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Privacy policy

PayPal

PayPal Privacy Statement

D

Risk score

61of 100

Open the original (new tab)Company page

In short

  • You agree to a broad scope of data collection, including biometric and financial details.
  • PayPal shares your personal information with partners for personalized advertising and retains your data indefinitely to comply with legal obligations.

What you accept

If you use this site

Everyday words for the material promises and rights you give up. Each line includes a quote from the document.

Fineprint cannot see whether you agreed. This page is posted on their site. Open the original if you need to know how they say it applies.

  1. 01

    You are agreeing that PayPal may share your Personal Information with Partners and Merchants for personalized shopping experiences in the United States.

    Other companies

    “Unless we are required to obtain your consent, we share Personal Information collected after November 27, 2024 (or from earlier if you consent) for personalized shopping experiences in the United States.”
  2. 02

    You are agreeing to allow PayPal to collect and store Sensitive Personal Information for legitimate business activities.

    Other products, stores, or brands

    “We disclose your Sensitive Personal Information as appropriate to carry out legitimate business activities, as you have consented to or as allowed by law.”
  3. 03

    You are agreeing to cross-border transfer of your Personal Information to countries with different privacy rules.

    This product

    “By using our Sites and Services, where permitted under applicable privacy laws, you agree to your Personal Information being transferred to other countries, including countries that have different data protection rules than your country.”

What it can cost you

Downsides we could quote

Quoted clauses that can affect your privacy, money, or right to go to court — including terms that follow you to other products.

Highest-cost clauses first

High cost

Tracking you across apps

You are agreeing to let PayPal infer your shopping habits and share them with merchants for targeted advertising.

“Personal Information we disclose includes, for example, products, sizes, preferences, and styles we think you’ll like.”

What that means: Your private shopping habits are sold or shared to help other companies target you with personalized advertisements.

PayPal shares inferred data about your shopping habits and preferences with third-party merchants to target ads and offers.

High cost

Location or sensitive-data over-collection

You are agreeing to provide biometric scans and precise location data to verify your identity and secure payments.

“Biometric data: Such as voice identification, photo identification, or face scans... government-issued identification... precise geolocation data”

What that means: You surrender access to your physical identity and real-time location, which can be misused for surveillance or fraud.

The service collects highly sensitive identifiers, including face scans, fingerprints via voice ID, and precise GPS location.

High cost

Indefinite retention

You are agreeing to have your data stored for up to ten years after your relationship with PayPal ends.

“Personal Information used for the ongoing relationship between you and PayPal is stored for the duration of the relationship plus a period of 10 years or such period as mandated by any applicable local law”

What that means: Your history remains on file long after you stop using the service, limiting your control over old data.

Data is kept for the life of the account plus ten extra years, regardless of whether you actively need it for transactions.

Medium cost

Cookie consent that favors Accept

You are agreeing that the service will ignore standard browser Do Not Track signals to maintain functionality.

“Because many of our services won’t function without tracking data, we do not respond to DNT settings.”

What that means: You cannot easily block trackers across the web because their refusal creates a functional barrier.

Opting out of Do Not Track signals is ineffective because the company claims essential services require tracking cookies.

Medium cost

Unilateral changes with little or no notice

You are agreeing to accept future changes to the privacy policy upon their publication on the website.

“We may revise this Privacy Statement from time to time... otherwise the revised Privacy Statement will be effective as of the published effective date.”

What that means: Your rights may shrink overnight without a direct notification to your inbox.

The company can change terms whenever it wants, providing only thirty days' notice if legally required.

If these terms already apply to you

Keep this list. Fineprint cannot undo or cancel something you already agreed to at the company.

We cannot see Agree on their site. With Premium, tap “I accepted these terms” if you already agreed to what PayPal asks.