Walmart
- 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.
Walmart collects a lot, uses chats to improve AI, shares for ads you can opt out of.
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
They collect account info, purchases, browsing, demographics, location, biometrics, and chatbot chats.
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Privacy policy
“We may collect or receive the categories of personal information listed below, which may depend on the products or services you may use, as well as your device and account settings.”
Training
They use your data for shopping, targeted ads, and training AI, including chatbot inputs.
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Privacy policy
“Undertaking activities to verify or maintain the quality or safety of our services or devices and to improve, upgrade, or enhance them, such as training our AI.”
Sharing
Walmart companies, vendors, advertisers, and other partners can get your data; you can opt out of sale/sharing.
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Privacy policy
“We may disclose personal information to third parties or process your personal information for various purposes, including targeted advertising.”
Kept
They keep data as long as they say they need it; some biometric data can last up to three years.
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Privacy policy
“We will keep the personal information we collect about you for as long as necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in this Privacy Notice or any other notice provided at the time of data collection, but no longer than as required or permitted under applicable law or internal Walmart policy.”
Controls
You can delete your account in the app, opt out of ads and sale/sharing, and use Your Privacy Choices.
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Privacy policy
“To delete your Walmart account, use the Contact Us section below. Or, within our mobile apps, visit the “Account” section of the Walmart app and click the “Delete Account” link.”
Fine print
A broad content license, account closure anytime, 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/sharing and targeted ads
Website footer or app settings: “Your Privacy Choices”; or send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal
Turn off interest-based ads
Walmart.com advertising settings in your account; also device ad settings
Delete your Walmart account
Walmart app: Account → Delete Account; or Contact Us
Adjust marketing emails and location
Communication Preferences & Alerts page; device location and Bluetooth 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.
What you type to the shopping chatbot, plus your purchases, can be used to improve Walmart’s AI models. There is no opt-out described.
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Terms of service
“you understand and agree that Input to the Generative AI Features may not be kept confidential, and any of your Content (including but not limited to the Inputs), as well as your purchasing history from the Walmart Sites, your use of promotions as well as personal information, may be used to further enhance and improve the Generative AI Features, the underlying model and the Walmart Sites as well as to generate Output.”
For example, a private question you ask Sparky about a purchase could be used to train the chatbot.
Anything you post or submit can be used by Walmart forever, even after you leave, and they can it.
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Terms of service
“You grant to Walmart a , , , worldwide, unlimited, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform and display (publicly or otherwise) any Content that you make available, in any media or medium, and in any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed.”
For example, a product review you write could be reused or shown elsewhere without paying you.
You cannot take Walmart to court as a group.
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Terms of service
“YOU AND WALMART ARE EACH GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO SUE EACH OTHER IN COURT OR IN OF ANY KIND.”
For example, if many shoppers were overcharged the same way, you could not join a .
If your use of the site causes a legal fight, you may have to pay Walmart’s legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to defend (at Walmart’s option), , and hold the Walmart Entities harmless from and against any and all liabilities, claims, damages, costs, and expenses”
For example, if a review you posted leads to a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their costs.
They can shut your account or the site features without warning.
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Terms of service
“Your account may be restricted or terminated for any reason, at our sole discretion. Except as otherwise provided by law, at any time without notice to you, we may (1) change, restrict access to, suspend, or discontinue the Walmart Sites”
For example, you could lose access to order history overnight with no email first.
They may collect sensitive-sounding details like ethnicity and family health, not just what you need to check out.
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Privacy policy
“Demographic Information, such as age, gender, citizenship, ethnicity, date of birth, family or marital status, household income, education, professional and employment information, family health, number of children, number of cars owned, and software or virtual assets owned.”
For example, household income or family health could sit in their customer file.
Your shopping and browsing can be used to aim ads at you, including with outside ad partners.
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Privacy policy
“Performing and providing advertising and marketing services, including targeted advertising.”
For example, buying baby formula could lead to baby-product ads on other sites.
Sharing for ads may count as a sale, but you can opt out through Privacy Choices or Global Privacy Control.
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Privacy policy
“These kinds of disclosures may be deemed selling under certain state privacy laws. You have the right to opt-out of the sale or processing of your Personal Information for targeted advertising as described above.”
For example, you can tap Your Privacy Choices in the website footer to stop sale/sharing.
Face or other biometric data can be kept until the job is done or up to three years after you last deal with them.
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Privacy policy
“Biometric Retention Schedule: Walmart will permanently destroy your biometric identifiers and biometric information when the first of the following occurs: (i) the initial purpose for collecting or obtaining such biometric data has been satisfied; (ii) within 3 years of your last interaction with us; or (iii) as otherwise required by applicable law.”
For example, a face scan from a try-on tool might stay on file for years if you keep shopping.
Voice is recorded when you tap the mic, but they say they do not turn it into a voice-print ID.
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Privacy policy
“Walmart does not use voice data for biometric analysis. Walmart will only capture voice interactions when you activate a voice feature, such as when you press the microphone button in the search bar or within Sparky.”
For example, saying a search out loud is transcribed, not used as a fingerprint of your voice.
Walmart can read and analyze what you post or send, including to check the rules.
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Terms of service
“Walmart will have the right (but not the obligation), in our sole discretion, to monitor, evaluate, and analyze Content, and any use of and access to the Walmart Sites”
For example, a chatbot message or review could be reviewed by their systems or staff.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- inputs and outputs
- Inputs are what you type, say or upload to an AI; outputs are what it gives back to you. For example, the question you ask a chatbot is an input and its answer is an output, and both may be stored.
- 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.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- 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.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- class action waiver
- You agree not to join with other users in one lawsuit; each person must complain alone. For example, if a bug overcharges a million people, you cannot all sue together for a refund.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade F · score 25/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 0 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect far more than checkout needs, including government IDs, browsing, demographics, inferences, location, and biometrics.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
They collect voice when you use voice features and list biometric data such as face geometry; biometric data can be kept up to three years. They say they do not use voice for biometric analysis, and some try-on scans are deleted in 48 hours.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Chatbot inputs, purchase history, and other content may be used to improve generative AI and the underlying model, with no opt-out described.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They claim the right to monitor, evaluate, and analyze content and site use, with no review opt-out described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They do targeted ads and work with advertisers, publishers, social platforms, and ad-tech that track you across sites. You can opt out of interest-based ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with the corporate family, vendors, advertisers, and business partners; some sharing may be a “sale.” You can opt out via Your Privacy Choices or GPC.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You grant a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to content you make available, and they may sublicense it. Chatbot outputs are owned by Walmart.
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 needed under their policies. You can delete an account in the app or by contacting them. Biometric data can last up to three years after last interaction.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They draw inferences about preferences, shopping patterns, and characteristics. The notice does not describe viewing or turning off a memory profile.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they use reasonable physical, administrative, and technical safeguards. No independent audit or leak history is described.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Sites are for a general audience and not directed to children under 13 or 14. Terms say you must be of legal age or have a parent’s consent. No strong age check is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Terms can change by posting; keeping using the site means you accept. The privacy notice says they will note significant updates and post a date, but this copy has no date at the top.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may restrict or terminate your account for any reason at their discretion, and may change or stop the sites without notice.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The site is as-is, liability is capped at fees you paid in six months, and you must indemnify Walmart for claims from your misuse or content.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
They may change, charge, or waive fees for site features at any time without notice. Separate Walmart+ terms are linked but not in these documents.
The privacy policy is 7,117 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 30.3); the terms are 14,278 words at a college graduate level.
