Hackernews
- 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.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
YC takes a license to your uploads, can close accounts without notice.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account and application info, jobs data, device logs, cookies, and session replays of your screen.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Session replay information includes Device Information, broad geographical information, and the contents of your screen.”
Training
They use it to run services, events, applications, analytics, security, and to develop new programs.
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Privacy policy
“To analyze how you interact with our Services;”
Sharing
Vendors, affiliates, analytics firms, and sometimes YC-funded companies or other users can see data.
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Privacy policy
“We disclose WaaS Information to our Affiliates and Y Combinator-funded companies.”
Kept
They keep it as long as needed for business or law; deletion is by emailing them.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“In general, we will retain your Personal Information unless your account is deleted, or for as long as we require it to fulfill the business purposes for which it was collected”
Controls
You can email privacy@ycombinator.com to update or delete; some Hacker News posts may stay.
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Privacy policy
“You can contact us at privacy@ycombinator.com to request to update, correct, or delete your Personal Information.”
Fine print
license to your content, $100 cap, and they can close accounts without notice.
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Terms of service
“We may remove any content, including Inputs, Outputs or Usage Data without notice, including for violations of these Send a SAFE Terms or the YC General Terms.”
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.
Email to delete your YC account
privacy@ycombinator.com
Delete application data only
apply@ycombinator.com
California privacy request
privacy@ycombinator.com or +1 (415) 874-1528
Limit cookies in your browser
Browser help/settings; Network Advertising Initiative opt-out at networkadvertising.org
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 lasting rights to copy, change, and anything you upload, even after you leave.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“By submitting Inputs, you hereby grant YC a nonexclusive, worldwide, , fully paid up, transferable, , , license to copy, display, upload, process, perform, distribute, store, modify and otherwise use Inputs”
For example, a comment or application material you posted could still be used by YC or others they license it to years later.
They can shut your account and wipe files without warning.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services, including any information provided by the Services, at our sole discretion and at any time.”
For example, an inactive Hacker News or application account could disappear overnight with no email first.
If they mess up, they say they owe you at most $100.
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Terms of service
“TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: YC FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES. OUR WILL NOT EXCEED $100.”
For example, even if a bug cost you a fundraising round, their stated cap is one hundred dollars.
They can record what is on your screen while you use parts of the site.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Session replay information includes Device Information, broad geographical information, and the contents of your screen.”
For example, filling out Startup School forms could be replayed later as a video-like recording of your screen.
Deleting your HN account may not remove your public posts.
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Privacy policy
“If you of your Hacker News account, note that we reserve the right to refuse to (i) delete any of the submissions, favorites, or comments you posted”
For example, old comments under your username could stay on the site after you ask to delete the account.
Under California’s definition, they say they do not sell or share personal information for ads.
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Privacy policy
“We do not sell or share your Personal Information (as those terms are defined under the ).”
For example, they claim they are not selling your name to ad networks as a “sale.”
They set a 13+ line and say they do not knowingly collect from younger kids.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Our Services are not directed to children who are under the age of 13. Y Combinator does not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13.”
For example, a 12-year-old is not supposed to register, but they rely on you not to sign up.
They claim basic security steps but also say nothing on the internet is fully safe.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We implement commercially reasonable technical, administrative, and organizational measures designed to protect Personal Information both online and offline”
For example, they warn that emailing an application may not be secure.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- right to erasure
- Your right to have a company delete the personal data it holds about you, with some exceptions. For example, you can ask a social app to wipe your old posts and profile and it must, unless a law says otherwise.
- 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 D · score 39/100 · 15 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, application, job, and course info plus logs, cookies, device data, usage, and session replays.
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?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They use Google Analytics and other trackers and say advertising networks may use cookies; the site does not honor DNT.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell or share under the CCPA, but they share with vendors, affiliates, and YC-funded companies for programs like jobs.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
Uploading content grants YC a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license for any YC-related purpose.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You must email them to delete; they keep data as long as needed and may refuse to delete HN posts.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They say they draw inferences to create a profile of preferences, without describing user controls for that profile.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures, with no audit or leak history stated.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Under 13 cannot register; they do not knowingly collect from children under 13, with no age-proof described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Policies are dated; terms say most changes take effect after at least 14 days’ notice, while privacy can change by posting and continued use.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may suspend or terminate any account for any reason without prior notice and may delete related files.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The site is as-is, liability is capped at $100, and you must indemnify YC for claims related to your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
The main site and Send a SAFE are described as free; no subscription or refund rules are given.
The privacy policy is 10,322 words at a professional or legal expert level (Flesch reading ease 16); the terms are 1,936 words at a college level.
