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Terms of use

Meta

Meta Terms of Service

D

Risk score

56of 100

Open the original (new tab)Company page

In short

  • These Terms require you to grant Meta a broad license to use and share the content you upload.
  • They also allow Meta to personalize your experience using data collected from both on and off their products.
  • You accept that these services are provided without warranties and limit Meta's liability for any issues.

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 grant Meta a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to use your content.

    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 uses data about your activity and interests to show you personalized ads.

    This product

    “We use your personal data to help determine which personalized ads to show you and your interests.”
  3. 03

    You are agreeing to resolve disputes in U.S. federal court in California.

    This product

    “any claim, cause of action, or dispute between us... 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 wide rights to use, modify, and share your posted content.

“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: You lose control over how your photos and videos are used or shared by Meta or its partners.

Meta takes a very broad license that includes sublicensing and modifying your content, not just hosting it. This applies worldwide and is royalty-free.

High cost

Tracking you across apps

You are agreeing to allow Meta to track your activity across other websites and apps.

“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 online activity outside of Facebook is monitored and used to target you with content.

The terms explicitly state that Meta tracks your behavior both on and off their platforms to build a profile for you.

High cost

Liability shifted onto the user

You are agreeing to accept the service without guarantees of safety or performance.

“Our Products, however, are provided 'as is,' and we make no guarantees that they always will be safe, secure, or error-free...”

What that means: You cannot sue for damages related to lost profits or data if the service malfunctions.

Meta disclaims all warranties and limits its liability, meaning you bear the risk if the service fails or causes issues.

Medium cost

Indefinite retention

You are agreeing that your deleted content may remain in backups for significant periods.

“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 data persists longer than expected even after deletion requests are processed.

Even after you delete content or an account, Meta retains copies in backup systems for up to 180 days total in some cases.

Lower cost

Unilateral changes with little or no notice

You are agreeing that continued use binds you to updated terms.

“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 are bound by new rules simply by continuing to log in.

Meta can change the terms and your only recourse is to stop using the service or delete your account.

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.