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Terms of use

Meta

Meta Terms of Service

C

Risk score

46of 100

Open the original (new tab)Company page

In short

  • You accept terms that allow Meta to show you personalized ads based on your data and activity across its products.
  • You grant a broad, transferable license to any content you post, allowing them to copy, modify, or share it.
  • If issues arise, you agree to resolve disputes in California courts rather than through arbitration or class actions.

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 let Meta use your personal data to show personalized ads and commercial content.

    This product

    “By using our Products, you agree that we can show you ads that we think may be relevant to you and your interests.”
  2. 02

    You are agreeing to give Meta a worldwide, transferable, and sub-licensable right to use your content.

    Other products, stores, or brands

    “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”
  3. 03

    You are agreeing to resolve disputes exclusively in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California or San Mateo County state courts.

    This product

    “any claim, cause of action, or dispute between us that arises out of or relates to these Terms or your access or use of the Meta Products shall be resolved exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court located in San Mateo County.”

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 grant Meta a perpetual, transferable license to your user-generated 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 (consistent with your privacy and application settings).”

What that means: Meta can legally share, adapt, or sell rights to your photos, videos, and posts to third parties without extra permission.

The terms grant Meta broad intellectual property permissions that go beyond simple hosting, including the right to sublicense and modify content.

High cost

Tracking you across apps

You are agreeing to allow Meta to track your behavior on third-party sites and apps to personalize ads.

“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 is tracked and combined with your Facebook data to target ads.

The document explicitly states that data collected from outside Meta's own sites and apps is used to build your profile.

Medium cost

Difficult or incomplete deletion

You are agreeing to delayed deletion where content persists in backups for up to 180 days total.

“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 content remains recoverable in backend systems for months after you believe it has been deleted.

While users can request deletion, the company retains copies in backup systems for an additional period after visible deletion.

Medium cost

Jury trial or court access waived

You are agreeing to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of California courts for all disputes.

“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 or a state court located in San Mateo County.”

What that means: You may be forced to travel or hire lawyers in California to fight a dispute.

Disputes must be litigated in specific US courts. While it doesn't explicitly waive a jury trial here, it forces a specific jurisdiction that may effectively limit options compared to local courts.

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.