Letterboxd
- 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 film diary that takes a license to your reviews, shows ads to free users.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, reviews, device IDs, usage logs, approximate location, and partner payment data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Device data collected from (or as a result of your using) your device (including by means of cookies and similar tracking technology), including your IP address, your ISP, and the browser you use”
Training
They run the site, personalize it, market to you, and target ads on other sites for unpaid visitors.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Personalise, target, and deliver advertising for our products and services on third-party websites, apps, and other online services”
Sharing
Group companies, hosts, analytics, ad partners like Playwire, and payment firms can get your data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“This includes data processing service providers (including Vimeo, used to power the Letterboxd Video Store and provide customer support in relation to Letterboxd Video Store; Zendesk in relation to customer support services; Cloudflare, in relation to providing global content distribution; and Playwire in relation to advertising solutions)”
Kept
They keep data while they say they need it, and may keep some after you delete your account.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“In certain circumstances, we will need to keep your information for legal reasons after your account has been deleted.”
Controls
You can edit, delete, and export account data from Settings and unsubscribe from marketing.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you have registered an account with Letterboxd, you can access, correct, delete, or modify the personal information you provided to us and associated with your account via your Settings page.”
Fine print
They take a forever license to your posts.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You grant us a non-exclusive, , , worldwide, , fully transferable and license to use, reproduce, distribute and display”
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.
Export or delete your account data
Settings page (account export option and personal information controls)
Cancel auto-renewing subscription
Account settings (web), Apple Account settings (iOS), or Google Play Store settings (Android)
Turn off marketing and change ad/cookie choices
Unsubscribe link in emails, Notifications in Settings, and the cookie-consent / ads consent link for non-subscribers
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 can keep using your reviews, lists, name, and avatar forever, even commercially, and can pass that right to others.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You grant us a non-exclusive, , , worldwide, , fully transferable and license to use, reproduce, distribute and display (including for commercial purposes)”
For example, they could quote your review in an ad or on social media after you leave the site.
They can shut your account even if you did nothing wrong, and they do not have to warn you first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Letterboxd reserves the right to suspend, limit, or terminate your account and your access to the Service for any reason or no reason whatsoever, with or without notice”
For example, you could lose years of diary entries overnight with no email first.
If someone sues them because of how you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills (except in the UK/EU).
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“you release and , defend, and Letterboxd and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and agents”
For example, a fight over a review you posted could leave you covering their lawyer costs.
Paid plans renew on their own, and after the first month you usually cannot get money back.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“After 30 days, payments are non-refundable, except where required by law.”
For example, if you forget to cancel a yearly plan on day 31, they keep the full charge.
Free users get tracked so ad companies can show personalized ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“When you use our website without a paid subscription, pre-selected companies may access and use certain information on your device and about your interests to serve ads or personalized content.”
For example, visiting film pages without Pro can let ad partners profile your tastes.
A shared ID helps ad partners recognize you across sites and devices.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“The Common ID cookie stores a unique ID in the first-party domain that is accessible to our ad partners.”
For example, an ad network could match you on another site after you browse Letterboxd.
Deleting your account does not wipe every copy they hold.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“In certain circumstances, we will need to keep your information for legal reasons after your account has been deleted.”
For example, billing records could stay after you wipe your profile.
You can pull a copy of what you posted from Settings.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Letterboxd provides you a means to download the information you have shared through our Services by using the account export option on your Settings page.”
For example, you can export reviews before closing the account.
They say they do not collect health, race, or sexuality data as special categories.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We do not collect any sensitive personal data about you, such as health-related information or information about your race or ethnicity, or sexual orientation.”
For example, they are not asking you to fill in a health form to use the diary.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 32/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 4 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and profile info, your reviews, device IDs and advertising IDs, usage logs, IP-based approximate location, and data from payment and analytics partners.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They do not describe recording voice, face, or body as biometric data. You may upload an avatar photo.
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?
Unpaid visitors get third-party ads and a Common ID cookie shared with ad partners. Paid users are treated differently.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with group companies, processors, payment firms, and ad partners such as Playwire. Cookie/ad consent is the main opt-out they describe.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You still own your posts, but you give them an irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, sublicensable license, including commercial use.
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 encrypt data in transit, monitor systems, and work with security experts. No audit or leak history is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 16. They do not describe age checks beyond that statement.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The copies we have have no last-updated date. They say they will inform you of privacy changes and that continued use can mean you accept term changes.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may suspend or terminate for any reason or no reason, with or without notice, though they say they will notify when practicable.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
Outside the UK/EU you must indemnify them, the service is as-is, and liability is capped at what you paid in the last 12 months.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew. You can cancel in settings. Refunds may be requested only within 30 days of signup; after that payments are non-refundable except where law requires.
The privacy policy is 4,758 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 39.6); the terms are 9,334 words at a college graduate level.
