Privacy Policy

Last updated: December 16, 2022

Thank you for using Instacart! We are committed to providing you the best online shopping and delivery experience possible. This Privacy Policy explains how Maplebear Inc. d/b/a Instacart and Maplebear Canada Inc. (“Instacart”, “we”, or “us”) collect, use, and share your Personal Information. “Personal Information” is information about you that we collect when you browse or place orders for goods or services on the Instacart platform, including any websites, mobile application, device, or API where this Privacy Policy is linked (the “Services”). 

Table of Contents:

1.     Information Collection

2.     Payment Processors and Partners  

3.     Information Use

4.     Information Disclosure

5.     Personal Health Information

6.     Children’s Privacy

7.     Third-Party Websites

8.     Information Security

9.     Cross-Border Transfers

10.   Information Retention

11.   Your Choices and Data Rights

12.   Disclosures for Residents of California

13.   Disclosures for Residents of Nevada

14.   Disclosures for Residents of Canada

15.   Changes to this Privacy Policy

16.   Contact Information

1. Information We Collect

a. Information you provide 

We collect the following types of Personal Information directly from you: 

• Contact information. When you use or interact with the Services, we collect or obtain relevant contact details from you, including your name, telephone number and email address.
• Account information. When you set up an Instacart account, we collect your username and password, and other relevant information we request. 
• Order information. If you place an order through the Services, we collect information necessary to fulfill the order, including your delivery address, the date and time of the order, the items you ordered and any special instructions.
• Age and identity verification information. If you order alcohol, prescriptions, or other age- or dollar amount restricted orders, we collect information from your government ID to verify your age or your identity, including the government ID number and state or country. 
• Vehicle Information. For curbside pickup orders, we may collect your vehicle license plate number(s).
• Payment information. If you place an order through the Services, we collect your billing address and method of payment. Additional details regarding the processing of your payment information can be found below. 
• Interaction with your personal shopper. When you place an order for delivery, you may communicate with your personal shopper via the Services about product replacements and other questions you or your personal shopper may have regarding the order. We collect the information contained in those communications.
• Information you make public. If you post in a public space on the Services or otherwise choose to make your Personal Information public on the Services (e.g., by sharing a recipe publicly on the Services), we collect such information. If you choose to share Personal Information publicly through the Services, please understand that we cannot control the actions of third parties who may access or collect this information. 
• Other information you provide to us. We collect any other information that you choose to provide, including your responses to surveys that you choose to participate in (for example your taste preferences or customer satisfaction surveys) and information that you provide during your interactions with our Services and customer service representatives. We may also collect information that you provide directly to us regarding an experience with one of our retail partners.
• Information you provide about others. In some cases, you may provide information to us about other people. For example, you may refer a friend to Instacart, send an Instacart gift delivery or gift card to someone. In these cases, we may collect the recipient’s name, email, and delivery address. You may also participate in Family Accounts and provide us information about your association with another Instacart customer. When you provide someone else’s information via the Services, you are responsible for ensuring that you have permission to share their information with Instacart. You may not provide personal information about children under the age of 16.

b. Information collected by automated means 

When you use and interact with the Services, we automatically receive certain information about your device, browser, and/or activity:

Device and usage information. Our servers will record information about the device you use to connect to the Services and your usage of the Services.

• Device and usage information. Our servers will record information about the device you use to connect to the Services and your usage of the Services. This information includes your device’s IP address, your device type, browser type, internet service provider, operating system, and unique device identifiers. It also includes activity information, such as the frequency with which you use the Services, the duration of such usage, the pages that you navigate to, links that you click, information related to your shopping services for Instacart (such as orders accepted, items found, and items replaced), and other ways that you interact with the Services. We also may use third party services that employ software code to record users’ interactions with the Services. Session replays include users’ clicks, mouse movements, scrolls, and keystrokes/key touches during those sessions. These replays help us diagnose usability problems and identify areas for improvement.   
• Location Information. When you access the Services, we may collect information about your device’s location. For instance, if you allow the Services to access location services through the permission system used by your device's operating system or browser, we may collect the precise location of your device. We use your location information to facilitate the prompt hand-off of pickup orders (where available), to assist you in finding nearby stores for which pickup or delivery are available, and for other similar purposes. We may also use such information for analytic purposes. You can choose whether or not your device’s location information is shared with us by adjusting the settings on your device or browser, or when prompted by the Instacart application.  We may also infer your general location, for example by using your device’s IP address.
• Cookies, Pixels, and Other Tracking Technologies. When you visit our or otherwise interact with our Services, we (and our partners, advertisers, and third-party advertising networks) may automatically collect information about you using device identifiers, cookies, pixels, and similar technologies. We use this information for various purposes, including to: make the Services function properly; understand how you use the Services; personalize your experience; and measure, manage, display, and customize the advertisements you see. Our partners, advertisers, and third-party advertising networks may also use these technologies to collect information about your online activity over time and across different websites or online services. Browsers provide choices with respect to these technologies. For example, by modifying your browser preferences, you have the choice to accept all cookies or to be notified when a cookie is set. You can learn more about cookies and how they work at www.allaboutcookies.org. 

Analytics We use third-party analytics providers who may deploy cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to analyze traffic to the Services and understand the usage of the Services as well as the performance of advertisements. For example, we use Google Analytics, an analytics tool that helps us understand how our customers engage with the Services. To learn more about Google Analytics’ data practices, please visit Google’s support page.  

Interest-Based or Online Behavioral Advertising. To make your experience on Instacart more engaging, we may participate in interest-based advertising using cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies. This means that you may see advertisements while using the Services that are tailored to you, or you may see advertisements for Instacart on other online services, based on your use of the Services or your browsing behavior across other online services. Some services where we may advertise belong to ad networks that use your web browsing history to choose which advertisements to display on their network services, which may include advertisements from Instacart. You can learn more about interest-based advertising, and navigate to options that will allow you to exercise your rights to opt-out of online behavioral advertising, by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative’s Learn More Page or the Digital Advertising Alliance. In addition, some internet browsers, websites/platforms, and mobile devices allow you to exercise certain choices with respect to interest-based advertising. Please refer to the website that you are visiting, your browser, and/or your mobile device settings for additional information.  

Please note that even if you opt-out using the tools listed above, you may continue to see advertisements from Instacart and/or our partners; however, these advertisements will not be as relevant to you.

Do Not Track. “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) is a developing standard for web browsers that aims to inform the websites you visit that you do not want information about your online activity collected over time and across third-party websites or online services. Although we do our best to honor the privacy preferences of our users, we do not interpret or respond to DNT or other similar signals from your browser at this time. For more information, visit http://www.allaboutdnt.com.

c. Information received from third parties 

We may receive Personal Information about you from third parties. For example: 

• Third Party Services. If you log in to the Services through a third-party service, we may receive some information about you and your use of that third party service. For example, if you choose to log in to the Services with your Facebook or Google account, we may receive information from these companies, such as your name and email address.
• Prescriptions. If you use the Services for prescription delivery, the pharmacy processing your prescription will provide us with your name, delivery address, email address, birth date, telephone number, the total amount (including sales tax, where applicable) being charged to you for the prescription drug product(s) purchased, the prescription number(s) and in some case the total number of refills and your refill count (if you select to have refills fulfilled through Instacart). The pharmacy will also share whether the prescription drug product you have ordered requires temperature control. Additionally, if a prescription drug product delivered to you through the Services has been recalled, the pharmacy will share your name, email address, the date of the prescription drug product order, and the total amount to be refunded to you with us. 
• Instacart Partner Sites. Partners who have implemented certain Instacart Services on their websites may also let us collect information about your use of their sites or applications or share such information with us. For example, if you use an Instacart Shoppable Recipe button on another site, we will receive information about your use of that button and the third-party site/app. 
• Other third parties: We also may collect or receive personal Information relating to you from:
  • Our payment processors and partners (see below);
  • Partners who assist us in fraud prevention or in connection with claims or disputes;
  • Other Instacart customers if they refer you to our Services, send you a gift or other order delivery through our Services;
  • Instacart personal shoppers in connection with your delivery;
  • Partners with whom we work for advertising measurement, attribution, and analytics;
  • Companies that offer co-branded services or products;
  • Law enforcement, public health, and other governmental authorities; and
  • Publicly available sources.

2. Payment Processors and Partners

When you pay for orders using a credit card or other payment method on our Services, your credit card or other payment information is collected and processed by our third-party payment processors. For example, if you pay with a credit card, the payment information that you provide through the Services is transmitted directly to our payment processor. We may receive limited information about your payment card from our payment processors, such as the last 4 digits of your card number and its expiration month and year. 

We also make available opportunities to pay for orders via other payment partners that may redirect you to their websites to submit your payment information. For instance, if you use PayPal or a “Buy Now Pay Later” partner to make purchases through the Services, you will be directed to their websites to provide your payment information. These payment partners’ privacy policies apply to the information you provide to them through their website.  

3. Information Use

We use the Personal Information we collect or otherwise obtain about you for the following purposes:  

• Provide and manage the Services. We use your Personal Information in connection with the provision, administration, and management of the Services. 
• Process your transactions. If you place an order through the Services, we will use your Personal Information to process your payment and facilitate the delivery of your order. This may include information provided to us by our payment processors and partners.
• Provide customer support. We use your Personal Information to respond to your customer support communications and inquiries and assist you in your use of the Services.
• Communicate with you. We use your Personal Information to provide you with relevant information about us or our Services (including details about our community affairs efforts) or to request information or feedback. These communications include sending you from time-to-time important updates about the Services, communications about changes to this Privacy Policy or other applicable terms and policies. 
• Carry out our marketing and advertising activities. We (and our partners) use your Personal Information to send you marketing and promotional materials and communications, including interest-based and other advertisements, and to analyze and measure their effectiveness. Details on how to exercise your choices with respect to marketing and interest-based advertisements can be found in Your Choices and Data Rights below and Interest-Based or Online Behavioral Advertising above. 
• Customize and personalize the Services. We use your Personal Information to help us understand which parts of the Services are of most interest to you and customize or personalize your experience. Based on how you browse, use, or otherwise interact with the Services, we display content, advertising, recommendations and otherwise personalize the Services to you. 
• Identify usage trends and improve the Services. We use your Personal Information to help us (or our service providers and partners) conduct research and analytics about your use of the Services and identify usage trends. We also use your Personal Information to identify issues, test new features or changes in our features, and improve the Services.  
• Maintain security and prevent fraud. We use your Personal Information to (a) help maintain the security and integrity of the Services, (b) detect, prevent, investigate, and protect you, our business, our users, and others from fraud, unauthorized transactions, and other unsafe activity, and (c) protect the safety, rights, or property of any person, the public, or Instacart.
• Satisfy our legal obligations. We use your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, respond to legal process, and/or respond to requests and communications from law enforcement authorities or other government officials. 
• Community Affairs. Instacart is active in local communities as part of our mission to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. We may use your information in connection with our community affairs efforts.
• As otherwise necessary or appropriate. We will use your Personal Information for other purposes at your direction or with your consent.  

Please note that we may combine Personal Information that we collect (as described above) with information from other sources and use the combined information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. 

4. Information Disclosure

We may disclose your Personal Information to the categories of recipients listed below. 

• Our affiliates and subsidiaries. We may disclose your Personal Information to our affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership for purposes consistent with this Privacy Policy and other business and operational purposes. 
• Our service providers and third-party partners. We disclose your Personal Information to third parties that provide services to us, including: cloud storage services; system hosting, services; research partners; data security services; fraud prevention; payment processing services; delivery services; analytics services; legal services; map services. 
• Our marketing and advertising partners. We may disclose your Personal Information to our marketing and advertising partners, including social media platforms, third-party advertising networks, and other parties to assist in serving and measuring our or their advertisements.   
• Personal shoppers. If you place an order through the Services, we will disclose your Personal Information to the personal shopper who will pick it up and deliver it to you. Please note that the shopper will no longer have access to your Personal Information once your order has been delivered.  
• Our retail partners. We may disclose your Personal Information to our retail partners in order to provide and maintain the Services. For example, if available in your region, when you buy alcohol using the Services, we may be required by law to share certain information with the retailer who makes the sale. This information could include, among other things, your name and delivery address; government-issued ID information; the quantity, brand, price, proof, and volume of the alcohol purchased; and your signature. We will also disclose your Personal Information to specific retailers when you enter your loyalty card information from that retailer so that information can be added to your loyalty card account.
• Other users of the Services. We may disclose your Personal Information to other users of the Services if you choose to make such information public or you select sharing features on the Services. For example, if you share a recipe publicly on the Services, the recipe, along with your first name and last initial, will be viewable by other users. In addition, if you select to participate in a Family Account, the other Family Account member will see some of your information and carts. 
• In connection with legal matters. We may share your information when we believe that the disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or legal requests.   
• Third parties in connection with a sale or business transaction. We may sell or purchase assets during the normal course of business. If another entity acquires us or any of our assets, information that we have collected may be transferred to such entity and its advisors leading up to and/or following the transaction. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, information that we hold may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties.
• Co-Branded Products. We offer services or sell product lines jointly with third-party businesses (such as co-branded credit cards) and we may share your Personal Information with companies that offer co-branded services or products.
• Other third parties. We will disclose your Personal Information to other parties at your direction or with your consent. We may also disclose your Personal Information to other parties if we believe it necessary or appropriate either: (a) under applicable law; (b) to protect our operations and those of any of our affiliates; (c) to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or those of others; or (d) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit damages that we may sustain.   

We may disclose your Personal Information for other reasons that we will describe at the time of information collection or prior to sharing your information. 

5. Personal Health Information

Some of the information that we collect about you may relate to: (i) your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; (ii) the provision of health care to you; or (iii) your past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care (“Personal Health Information”). This Section governs our use and disclosure of your Personal Health Information. If there is a conflict between the terms of this Section and any other terms of this Privacy Policy or the Instacart Terms of Services, the terms in this Section will govern. 

To the extent that we receive, create, maintain, use, or disclose any of your Personal Health Information, we will maintain the privacy and security of such information as required by applicable law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the regulations promulgated under that Act (“HIPAA”). 

If you reside in the U.S., your Personal Health Information is protected under HIPAA and state law (depending on your state of residence). These laws give you rights with respect to the access, use, and disclosure of Personal Health Information by your health care providers, such as pharmacies, and us. When you place a pharmacy order using the Services, the pharmacy responds as we have described above in the “Information Collection” section by disclosing to Instacart your status as a patient of the pharmacy, and in some cases your prescription refill information if you select. Information concerning your status as a patient of the pharmacy is protected by HIPAA. For a more complete description of your rights under HIPAA and the uses and disclosures of your Personal Health Information, please refer to your pharmacy's Notice of Privacy Practices. We will not disclose your Personal Health Information without your prior written consent with other people or non-affiliated companies unless: (i) such disclosure is necessary in order to provide the Services; (ii) to your pharmacy on their instruction, (iii) the Personal Health Information has been “de-identified” so that it cannot identify you; (iv) such disclosure is required by law; or (v) such disclosure is in connection with a business transaction or bankruptcy proceeding.  

6. Children's Privacy

We understand the importance of protecting the privacy of children, especially in the online environment. The Services are not designed for or intentionally directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have received Personal Information from an individual under the age of 16, we will take reasonable steps to remove the individual’s Personal Information from our records.      

7. Third-Party Websites

Some links on the Services may redirect you to third-party websites and services that we do not operate. We may also offer social sharing tools that let you share actions on the Services with other websites and vice versa. The privacy practices of these websites and services will be governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review and understand their privacy policies before disclosing any Personal Information to them.  

8. Information Security

We employ and maintain reasonable administrative, physical, and technical measures designed to safeguard and protect Personal Information under our control from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. 

In addition, when we collect, maintain, access, use, or disclose your Personal Health Information, we do so using systems and processes consistent with information privacy and security requirements under applicable federal and state laws, including, without limitation, HIPAA. Nevertheless, because no data transmission or storage system is completely secure, we cannot guarantee the security of your information. 

9. Cross-Border Transfers

Instacart operates a global business, and we use vendors located around the world to help us run our business. Accordingly, the disclosures described above may result in the transfer of your Personal Information outside of the country or region in which you reside. For example, the Personal Information of customers located in Canada will be transferred outside of Canada, including to the United States. 

When we transfer your Personal Information outside of your country of residence, we do so in accordance with applicable law and take appropriate steps to ensure your information is protected. However, please note that while outside of the jurisdiction in which you reside, some of your Personal Information will be subject to applicable local laws, which may permit government and national security authorities in those jurisdictions to access your Personal Information in certain circumstances. 

10. Information Retention

We keep Personal Information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we have collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the Personal Information; the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of the Personal Information; the purposes for which we use the Personal Information; whether we can achieve those purposes through other means; and the applicable laws that require us to retain information for regulatory purposes or permit us to retain the information to preserve our legal rights. 

11. Your Choices and Data Rights

You can make certain choices and exercise certain rights with respect to our use of your Personal Information. Please note that rights and requests may be subject to applicable exceptions. We will not discriminate against you if you decide to exercise these rights:

a. Correct or update your account information and settings 

If you have created an account through the Services, you may review, correct, or update your information (including your name, telephone number, delivery address, and payment information) at any time by logging in to your account and visiting the “Account Settings” page. Please note that changes to your settings may require some time to take effect. 

b. Exercise your marketing choices 

We may send you periodic marketing and promotional emails, push notifications and/or text messages to your mobile device, and we will obtain your consent to do so, where required by law. If you no longer wish to receive our marketing and promotional communications, you may opt out of receiving them by following the opt-out instructions included in any communication that you receive from us or by visiting your Account Settings. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving marketing and promotional communications from us, we may still send you administrative and transactional messages from which you cannot opt out.    

c. Request to Access or Delete your Personal Information

You may request that Instacart provide you with a copy of your Personal Information or request that we delete your Personal Information. Prior to processing your requests, we must verify the identity of the requestor to help ensure that we do not for example provide your information to another person. To do so, we require you to submit up to three pieces of Personal Information that we then match against the account information we have on file for you. 

• Account Holders. If you have an active Instacart account, click here to submit a request to access or delete your Personal Information. You will be prompted to re-log in to the Services.
• Non-Account Holders. If you no longer have access to your Instacart account, please email us at [email protected] to submit your requests. 
• Authorized Agents. If you reside in California, Canada, or Colorado, you may authorize another person or entity to submit an access or deletion request on your behalf (an “Authorized Agent”). As part of our verification process, we will require proof concerning their status as an Authorized Agent. We will also require you to directly confirm with us that you provided the person or business entity with permission to submit the request. Authorized Agent can submit access and deletion requests by emailing us at [email protected]. 

d. Opt-out of the Sales or Sharing (not available in all states)

Instacart sometimes shares information about you with certain partners including social media publishers, to enable Instacart or those partners to bring your personalized ads on third party sites or applications. We may also share information with other partners in a manner that may be considered “sales” under certain privacy laws. In certain states, you have the right to opt-out of this information sharing or information sales. To exercise your right to opt out, please click on this link. 

e. Appeals

If you submit a request to exercise any of the rights described above and we do not take action on the request, you may appeal our decision if you are in an eligible jurisdiction. To appeal our decision, please email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Rights Request Appeal.”

12. Disclosures for Residents of California

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) provides California residents with certain rights. We are providing the following details regarding the categories of Personal Information that we collect, use, and disclose relating to California residents as required under the CCPA. 

a. Personal Information collection and disclosure 

As already described above, the following chart details the categories of Personal Information we have collected about California residents in the past twelve (12) months, the sources from which we’ve collected the information, the categories of recipients to whom we have disclosed the information, and the categories of recipients to whom we have sold or with whom we have “shared” the information for cross-context behavioral advertising (“Behavioral Advertising”).

We also disclose information as explained above to law enforcement or government agencies.

We also disclose your information as explained above to law enforcement or government agencies.

b. Sale and Sharing of Personal Information

As described above, we share your Personal Information for Behavioral Advertising and may also disclose it to certain analytics or other vendors in a manner that could be considered a “sale” under California law. Please see Your Choices and Data Rights above for information on how to opt-out of such sharing or sales. 

c. Use and disclosure of sensitive Personal Information

We only use or disclose sensitive Personal Information as necessary to provide the Services; resist malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal actions directed at our business; ensure the physical safety of natural persons; and verify, maintain, and improve the quality of our Services. 

d. Consumer Affairs 

Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California residents are entitled to the following specific consumer rights notice: If you have a question or complaint regarding our website, please send an email to [email protected]. You may also contact us by writing to us at the address provided below under Contact Information. California residents may reach the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 400 R Street, Suite 1080, Sacramento, California 95814, or by telephone at (916) 445-1254 or (800) 952-5210.

13. Disclosures for Residents of Nevada

We do not “sell” Personal Information as defined under Nevada law. 

14. Disclosures for Residents of Canada

For information about the transfer and storage of your Personal Information outside of Canada, please see Cross-Border Transfers above.

If you are a resident of Canada, you may submit an access or deletion request as explained in Your Choices and Data Rights above.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices with respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information and/or changes in applicable law. 

The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised. If we make changes, we will revise the date at the top of this Privacy Policy and, in the case of material changes to this Privacy Policy, we may provide you with additional notice (such as a notice posted on the Services or a message delivered to the email address that we have on file for you).

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about our information handling and privacy practices. 

16. Contact Information

Questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or our information handling practices? Contact Instacart’s Global Privacy Team at:

Instacart

50 Beale Street, Suite 600

San Francisco, California 94105

[email protected] 

1-888-246-7822

For customer service inquiries, visit our Help Center.

If you have a disability and would like to access this Privacy Policy in an alternative format, please contact us at (888) 317-8968. Instacart is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities.

If you have comments concerning this website’s accessibility, please contact us at the email address [email protected].