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Terms of use

Meta

Meta Terms of Service

C

Risk score

39of 100

Open the original (new tab)Company page

In short

  • These Terms govern your access to Facebook and other Meta products, requiring you to accept personalized ads in exchange for free use.
  • They grant Meta a broad, worldwide license to use your content and limit their liability while reserving the right to update terms if you continue using the service.
  • The document also outlines specific rules for account management, data deletion timelines, and dispute resolution.

What you accept

If you tap Agree

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

  1. 01

    You are agreeing to a transferable, sublicensable license that allows Meta to host, copy, share, and create derivative works from your content globally.

    This product

    “you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content”
  2. 02

    You are agreeing that Meta can show you ads based on your personal data and use your name and profile picture alongside them without paying you.

    This product

    “you agree that we can show you ads that we think may be relevant to you... You give us permission to use your name and profile picture... without any compensation to you”
  3. 03

    You are agreeing to resolve disputes exclusively in California courts, excluding arbitration clauses but mandating a specific venue.

    This product

    “any claim, cause of action, or dispute between us that arises out of or relates to these Terms... shall be resolved exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California”

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

Broad license to user content

You are agreeing to give Meta a broad, permanent legal permission to use, change, and share your creative work anywhere.

“you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content”

What that means: Meta or its partners can use your content in ways you did not expect, potentially including commercial projects, even after you post it.

The contract takes a very wide legal right to your photos, videos, and posts, allowing them to be shared, changed, or sold by partners without asking again.

Medium cost

Unilateral changes with little or no notice

You are agreeing to be bound by future versions of these terms just by continuing to log in or use the services.

“Once any updated Terms are in effect, you will be bound by them if you continue to access or use our Products.”

What that means: You must keep checking for updates because simply keeping your account open means you accept whatever changes they make next.

Meta can change the rules at any time, and staying on the app counts as saying yes to the new rules.

Medium cost

Tracking you across apps

You are agreeing to let Meta track your behavior across their ecosystem and beyond to customize the ads you receive.

“We use your personal data to help determine which personalized ads to show you... We use data about the connections you make, the choices and settings you select, and what you share and do on and off our Products - to personalize your experience.”

What that means: Your activity on other websites and apps may be used to decide what ads you see here, creating a detailed picture of your interests.

The company tracks your behavior both inside the app and outside of it to build a profile for advertising purposes.

Medium cost

Difficult or incomplete deletion

You are agreeing to a delay where your deleted content persists in backup servers for up to 90 additional days.

“After the content is deleted, it may take us up to another 90 days to remove it from backups and disaster recovery systems.”

What that means: Your private information does not disappear instantly and remains accessible to Meta for recovery purposes for up to three months.

Even after you delete your account or posts, copies of your data remain stored in backup systems for three months.

People also accept these terms in

The same company terms often apply on these apps or devices. This is a lookup aid, not a claim we caught this company.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Whatsapp
  • Meta Quest
  • Oculus

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 Meta asks.