Xanga
- 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 only with the providers who run the service.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
Old blogging network: public posts by default, ads and trackers, staff can see private pages, archives kept after you leave.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, posts, comments, birthday, IP, browser data, cookies, and sometimes IDs or other people’s emails.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga’s servers automatically collect and store this information, including your IP address, specific type of browser software, the pages you visit at Xanga, and information from Xanga cookies”
Training
They use it to run the site, customize ads and content, and talk to you about the service.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga uses the information it collects for authentication purposes, to customize the advertising and content you see, to fulfill your requests for products and services”
Sharing
Public posts can be seen by anyone; they also share with contractors, advertisers, and in legal or sale situations.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga does not share, sell or rent any of your information, except as follows:”
Kept
Deleted or closed accounts can still be kept as private archival copies.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga may retain a copy of your information (including browser information) for archival purposes.”
Controls
You can lock posts, hide some profile fields, and change email and search settings in your account.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga provides many features designed to help you manage and control access to your information.”
Fine print
Continued use means you accept changes; service is as-is; you them; they can remove content anytime.
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Terms of service
“Your continued use of Xanga after Xanga modifies the Terms of Use will mean you agree to the Terms of Use as modified.”
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.
Lock posts or the whole site
Privacy options on posts (Private/Protected/Public) and Locks in account settings
Opt out of some interest-based ads
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp (linked in the privacy policy)
Turn off search indexing and RSS
Controls inside your Xanga account under search results and syndication feeds
Ask questions about the policy
Contact Xanga via the privacy policy contact link
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Even after you delete posts or close your account, they can keep a copy.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga may retain a copy of your information (including browser information) for archival purposes.”
For example, you shut down your blog and they still store your old posts for archives or law enforcement.
If someone sues them because of what you posted or how you used the site, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and hold Xanga, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees, harmless from any loss, damage, claim or demand, including reasonable attorney fees”
For example, a comment you left leads to a lawsuit and they ask you to cover attorney fees.
They can take down your posts or refuse them without warning and without explaining why.
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Terms of service
“Xanga reserves the right not to post or to remove any Content from Xanga at any time, without notice, for any reason or no reason, in Xanga’s sole discretion.”
For example, a blog post disappears overnight with no email from them.
Outside ad companies track visits to show you ads.
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Privacy policy
“We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site.”
For example, an ad network uses cookies about your Xanga visits to show you ads on other sites.
Staff can look at even locked or private pages when they work on the site.
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Privacy policy
“for operational purposes, including performing maintenance and support, Xanga personnel may access your Xanga site, including private and protected portions of your Xanga site.”
For example, a private diary post could be seen by a support worker doing maintenance.
You keep ownership of your writing, but they keep a forever copy for archives.
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Terms of service
“you grant Xanga a continuing license and right to maintain a copy of your Xanga Site and Content for archival purposes.”
For example, you delete a photo and they still have an archival copy.
Your profile and activity help them pick which ads you see.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga also uses cookies to target advertisements based on information provided by you (e.g. profile information suggesting age, gender, or interests)”
For example, listing your age and hobbies leads to ads aimed at that group.
You must be at least 13; they rely on the birthday you type in.
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Privacy policy
“Children under 13 are not allowed to register for Xanga accounts. It is Xanga’s policy not to collect information from children under 13.”
For example, a 12-year-old can still sign up by entering a fake birth date.
Big privacy changes should come by email or a site notice, but keeping using the site means you accept them.
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Privacy policy
“We will notify you about significant changes in the way we treat personal information by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your Xanga account or by placing a prominent notice on our site.”
For example, they email you about a new sharing rule and using the site after that counts as agreeing.
They say they try to protect private account data but do not promise it cannot be hacked.
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Privacy policy
“Xanga implements features reasonably designed to protect the security of any non-public information that is stored in our database, such as your password.”
For example, your password is stored with some protection, but they admit hacking is still possible.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- 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.
How we got here · grade D · score 37/100 · 14 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, posts, comments, birthday, other people’s emails for invites, plus IP address, browser type, pages visited, and cookies.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
The documents do not describe recording voice, face, or body as biometric 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?
Staff may access even private and protected pages for maintenance and support, with no opt-out described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They show targeted ads and use third-party ad companies and cookies, with a Network Advertising opt-out link.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not share, sell, or rent except to contractors under confidentiality, aggregate data, legal needs, safety, or a merger.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership. They get a license to show and promote your posts while they are published, plus a perpetual archival copy.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Deleted or closed sites leave the public site, but they may keep archival copies with no time limit stated.
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 password protection and reasonable database security, and say they cannot guarantee it.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 13 or older and give a date of birth; under-13 accounts can be shut down if a parent reports them.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policy is dated. They say they will email or post a notice for significant privacy changes, and continued use means you accept.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can refuse or remove content at any time without notice for any reason, and may terminate repeat copyright infringers.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is with a broad liability disclaimer, and you must indemnify them for claims from your content or use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 5,195 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 47.6); the terms are 2,681 words at a college graduate level.
