Public.com
- 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 social investing app that collects IDs and selfies, shares ads data, posts your portfolio by default, and can close you anytime.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account and money details, IDs and selfies, contacts, device IDs, and data from brokers.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may receive information about you from other sources, such as: Data Brokers. Data brokers and aggregators from which we obtain information to supplement the data we collect.”
Training
They use your data to run the app, personalize it, market to you, and show targeted ads.
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Privacy policy
“Advertising. To display advertising to you (see the “Information from Cookies and Similar Technologies” section of this Privacy Policy for information about personalized advertising and your advertising choices)”
Sharing
Vendors, affiliates, ad companies, and other users can see profile, posts, and trades unless you hide them.
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Privacy policy
“By default, your Public investment portfolio and trades are publicly visible to other customers of the Services who visit your Public profile page.”
Kept
They keep data as long as they say they need it for the service, law, and business.
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Privacy policy
“We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our Services and fulfill the transactions you have requested, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and for other legitimate and lawful business purposes.”
Controls
You can hide trades, close the account in settings, and opt out of ads or sale/sharing.
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Privacy policy
“You can close your account by visiting the “Account Settings” page of the Public website or mobile app.”
Fine print
They can close you anytime, fees are non-refundable, you them.
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Terms of service
“Public.com may, at its sole discretion, terminate these Terms or your account on the Service, or suspend or terminate your access to the Service, at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.”
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.
Make portfolio and trades private
Account Settings on the Public website or mobile app
Opt out of targeted ads and sale/sharing
Website cookie banner, NAI/DAA opt-outs, or mobile advertising ID settings as described under Your Personal Information Choices
or close the account
Close via Account Settings; deletion requests to privacy@public.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.
They can shut your account whenever they want, even with no reason and no warning.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Public.com may, at its sole discretion, terminate these Terms or your account on the Service, or suspend or terminate your access to the Service, at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.”
For example, you could lose access to the app overnight and have no chance to export posts first.
If someone sues them because of something you posted or did, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“you will defend and Public.com and its officers, directors, employees, consultants, affiliates, subsidiaries and agents (together, the “Public.com Entities”) from and against every claim brought by a third party”
For example, if a post you made leads to a lawsuit, you could be on the hook for their lawyers.
They collect face photos from your ID and selfies for identity checks.
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Privacy policy
“Biometric Information. Such as facial images from your identification card or selfie photographs.”
For example, a selfie you take to open an investing account is stored as biometric information.
Ad and analytics companies get identifiers and usage data, which some laws treat as a sale.
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Privacy policy
“Some of the data disclosures to these providers may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information as defined under the laws of California and other U.S. states.”
For example, an ad network could get your device ID and browsing on Public and mix it with other sites.
Other users can see what you invest in unless you switch that off.
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Privacy policy
“By default, your Public investment portfolio and trades are publicly visible to other customers of the Services who visit your Public profile page.”
For example, a coworker on the app could see that you bought a stock today.
If you pay for a feature, you generally cannot get that money back.
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Terms of service
“All fees are in U.S. Dollars and are non-refundable.”
For example, if you cancel Alpha after paying, the policy says that fee is not refunded.
They buy or receive extra information about you from data brokers.
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Privacy policy
“Data Brokers. Data brokers and aggregators from which we obtain information to supplement the data we collect.”
For example, details about you that you never typed into the app could still be added to your file.
You can hide your portfolio and trades from other users in settings.
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Privacy policy
“You can change these to “private” using the “Account Settings” page of the Public website or mobile app.”
For example, you can turn trades private so strangers on the app cannot copy your buys.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- data broker
- A company that buys, collects and resells information about people, usually without ever meeting them. For example, your phone number and shopping habits can be sold as part of a list to a company you never heard of.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- biometric
- Measurements of your body that identify you, like your face, fingerprint or voice. For example, a selfie used to unlock the app or a voice recording matched to you.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 29/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect far more than login and posts: IDs, selfies, bank data, contacts, device and ad IDs, and data from brokers.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They collect facial images from IDs and selfies as biometric information for identity checks, not described as deleted after the session.
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?
Third-party analytics and ad companies collect cookies, device IDs, and usage across sites for targeted ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
Some ad and analytics sharing may count as a sale or share under state law, and they describe opt-out paths.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership, but you grant a broad sublicensable license, and posts, profile, and trades are public unless you hide them.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can close the account in settings, but deletion of personal information is by emailing them, and they keep some data for legal reasons.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They create inferences about your preferences and characteristics for personalization, with no described memory on/off controls.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they take reasonable steps to protect data, but they do not describe audits or a bug-bounty program.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 18. They say they do not knowingly collect from children under 18, with no extra age check described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated and they say they will give extra notice for material changes, but retention periods stay general.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may terminate or suspend your account at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is with liability often capped at $100 or a year of fees, and you must indemnify them for many third-party claims.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Fees are non-refundable. Alpha is cancelled in Apple subscription settings. They may change prices with advance notice.
The privacy policy is 6,429 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 32.2); the terms are 9,109 words at a college graduate level.
