Pandora
- 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.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
Pandora tracks listening and devices for ads, may “sell/share” data with an opt-out.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Capped at C (the answers alone would give F): Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Account info, listening history, device IDs, demographics, and sometimes precise location and sensitive data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“The categories of personal data we collect include: 1. Registration Data, 2. Vehicle Data, 3. Payment Data, 4. Sensitive Personal Data”
Training
They personalize music and ads, improve the service, and share data with ad partners for targeting.
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Privacy policy
“We use personal data to deliver products, the Services and facilitate your access to the Services, to manage your account and subscriptions, to personalize your listening, marketing and advertising experiences”
Sharing
Service vendors, affiliates, other users you allow, and ad/marketing partners may get your data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We share your personal data for business purposes with our subsidiaries, third-party service providers, vendors and licensors, other Sirius XM users when you provide access to your subscription, and unaffiliated third-party businesses”
Kept
They keep personal data as long as they say they need it; no short deletion deadline is given.
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Privacy policy
“We retain personal data for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy, including to provide the Services to you”
Controls
You can change account settings, cookie settings, and or ad-sale opt-out in some states.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You have the right to opt-out of the “sale” of personal data and the use or “sharing” of personal data for “targeted advertising” purposes”
Fine print
Fees are non-refundable; they can change rules.
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 sale/share and targeted ads
Pandora: online form or privacy@pandora.com; Cookie Settings in the pandora.com footer; GPC where required
or a copy of your data
Pandora listeners: the online consumer rights form or privacy@pandora.com
Turn off marketing emails and push
Unsubscribe link in emails; Settings in the website or app; device push settings
Skip support chat if you do not want AI training
Do not use the Customer Support Chat feature
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 say they do not sell data for cash profit, but ad sharing can still count as a sale under some state laws.
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Privacy policy
“Sirius XM does not sell your personal data for profit but we do engage in certain disclosures of personal data for advertising/marketing-related purposes that could be considered a “sale””
For example, your email or device ID could be sent to an ad platform so you see Pandora ads on other apps.
Third-party ad companies can put cookies or pixels on your device and track you.
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Privacy policy
“Providers of ad-related services such as behavioral ad targeting, attribution/measurement, and analytics may set, read, or otherwise obtain information about you from their own tracking technologies”
For example, an advertiser’s pixel on pandora.com could follow you to other sites.
If you upload photos, comments, or other content, they get a lasting license to use it almost any way, even after you leave.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“you hereby grant Pandora a non-exclusive, transferrable, , , , fully paid up, , worldwide right and license”
For example, a photo you post in a campaign could be used in their ads later.
You generally cannot sue them in court or join a .
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Terms of service
“YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO A JURY.”
For example, if many users were overcharged, you could not join a group lawsuit.
Paid plans are billed up front and they say you do not get refunds.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Unless otherwise stated, all fees and charges are due and payable in advance, are non-refundable, and are exclusive of any applicable federal, state, or local taxes.”
For example, if you cancel a month early, they may keep the full month’s payment.
You may have to pay their legal costs if your use of the service leads to a claim against them.
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Terms of service
“You agree to defend (at our option), , and us from and against all claims and all liabilities, assessments, losses, costs, or damages”
For example, if content you posted caused a lawsuit, you could be asked to cover their lawyers.
If you use support chat, that conversation can be kept to train their support AI. The only way out is not using chat.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“The chat session, including any information contained within it, may be retained and used by the AI Agent to learn and improve its ability to support customers of the Services.”
For example, a billing complaint you type in chat could be used to teach the bot later.
They always collect listening history and behavior; you cannot turn that tracking off.
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Terms of service
“As this data is essential to the function of the Services, you may not opt out of our collection and use of such data or information.”
For example, every skip and thumbs-up stays in their records even if you hate ads.
Spoken commands are used to run the request, not to fingerprint your voice or keep it on your account.
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Privacy policy
“Your voice command is not used to identify you individually and is not retained in association with you or your subscription.”
For example, saying “play jazz” is processed then not stored as your voice ID.
They set a 13+ age floor for Pandora but rely on you saying you are old enough.
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Privacy policy
“Pandora users must be 13 or older to sign up for the use of Pandora services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13.”
For example, a 12-year-old could still type a fake birthday and get an account.
They can shut your account for any reason if they email you; the terms do not promise a data export first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may terminate this Agreement and your access to the Services at any time and for any reason by providing notice to the email address you provided us.”
For example, they could close your account and you might lose stations you built.
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.
- sensitive personal information
- Data that could hurt you if exposed, like health, religion, sexuality, race, exact location or bank details. For example, telling a chatbot about a medical condition creates sensitive data that some laws protect more strictly.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
How we got here · grade D · score 35/100 · 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 more than account and songs: device IDs, demographics, vehicle data, and sometimes precise location and sensitive categories.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Voice commands are processed to run your request and they say they are not kept tied to you or used as a biometric ID.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Support-chat messages may be kept so their AI agent can learn. They tell you not to use chat if you do not agree; there is no in-app training toggle.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party ad and analytics companies can set cookies, read device IDs, and build targeting profiles on and off the service.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share data with ad and business partners in ways that may count as a sale or share, and state residents can opt out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
Content you upload is licensed to them forever, worldwide, and they can sublicense it. You still own it, but they can keep using it.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
They keep data as long as they say they need it. Deletion is mainly by contacting them or a state privacy form, not a 30-day in-app wipe.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They build lasting listening profiles and say you cannot opt out of collecting that behavior. Profile visibility can be changed, but the profile itself stays.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they take commercially reasonable security steps but do not promise data is fully safe and do not describe audits.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Pandora says you must be 13 or older (18 without parental consent in the terms). They do not describe a real ID check.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Both documents are dated. They may post or email notice of material changes, and continued use can count as agreement.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can end your access at any time for any reason if they email you. The terms do not promise a way to export your data first.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” their payout is capped at what you paid in 12 months, and you must indemnify them for claims from your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Paid features are billed in advance and they say fees are non-refundable. They do not describe pro-rated refunds.
The privacy policy is 13,913 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 36.1); the terms are 6,199 words at a college graduate level.
