SpiceWorks
- 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.
Broad tracking and ads, a content license, and they can close your account without notice.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, posts, device and ad IDs, precise location, Wi‑Fi/phone IDs, and partner data.
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Privacy policy
“Location Information: location data that describes the precise geographic location of your device (“Precise Location Data”).”
Training
They use your data to run the site, market to you, and show interest-based ads.
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Privacy policy
“Spiceworks and third parties, subject to your privacy choices and settings, may collect data about your behavior while using our services in order to provide you with more relevant interest-based advertising”
Sharing
Ziff Davis sister companies, advertisers, processors, and anyone who sees public posts can get your data.
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Privacy policy
“We also share information with other Ziff Davis Companies for the purposes of targeted advertising.”
Kept
Most data is kept for the life of your account and a later “reasonable” period.
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Privacy policy
“For the life of the account and a reasonable and legally compliant time thereafter.”
Controls
You can request access or deletion and opt out of sale/sharing via a Privacy Portal or email.
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Privacy policy
“If you would prefer not to have your data sold or shared, you can opt-out of selling or sharing by submitting a request via Privacy Portal”
Fine print
They can shut you off without notice, and you them.
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 or sharing for targeted ads
Privacy Portal linked from the privacy policy, or email privacy@ziffdavis.com
of your information
Privacy Portal or email privacy@ziffdavis.com; account cancel also via that email
Turn off precise location on the device
Mobile device Settings, as described under Location Based Services
Unsubscribe from marketing email
Unsubscribe link in emails or edit your personal profile / Notifications or Settings
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 get a forever license to copy, change, and anything you post, even after you leave.
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Terms of service
“You hereby grant, transfer and assign to Ziff Davis and its affiliates, successors, assigns and licensees (collectively, “Licensee”) a fully-paid, , , , worldwide right and license”
For example, a forum post you wrote years ago could still be reused in marketing without paying you.
They can lock you out anytime, for any reason, without warning.
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Terms of service
“Ziff Davis reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend or terminate your access to all or any part of the Services, including the discussion areas, at any time for any reason without prior notice or .”
For example, your community account could vanish overnight with no email first.
If someone sues them over your use or posts, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to , defend and hold Ziff Davis and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers and licensors (collectively, the “Ziff Davis Parties”) harmless”
For example, if a vendor sues over something you posted, you could be on the hook for their lawyers.
They may collect identifiers tied to your phone and Wi‑Fi network, not just a username.
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Privacy policy
“Connectivity Data: WiFi connection, service set identifier (“SSID”), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (“IMSI”) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (“IMEI”).”
For example, the app could record your phone’s IMEI and the name of your office Wi‑Fi.
Your data can be used across many sister sites to target ads, unless you opt out.
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Privacy policy
“We also share information with other Ziff Davis Companies for the purposes of targeted advertising.”
For example, activity on Spiceworks could follow you as ads on other Ziff Davis sites.
They treat some sharing as a sale, but you can opt out through their portal.
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Privacy policy
“If you would like to opt out of the sale or sharing of your data with other Ziff Davis Companies, you can do so via our Privacy Portal”
For example, you can submit a sale/share opt-out so sister brands get less of your data.
Paid subscriptions auto-renew and money is generally not refunded.
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Terms of service
“Once charged to your credit card, the payments are nonrefundable, except in cases of demonstrated fraud, which will be determined at Ziff Davis’ sole discretion.”
For example, if you cancel a day after renewal, you still pay for the full period.
Photos, videos, and call recordings can be collected and kept with your account.
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Privacy policy
“Audio, Video, and Other Electronic Data: audio, electronic, visual, or similar information such as photographs, video submissions and call recordings.”
For example, a contest video or support call recording may stay for the life of the account.
They build a profile of your traits and interests from what they collect.
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Privacy policy
“Inferences: such as inferences drawn from personal information to create a profile reflecting preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behavior, and attitudes.”
For example, they may infer job interests from pages you visit and use that for marketing.
They say they use security measures, but they do not name audits or a bug-bounty program here.
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Privacy policy
“We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unlawful destruction, loss alteration, misuse, or unauthorized access while in our possession.”
For example, they claim contractors must also use reasonable security, without listing certifications.
Kids are not supposed to use it; age is mostly self-declared, not a strong ID check.
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Privacy policy
“These services are not intended for use by children, especially those under 16.”
For example, a 15-year-old could still sign up if they claim to be older.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- precise geolocation
- Your exact position, usually from GPS, often accurate to within a few metres. For example, an app can tell not just your city but which building you are in right now.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 32/100 · 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 account and posts, including precise location, ad IDs, SSID, IMSI, IMEI, inferences, and third-party data.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They list audio, photos, video, and call recordings and keep them for the life of the account.
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?
Spiceworks and third parties collect behavior for interest-based ads on other sites and partner channels.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with Ziff Davis companies and others for ads and say you can opt out of sale or sharing.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license they can sublicense, without paying you.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Most data lasts for the life of the account plus a later period; deletion is by portal or email, not a stated 30-day wipe.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They draw inferences to build a profile of preferences and behavior; they do not describe viewing or turning that profile off.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe technical and organizational security measures and contractor requirements, not an independent audit in this text.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Services are not for children under 16 (13 outside the EU in the terms); you warrant your age when you register.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated and they say they will notify before material data-use changes, but retention is still a vague “reasonable” period; terms can change on posting.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can restrict, suspend, or terminate access at any time for any reason without prior notice.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is with a small liability cap, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your use or posts.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Premium Ziff Davis subscriptions auto-renew unless you cancel in time, and payments are generally non-refundable.
The privacy policy is 6,064 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 42); the terms are 18,082 words at a college graduate level.
