Imgur
- 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.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
Uploads and messages are public, ads partners get tracking data.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Device IDs, IP, cookies, image metadata, username, email, and a hashed phone number.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Our servers automatically collect the following information regarding devices that access our site or app: device characteristics (including device ID for mobile devices), operating system, browser type, IP address”
Training
They use logs to run the site and send hashed data so advertisers can target you.
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Privacy policy
“LiveRamp uses this information to create an online identification code that we may store in our first-party cookie for our use in online, in-app, and cross-channel advertising.”
Sharing
Anyone with the URL can see images and messages; ad companies get cookies and hashes.
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Privacy policy
“No matter what your privacy settings are, every image can always be accessed and viewed by anyone who types in that exact URL.”
Kept
You can delete an account if you have a username; they may keep backup copies.
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Privacy policy
“For legal reasons we may retain backup and/or archival copies of information prior to your corrections, amendments, or deletions.”
Controls
Log in to fix data, opt out of advertiser sharing, or delete the account; block cookies for generic ads.
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Privacy policy
“If you have a username, you may log in and access your data, correct whatever information you deem to be incorrect, opt out of information sharing with our advertisers, or delete your account.”
Fine print
As-is service, and you cover their legal bills.
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 advertiser sharing or delete your account
Log in with your username (privacy policy: Accessing, correcting, and limiting use of your data)
Opt out of LiveRamp / interest-based ads
LiveRamp Opt Out link in the privacy policy, or http://www.aboutads.info/choices/
Email privacy questions
privacy@imgur.com
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Anything you upload can be opened by anyone who has or guesses the link.
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Privacy policy
“No image uploaded to Imgur is ever completely hidden from public view.”
For example, a “hidden” photo of your family can still load if someone pastes the URL.
Chats are not private, and staff may read them.
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Privacy policy
“To ensure that Imgur's messaging platform is not used as a platform for illegality, all messages are public. No messages are ever completely hidden from public view. We may monitor user messaging.”
For example, a private-feeling chat about a joke could still be viewed or reviewed.
They get a lasting right to use public uploads, including letting others use copies they already made.
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Terms of service
“you grant Imgur a non-exclusive, , , worldwide license (with and assignment rights) to use, to display online and in any present or future media, to create derivative works of, to allow downloads of, and/or distribute any such file or content.”
For example, after you delete a meme, a copy they already sublicensed can stay online.
Ad-tech partners get hashed email and device clues to recognize you across sites.
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Privacy policy
“we may share with LiveRamp and its group companies information that we collect from you, such as your email (in hashed, form), IP address, or information about your browser or operating system”
For example, an ad network could show you the same targeted ads on other apps.
If your upload causes a lawsuit, you may have to pay their lawyers.
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Terms of service
“YOU WILL AND HOLD IMGUR AND ALL OF ITS PERSONNEL HARMLESS FROM ALL LOSS, , CLAIMS, DAMAGES AND EXPENSES, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS”
For example, if someone sues over a photo you posted, they can send you the legal bill.
New rules can apply as soon as they post them; they do not have to email you.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may revise these terms from time to time without notice. Whenever we do so, we will so indicate by changing the version date at the top. Any changes apply as of the time they are posted.”
For example.
They can ban you and wipe your images if they decide you broke the rules.
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Terms of service
“If you do – and we will be the judge – or if you do anything illegal, in addition to any other legal rights we may have, we will ban you along with the site you're hotlinking from, delete all your images”
For example, they could delete years of albums without a warning email.
Account holders can see, fix, or delete their account data and turn off some ad sharing.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you have a username, you may log in and access your data, correct whatever information you deem to be incorrect, opt out of information sharing with our advertisers, or delete your account.”
For example, you can log in and delete the account instead of emailing support.
They say they keep only a hash of your phone, not the number itself.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“we won’t save your number, share it, sell it, or even show it to anyone. Instead, we’ll one-way encrypt it into a hash and save only the hash.”
For example, staff should not be able to look up the digits they texted you.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- pseudonymous
- Your name is swapped for a code, but the company keeps the key and can still link the data back to you. For example, your chats are filed under user 48213 instead of your name, but staff can still look up who that is.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 29/100 · 13 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 device IDs, IP, cookies, image metadata, usernames, email, and a hashed phone number, plus what you post.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
The documents do 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?
They say they may monitor user messaging and that messages are public, with no opt-out described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party advertiser cookies and LiveRamp hashes are used for interest-based and cross-channel ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share hashed email and similar data with ad partners and say account users can opt out of advertiser sharing.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
Public uploads get a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license; deleting does not unwind copies already sublicensed.
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they take reasonable precautions against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, without naming audits.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
They say it is not meant for children under 13 and mention parental supervision, with no age-proofing described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Privacy and terms are dated, but the terms say they may revise without notice and changes apply when posted.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can ban you and delete all your images if they decide you broke the rules, without a promised export step.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is with almost no liability, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your uploads.
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 1,987 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 35.7); the terms are 3,908 words at a college graduate level.
