wordnik
- 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.
An old dictionary site: they collect account and log data, run ads, take a license on posts, 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
Name, email, phone, addresses, profile prefs, plus IP, browser, pages, and searches.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Personal Information includes, but is not limited to, your name, phone number, email address and home and business postal addresses.”
Training
They run the site, send marketing, analyze use, and use logs to serve ads matching your interests.
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Privacy policy
“For example, some of this information is collected so that when you visit the Service or Site again, it will recognize you and serve advertisements and other information appropriate to your interests.”
Sharing
Other users may see your username and profile; vendors, advertisers, and buyers of the company may get data.
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Privacy policy
“We may share information that includes your Personal Information, Non-Identifying Information and Log Data with third parties for industry analysis and demographic profiling and to deliver targeted advertising about other products and services.”
Kept
The documents do not say how long they keep your data after you ask to delete it.
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Privacy policy
“If you would like us to delete your record in our system, please contact us and we will attempt to accommodate your request if we do not have any legal obligation to retain the record.”
Controls
You can unsubscribe from emails and email them to update or delete your profile.
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Privacy policy
“All Members may review, update, correct or delete the Personal Information in their user profile by contacting us.”
Fine print
They can change terms by posting, close you anytime, take a forever license on posts, and you them.
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Terms of service
“Wordnik reserves the right to revoke your access to and use of the Site, Services and Content at any time, with or without cause.”
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.
Ask them to delete your record
Contact privacy@wordnik.com or Wordnik PO Box 15259, Portland OR 97293 USA
Unsubscribe from marketing emails
Follow the unsubscribe link in their emails or update user preferences
Cancel your account
Email feedback@wordnik.com
Block cookies in your browser
Browser cookie settings (they warn some features may break)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Anything you post can be used, changed, shared, and even commercialized forever, including by others they pick.
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Terms of service
“you hereby shall and do grant Wordnik a worldwide, non-exclusive, , fully paid, , , and transferable license to use, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, perform, and otherwise fully make use of and/or commercialize the User Content”
For example, a word list you upload could be copied into a product they sell years after you leave.
If someone sues them because you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to , and hold Wordnik, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site”
For example, if a comment you posted leads to a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
They can shut your account for any reason, or none, and they do not have to warn you first.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Wordnik reserves the right to revoke your access to and use of the Site, Services and Content at any time, with or without cause.”
For example, you could lose access to your word lists overnight with no email.
They may give combined personal and usage data to others so those others can target ads.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may share information that includes your Personal Information, Non-Identifying Information and Log Data with third parties for industry analysis and demographic profiling and to deliver targeted advertising about other products and services.”
For example, data about words you look up could help an advertiser decide what ads to show you.
Outside ad companies can put tracking cookies on your device when you use the site.
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Privacy policy
“Third party advertisers on the Service or Site may also place or read cookies on your browser.”
For example, an ad network could follow you to other websites after you visit Wordnik.
If they harm you, they say they will pay at most $100.
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Terms of service
“IN NO EVENT WILL WORDNIK’S ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).”
For example, even if a bug wipes your lists, their written cap is one hundred dollars.
If they change the rules and you keep using the site, they treat that as your yes.
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Terms of service
“By continuing to access or use the Site or the Services after we have posted a modification on the Site or have provided you with notice of a modification, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by the modified Terms of Service.”
For example, a new license on comments could apply just because you visited after they posted it.
Deletion is only by asking them, and they only try if the law does not make them keep it.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“If you would like us to delete your record in our system, please contact us and we will attempt to accommodate your request if we do not have any legal obligation to retain the record.”
For example, emailing privacy@wordnik.com does not guarantee your account is wiped on a set date.
They say they encrypt data, use a firewall, and use SSL when you send personal info.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We employ physical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to systems where we store personal data, such as encrypting personal data, containing such data behind a firewall and using Secure Socket Layer technology when you transmit personal information to us.”
For example, your password form is supposed to go over HTTPS, not plain text.
They say the site is not for kids under 18 and they will delete data if they learn a child under 13 signed up.
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Privacy policy
“This Site is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13.”
For example, a parent can email privacy@wordnik.com if a 12-year-old created an account.
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.
- de-identified
- Data with your name and obvious identifiers removed, though it can sometimes still be traced back to you. For example, your chats with names stripped out may still be kept and studied after you delete your account.
- 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.
- profiling
- Building a picture of who you are, what you like and what you might do next from your data. For example, an app may guess your income, health or politics from what you watch and tap.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How we got here · grade D · score 36/100 · 13 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account details plus log data such as IP address, browser, pages, searches, and cookies.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
The documents do not describe collecting voice, face, or body data.
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 advertisers may place cookies, and log data is used to serve ads based on interests.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share combined personal and log data with third parties for ads and analysis; sale of the company allows an opt-out if processing changes a lot.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership of posts, but you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to use and commercialize them.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You must contact them to delete your record; they will try if they have no legal duty to keep it.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe encryption, a firewall, SSL, and limiting staff access, but no independent audit.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Terms say users must be at least 13; privacy says the site is not directed to under-18s and they delete under-13 data if they learn of it. No age-proofing is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy policy is dated May 15, 2015; they post changes and say continued use means you accept. Retention periods are not specified.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can suspend or revoke access at any time, with or without cause, without prior notice. You can cancel by email.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is capped at $100, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
The documents do not describe subscriptions or paid plans (they do mention billing $1000 for spam posts).
The privacy policy is 2,236 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 35.3); the terms are 5,947 words at a college level.
