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- 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 policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
Public-by-default posts, ad tracking you can opt out of, a lasting content license, and they 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 info, posts, usage, cookies, device data, rough location, and sometimes contacts or photo details.
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Privacy policy
“When you create an account on the Services (an "Account"), we’ll ask you for information such as your username, password, age, and email address”
Training
They personalize the site and ads from your activity, and they may share identifiers with advertising partners.
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Privacy policy
“To make our ads more relevant and useful, we make educated guesses about your interests based on your activity on our sites and services.”
Sharing
Posts are public by default; Automattic, service providers, and ad partners can also get data.
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Privacy policy
“By default, all sharing through the Services is public, and when you provide us with content it is published so that anyone can view it.”
Kept
Delete in settings; they keep account data about 30 days, but reblogs and backups may stay.
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Privacy policy
“We’ll keep your data for 30 days in case you regret your decision. After 30 days, your account will be deleted and cannot be recovered.”
Controls
You can export data, delete the account, and in some places turn off personalized ads in privacy settings.
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Privacy policy
“If you are a Tumblr user in the EU, UK, Canada, or in some US states you can customize your advertising preferences from within your privacy settings.”
Fine print
They can close you without notice; paid stuff auto-renews and is usually non-refundable; New York courts.
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Terms of service
“Tumblr may terminate or suspend your access to or ability to use any and all Services immediately, without prior notice or , for any reason or no reason”
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.
Turn off personalized ads where offered
Privacy settings (EU, UK, Canada, some US states); iOS Limit Ad Tracking; Android Opt out of Interest Based Ads; Your Advertising Choices
Download your data or export your blog
Privacy section of Settings while signed in
Delete your account
Account Settings
Cancel a subscription at least 14 days early
www.tumblr.com/settings/subscriptions or Apple/Google if you paid in-app
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
You still own your posts, but Tumblr gets a wide license to copy, show, change, and them.
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Terms of service
“you grant Tumblr a non-exclusive, worldwide, , , transferable right and license to use, host, store, cache, reproduce, publish, display”
For example, they can put your public posts in a partner feed even after you leave.
The license does not end when you delete your account, because other people may have reblogged you.
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Terms of service
“this license to your User Content continues even if you stop using the Services, primarily because of the social nature of Content shared through Tumblr’s Services”
For example, a reblog of your old post can stay up after you quit.
They can shut your account at any time without warning.
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Terms of service
“Tumblr may terminate or suspend your access to or ability to use any and all Services immediately, without prior notice or , for any reason or no reason”
For example, you could lose access overnight and not get a heads-up first.
Paid features generally do not come with refunds.
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Terms of service
“Purchases of Paid Services are final and non-refundable (particularly those Paid Services that may be used immediately, such as Promotions, as defined below), except at Tumblr's sole discretion”
For example, if you buy Blaze and then change your mind, you may not get the money back.
Subscriptions keep charging unless you cancel well before the period ends.
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Terms of service
“You must cancel your Subscription at least 14 days before the end of your current Subscription Period in order to avoid being charged for the next Subscription Period.”
For example, canceling 10 days before renewal can still bill you for another month.
Ad partners can get cookies, device IDs, IP, and approximate location.
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Privacy policy
“The personal information we share includes online identifiers and internet or other network or device activity (such as cookie information, other device identifiers, and IP address), and geolocation data”
For example, an advertiser may use your IP area to guess interests.
Sharing for ads can count as a sale of data under some state laws, with an opt-out.
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Privacy policy
“In some US states, this data sharing may be considered a “sale.””
For example, a California user can turn this off in advertising choices.
Unless you lock it down, anyone including search engines can see your posts.
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Privacy policy
“By default, all sharing through the Services is public, and when you provide us with content it is published so that anyone can view it.”
For example, a tagged photo on your blog can show up in Google.
After you delete, they hold the account about a month, then it is gone from their side.
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Privacy policy
“We’ll keep your data for 30 days in case you regret your decision. After 30 days, your account will be deleted and cannot be recovered.”
For example, if you delete today you have about 30 days to change your mind.
They do not promise the site will work or be safe, and is tightly limited.
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Terms of service
“THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS.”
For example, if a bug loses your blog, they may owe little or nothing.
You must be at least 13 (or 16 in the EU/UK/Australia) to use it; they rely on the age you give.
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Terms of service
“You may not use the Services, provide any personal information to Tumblr, or otherwise submit personal information through the Services (including, for example, a name, address, telephone number, or email address) if you are under the Minimum Age.”
For example, a 12-year-old is not allowed even if they type a higher age.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- as is
- You get the service in whatever state it is in, with no promise that it works or will keep working. For example, if the app deletes your photos by mistake, it is not promising to fix that or pay you back.
How we got here · grade C · score 45/100 · 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 account data, posts, usage logs, cookies, device IDs, IP-based location, optional contacts, and EXIF from images, plus some third-party data.
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?
They say they may access and disclose information for law, safety, fraud, TOS enforcement, and support, not routine sampling of private chats.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They run personalized ads and work with advertising companies and analytics such as Google Analytics; some regions can opt out.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share identifiers with ad partners and say that can be a “sale” in some U.S. states, with an opt-out in settings and via GPC.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership, but you grant a worldwide, sublicensable, transferable license that continues after you stop using Tumblr.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete the account in settings; they say they keep data 30 days, then delete, though reblogs and backups may remain.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They infer interests from likes, follows, and views for personalization and ads, without describing a memory you can edit or turn off.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They mention passwords and possible multi-factor login, but say they cannot guarantee security. No audit is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 13 (16 in the EU, UK, or Australia; 14 in South Korea). They ask for age; it is not described as ID-checked.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Both documents are dated. Terms changes get posted notice and usually 14 days before they apply if they do not ask you to click agree.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may suspend or terminate immediately without prior notice, for any reason or no reason. Paid licenses can be forfeited.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is.” Their total liability is capped at $100 or what you paid, and many damages are excluded.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew. You must cancel at least 14 days before the period ends. Purchases are generally final and non-refundable.
The privacy policy is 6,914 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 43.9); the terms are 5,892 words at a college level.
