt out of.”
For example, a California user can use Do Not Sell in the site footer.
They can copy and show your Gravatar content to run and promote the service, including through their API.
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Terms of service
“You grant us a worldwide, , transferable, , and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, adapt, publicly display, and publish the Content for the purpose of providing and improving our products and Services and promoting your profile (including via the API).”
For example, your photo can appear on many websites that call the Gravatar API.
Paid plans keep charging until you cancel, including after a discount ends.
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Terms of service
“By enrolling in a subscription, you authorize us to automatically charge the then-applicable fees and Taxes for each subsequent subscription period until the subscription is canceled.”
For example, a trial can roll into a full-price yearly charge if you forget to cancel.
Closing the account does not wipe everything they stored.
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Privacy policy
“Please keep in mind that we may continue to retain your information after closing your account, as described in How Long We Keep Information above”
For example, they may keep logs or records they say they need for legal reasons.
Kids under 13 (16 in Europe) are not allowed, but they rely on you saying your age.
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Terms of service
“You’re not allowed to access or use our Services if you’re under the age of 13 (or 16 in Europe).”
For example, a 12-year-old can still sign up if they type an older age.
They promise basic security work but do not describe audits or a bug-bounty program here.
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Privacy policy
“While no online service is 100% secure, we work very hard to protect information about you against unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction, and take reasonable measures to do so.”
For example, they suggest turning on two-step login to protect your account.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
- tracking pixels
- Tiny invisible images or bits of code in a page, app or email that report back when and where you opened it. For example, a pixel in a marketing email tells the sender the moment you read it.
- 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.
- 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.
- device identifiers
- Codes that single out your phone or computer, used to recognise you across apps and sites. For example, the advertising ID on your phone lets two unrelated apps know they are seeing the same person.
- 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.
- 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.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade D · score 39/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and profile data plus logs, IP addresses, device IDs, cookies, usage, and optional location or photos if you allow the app.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They keep profile pictures you upload and may store call recordings from support. They do not describe voice or face as a biometric opt-in.
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 and ad partners use cookies and device IDs to show personalized ads on their sites and users’ sites.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell data for money, but ad and analytics sharing can count as a sale or share in some U.S. states, with an opt-out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership of content, but you give them a broad license to use it to run, improve, and promote the service. Gravatar is public by default.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can close an account and request deletion in some regions, but they may keep data after closure and do not promise a short in-app wipe.
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 reasonable measures and monitor for attacks, and they suggest two-step login. No audit or leak history is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 13 (16 in Europe) and able to form a contract, but they rely on you stating your age.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The terms are dated and they may post notice, but further use after a privacy change means you accept the new rules.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can end access at any time, with or without cause or notice, and they need not refund fees.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” liability is capped around $50 or a year of fees, and you must indemnify them for claims from your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew until you cancel. Except where required by law or a stated policy, payments are final and not refunded.
The privacy policy is 8,106 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 40.6); the terms are 10,839 words at a college level.
