Mastodon API
- The documents do not say whether your data trains AI.
- The documents do not say whether your data is used for ads.
- The documents do not say whether your data is sold or shared.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
You keep ownership of posts; the server is free, German courts apply, and no real privacy policy was provided.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
The documents do not say what personal data the server collects.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“The privacy policy of my social networking apps: Mona, Spring, Spring mini, and Spring Lite, do not collect any personal information.”
Training
They use your posts to run the service, including sending them to other servers.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“When you upload Content to the Service, you automatically grant us a non-exclusive, licence solely to operate and maintain the Service”
Sharing
Other users and other servers can get your posts; search engines may store them too.
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Terms of service
“Making your Content available to, and transmitting your Content to, other users and other servers (which, in each case, might store your Content on their own, or third party's computers)”
Kept
Deleted posts can stay in backups and on other servers they do not control.
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Terms of service
“Content that you have deleted from the live Service may remain in our backups.”
Controls
You can end the deal anytime by deleting your account; you do not need to notify them.
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Terms of service
“You can end this agreement at any time by deleting your account. You do not need to notify us.”
Fine print
It is free; they give 30 days’ notice of term changes; German courts.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We will notify you at least 30 days in advance before making such changes to these terms, unless such changes are required by law within a shorter period”
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.
Delete your account if you want to leave
Terms: delete your account; you do not need to notify them
Contact legal about a dispute
legal@joinmastodon.org
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Once you post, copies can live on other Mastodon servers forever even if you delete them here.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Deleting Content from the Service does not guarantee that it will be deleted from other servers or people's computers, as this is outside our (and your) control.”
For example, you delete a rant, but someone on another server still has it in their timeline.
Even after you delete something, their backups might still have it and a restore could bring it back.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Content that you have deleted from the live Service may remain in our backups.”
For example, you delete a photo, then a server restore puts that photo back up.
Public posts can be copied by search engines and other sites, and they cannot stop that.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Anyone, or any computer, might access your Content via RSS aggregators and readers, embed your Content in web pages and other media, or index and store your Content in search engines and databases.”
For example, a search engine keeps an old post after you deleted it on mastodon.social.
They can shut down or change the service when they think they need to.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may suspend, limit, or cease to operate any or all of the Service, or vary its functionality, if and to the extent reasonably necessary for operational, security, legal, or business reasons.”
For example, they could turn off a feature you rely on for business reasons.
They do not claim to own your posts; you still own them.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Nothing in these terms gives us ownership of your Content. Whoever owns the Content retains ownership.”
For example, you can still reuse your own photos elsewhere because they did not take ownership.
You only give them permission to host and run the network, not a blank check to sell your work.
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Terms of service
“When you upload Content to the Service, you automatically grant us a non-exclusive, licence solely to operate and maintain the Service (the "Licence").”
For example, they can show your post to followers and other servers, but the license is for running the site.
When you delete a post on this server, they say they stop hosting and sending that post.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“If you delete your Content, your Licence to us, in respect of us continuing to host, make available, and transmit that Content, ends automatically.”
For example, after you delete a toot, this server should stop serving it, though backups and other servers may still have it.
If you sue, German courts are the default.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“The competent courts of Germany shall have to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these terms.”
For example.
They promise advance notice before changing the rules, then continued use means you accept.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We will notify you at least 30 days in advance before making such changes to these terms, unless such changes are required by law within a shorter period”
For example, they email or post a notice a month before new terms, and you can close the account if you disagree.
There is no subscription described in these terms.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You can use the Service without paying us anything. This is a free Service.”
For example, you are not agreeing to auto-renewing fees in this document.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- venue
- The specific court or city where any lawsuit must be filed, which may be far from where you live. For example, a user in Florida may have to travel to a court in San Francisco to sue.
- governing law
- Which country's or state's laws are used to settle any dispute, no matter where you live. For example, a user in Ohio may find the terms are judged under California law.
How we got here · grade D · score 35/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 10 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Not stated in the documents.
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
Not stated in the documents.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership. You give a limited license only to operate and maintain the service, and it ends when you delete content (except backups).
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Not stated in the documents.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The terms are dated and they promise at least 30 days’ notice of changes, then continued use binds you.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
You can delete your account anytime. They may suspend or stop the service and will give advance notice where possible. No data export is described.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
They limit some negligence claims but keep full liability for injury, intent, gross negligence, and rights the law will not let them drop.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
These terms say the service is free and you pay them nothing.
The privacy policy is 1,003 words at a fairly hard level (Flesch reading ease 55.1); the terms are 3,297 words at a college graduate level.
