PayPal

You are agreeing to allow PayPal to track your activity and sell or share inferences derived from it for advertising purposes.

“We also use Personal Information to allow you to participate in certain features that may be of interest to you, such as ... targeted advertising”

What that means: Your browsing and purchasing habits are collected to show you ads, reducing your privacy while using the service.

PayPal collects detailed internet activity, shopping history, and device information to serve targeted ads and personalize experiences across its services and potentially partner sites.

You are agreeing to the disclosure of your personal data to merchants for marketing and personalization unless you manually opt out.

“Unless we are required by law to obtain your consent, we disclose Personal Information collected from you after November 27, 2024 ... for personalized shopping experiences in the United States. To opt-out ... edit your preferences”

What that means: Merchants you shop with can receive your profile data to tailor recommendations, effectively selling your attention and data to third-party sellers.

PayPal shares personal information with Partners and Merchants for personalized shopping experiences. While there is an opt-out mechanism, the default is sharing unless you actively intervene.

You are agreeing to the creation and sharing of inferred data profiles with third parties for marketing and risk assessment.

“Inferred data: Such as gender, income, browsing and purchasing habits, creditworthiness, fraud and risk assessment... which we may infer based on your transactions”

What that means: Third parties receive detailed predictions about your spending and financial status, which you did not explicitly transact but were generated by PayPal's analysis.

PayPal generates proprietary insights about your finances and habits (inferred data) and shares these with partners/merchants, effectively selling the predictive value of your profile.

You are agreeing to provide biometric data such as face scans or voice recordings for account security and verification.

“Biometric data: Such as voice identification, photo identification, or face scans, which we may collect when you consent in the user experience to authenticate you”

What that means: You provide biological identity markers to log in or verify transactions, which are stored by PayPal.

The company collects highly sensitive biometric identifiers like face scans and voice ID for authentication, though it states consent is given during the user experience.

You are agreeing that this privacy statement does not apply to affiliated services like Venmo and Honey, which have their own rules.

“Excluded Services includes Venmo, Honey Science LLC, Chargehound LLC, Paidy Inc., Swift Financial LLC, and Bill Me Later, Inc.”

What that means: If you use Venmo or Honey, their separate privacy policies apply, so you must review those documents separately to know what you agreed to there.

Certain major products like Venmo and Honey are explicitly excluded from this statement and governed by their own terms, meaning this agreement does not cover them entirely.

You are agreeing to accept updated privacy terms whenever PayPal publishes them, with limited notice depending on legal requirements.

“We may revise this Privacy Statement from time to time... If the revised version requires notice in accordance with applicable law, we will provide you with 30 days' prior notice... otherwise the revised Privacy Statement will be effective as of the published effective date.”

What that means: You may be bound by new privacy terms without receiving an email notification, requiring you to check the website regularly to stay informed.

PayPal can change the privacy terms at any time. While some changes might get 30 days' notice, others become effective immediately upon publication on their site.

You are agreeing to let PayPal retain your personal information for 10 years after your account closes.

“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...”

What that means: Even after closing your account, your data remains in their systems for a decade, limiting your ability to have it erased quickly.

Data is kept for a fixed 10-year post-relationship window, which is a significant period compared to immediate deletion policies, and can be extended for legal obligations.

You are agreeing that even if you delete your account, PayPal will retain your data for up to 10 years for fraud prevention and legal compliance.

“If you close your PayPal account(s) or profile, delete, or request that we delete Personal Information, we still need to keep some Personal Information as explained... to complete a transaction... detect and prevent malicious... activity”

What that means: You cannot fully erase your digital footprint with PayPal, as they keep records indefinitely for security and legal reasons.

Deleting your account or requesting data deletion does not result in full erasure; significant amounts of data are retained for fraud prevention, legal compliance, and transaction completion.

You are agreeing to accept cookies because refusing them may prevent you from using essential parts of the PayPal service.

“Certain aspects and features of our Services and Sites are only available through the use of Cookies, so if you choose to disable or decline Cookies... your use of the Sites and Services may be limited or not possible.”

What that means: You cannot easily browse the service anonymously because key features will stop working if you refuse tracking cookies.

Opting out of cookies restricts core functionality, forcing users to choose between full privacy and basic service access.

You are agreeing that you are responsible for protecting your passwords and account information against unauthorized access.

“While we are dedicated to securing our systems and Services, you are responsible for securing and maintaining the privacy of your password(s) and account or profile registration information”

What that means: If someone steals your password or registers an account under your name due to weak security on your end, PayPal disclaims responsibility.

The company states you are solely responsible for the security of your login credentials, shifting the burden of protection away from them for these aspects.