Nytimes
- 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.
NYT collects lots of reading and ad data, trains AI on some chats.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Account info, reading and game activity, device IDs, ads IDs, and sometimes contacts or location.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“When you access our Times Services digitally, including our websites, apps, email communications and newsletters, our servers use a variety of technologies in order to automatically receive, record and/or log information about the device you are using, including unique identifiers.”
Training
They personalize news, market subscriptions, run targeted ads, and may train AI on chats.
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Privacy policy
“Your chat session will be recorded for quality assurance and training and may be used for training AI models.”
Sharing
Affiliates, vendors, advertisers, and matching services can get your data; you can opt out of some sharing.
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Privacy policy
“we share your email address and other personal information with third parties both for marketing of Times Services across third party sites and services, and to support matching for third party advertising on Times Services.”
Kept
They keep it as long as they think they need it, even after you close your account.
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Privacy policy
“This means we might retain your personal information even after you close your account with us.”
Controls
You can delete an account, use Your Privacy Choices, and email them to access or delete data.
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Privacy policy
“You have the ability to delete your registered user account in New York Times native apps and on the web at nytimes.com/account”
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 sale, sharing, and targeted ads
Footer “Your Privacy Choices” or Account → Settings → Privacy Settings
Delete your registered account
nytimes.com/account or New York Times native apps (Athletic separately)
Request access or deletion of personal information
Their privacy request form or 1-800-NYTIMES / privacy@nytimes.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.
If you use their support chatbot, they save the chat and can use it to train AI.
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Privacy policy
“Your chat session will be recorded for quality assurance and training and may be used for training AI models.”
For example, if you type your billing problem into the NYT chatbot, that transcript may help train their models.
Direct messages in apps can be scanned and used to train safety AI.
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Privacy policy
“This information may be used to train AI models for these purposes.”
For example, a private puzzle-chat with a friend could be used to train their moderation models.
Comments and other posts can be used and sublicensed forever, even after you leave.
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Terms of service
“You grant NYT a , nonexclusive, world-wide, , license to the Submissions”
For example, a comment you wrote years ago could still be licensed to a university after you delete your account.
They turn your email or phone into ad IDs and share them so ads can follow you.
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Privacy policy
“We may also target third party advertising to users through matching services such as Unified ID 2.0 and LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution”
For example, the email on your subscription can be hashed and used to target ads on other sites.
People or vendor systems can read your in-app chats to check the rules.
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Privacy policy
“Your direct messages may also be monitored by our moderators and monitoring systems (or those of our vendors, if any)”
For example, a Games direct message could be read by a moderator after a report or as part of scanning.
If your posts cause a legal fight, you may have to cover their costs.
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Terms of service
“You hereby , NYT and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees”
For example, if someone sues over a comment you posted, you could owe NYT legal fees.
They can shut off your access without promising a warning.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“NYT may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Services for any reason”
For example, they could suspend your Games account and you might not get a heads-up first.
Closing an account does not guarantee they wipe everything.
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Privacy policy
“This means we might retain your personal information even after you close your account with us.”
For example, old billing records could stay after you delete your login.
There is a privacy-choices link to stop some ad sharing.
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Privacy policy
“If you reside in the U.S. or in Canada (outside Quebec, where users are presented with a cookie banner), you can opt out of targeted advertising and "sales or sharing"”
For example, you can click Your Privacy Choices in the footer to opt out of sale or sharing.
Big privacy changes should come with 30 days’ notice.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If we make a significant or material change in the way we collect, use or share your personal information, we will notify you at least 30 days prior to the changes taking effect.”
For example, they say they would email or post a notice a month before a major new data use.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- model training
- Using your content and conversations as examples to teach an AI system, which can then echo them in future answers. For example, a story you write in a chatbot may be studied by the company to make the next version of the bot.
- 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.
- human review
- Company staff or contractors may read your messages or content, usually to check for rule breaking. For example, a flagged private chat with an AI can be read by a person at the company.
- 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.
- 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 29/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 1 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and payment data plus usage, device and ad IDs, reading history, optional contacts, and precise location if you allow it, plus partner and survey data.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
With consent they may record interviews and use your voice and likeness; support chats are recorded. This is not described as a default voice login.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Support chatbot chats and some direct messages may be used to train AI models, and the policy does not give a training off-switch for those.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Moderators and vendor systems can monitor direct messages and they record support chats for quality; no opt-out of that review is described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They use cookies, Google ads, LiveRamp, UID2, and other ad partners to profile and target you.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share emails and other data with advertisers and matching partners and treat some sharing as a sale, with a Your Privacy Choices opt-out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You give NYT a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to comments and other submissions.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete a registered account in the app or on the web, but they may keep personal information after you close the account.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They infer interests and build profiles for personalization and ads; the policy does not describe a memory on/off control.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they use organizational, technological, and physical safeguards but do not guarantee absolute security.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 13 in the USA and UK and 16 elsewhere; under-18s need a parent to agree. It is self-declared, not a strong age check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated and says they will give at least 30 days’ notice of material privacy changes. Terms can change on posting with continued use as acceptance.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may terminate or suspend access for any reason in their sole discretion. You can cancel by calling or chatting Customer Care.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is with broad damage limits, and you must indemnify NYT for claims tied to your use or posts.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 11,599 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 38.3); the terms are 9,128 words at a professional or legal expert level.
