LAST UPDATED: January 1, 2023
Welcome to BuzzFeed’s Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal data (as defined herein) related to your use of our Services.
United States users you can find out about your privacy rights “Privacy Information for United States Residents” section.
When we mention “BuzzFeed”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Policy, we mean BuzzFeed, Inc., or the relevant BuzzFeed company responsible for processing your data. BuzzFeed legal entities are listed in our section 16.
This Privacy Policy explains how BuzzFeed collects, uses, and discloses your personal data. We collect personal data when you use our website(s), mobile apps, and other online and offline products, services and experiences (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to any third parties you may interact with through our Services. From time to time, we parties with third parties to provide you with products, promotions or other experiences. If those third parties will receive your personal data, we will make their privacy policy available to you.
We’re likely to update this Privacy Policy in the future and when we make changes, we will revise the date at the top of the policy. When we make significant changes, will notify you through the Services, such as on our homepage, or via email or other communication. Please come back and check this page from time to time for the latest information on our privacy practices.
If you have questions or concerns about the information in this Privacy Policy, our handling of your personal data more generally, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under law, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
BuzzFeed, Inc.We collect data you provide directly to us.
When you access or use the Services, we use cookies and similar technologies that collect information about your browser and device:
We also may use these technologies to collect data about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking).
The information we collect automatically may include personal data, or we may maintain it or associate it with personal data we collect in other ways or receive from third parties.
We use your IP address to infer your approximate location. We may also collect the language option or country you choose. When we provide certain services, such as providing you with a version of our Services that is localized to your country, we link location data to other information we have collected about you to provide you with a localized experience.
If you sign up for an Account, we will collect the data you give us as part of your Account sign-up, information you give us in connection with purchases or orders made by you, and your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses. Your interests and preferences are inferred from data we collect regarding the content you have interacted with, how long you interacted with them, how often you interacted with them, and the nature of your interaction with the content. We do not disclose email addresses to other users except where it is necessary to comply with the law, to protect our rights, or to protect the rights of our users.
When we conduct research or carry out surveys and you participate in our research or surveys, we may collect sensitive personal data about you, for example, information about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life or sexual orientation. We will get your explicit consent for our collection, use, or sharing of this data as required by law.
We use the data we collect to provide, maintain, and improve our Services. We also use the data we collect to:
When you sign up for a promotion like a sweepstakes, or subscribe to or create an Account to use our Services, we use your personal data to help us decide which products, services and offers may be of interest to you. We will send marketing messages to you if you have asked us to send you information, bought goods or services from us, or if you provided us with your details when you entered a competition or registered for a promotion. If you opt out of receiving marketing messages, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about your Account or our ongoing business relations. We will ask for your consent before we share your personal data with any third party for direct marketing purposes.
You may unsubscribe from marketing messages through a link we include on messages we send you. You can also ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us at: [email protected]
In general, your personal data will remain with BuzzFeed but we may share personal data about you as follows or as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy:
Other Sharing
We may also share aggregated or de-identified information, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you (we do not attempt to re-identify de-identified information, except as permitted or required by law). For example, we may share aggregated or de-identified information with our ad partners and service providers so that we, and they, can understand how people use our Services; this helps us grow our business and improve and develop our products and services.
We may also share information about you along with a hashed version of your email address with our Advertising Partners so that they and we can facilitate customized ad campaigns and other offers on the Services and on other platforms. “Hashing” transforms your email into an unrecognizable series of numbers and letters (e.g. a “hashed” version of [email protected] would be [email protected]).
For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features or your use of the social media platforms, please visit the privacy policies of the respective entities at the following links:
Cookies are small data text files that are used to identify your computer or device online. When you visit a website, a cookie is created and stored on your hard drive so that that website can recognize you while you are on that website. Some cookies are “session-based,” which means they disappear once you leave the website. Others are “persistent,” which means they are stored on your device until you delete them and they allow a website to recognize you each time you visit the website. Cookies are just one technology used to collect information online. A “web beacon,” also known as a tag, pixel tag, or clear GIF, is also used to transmit information back to a web server. When you interact with our mobile apps we may use SDKs, which act like cookies, or we may use other identifiers to help us identify your device. When we talk about “Cookies” in this Privacy Policy, we mean not just cookies, but web beacons, SDKs and similar technologies.
Our Advertising Partners use third party cookies to serve ads to you and to target you with tailored (or personalized) ads when you are using the Services and when you visit Third-Party Sites. They also use cookies to measure traffic on the Services (for example to track ad views).
Advertising Partners and affiliate links partners may view, edit or set their own cookies on your mobile device or web browser when you interact with our Services. They use cookies to track your use of our Services and your activities elsewhere online. We provide links to their privacy policies in our consent management platform, which you can access by clicking here.
Cookies and similar technologies allow us to collect the following types of personal data: a unique ID assigned to your device; IP address; device and browser type; operating system; referring URLs; content viewed or other actions taken through our Services; time and date of those actions; country and language selected.
Browsers and devices have tools that allow you to disable Cookies. If you disable Cookies you may not be able to access all the features of our services. We suggest that you keep our essential cookies active for a better user experience and to help us keep improving and developing our products and services. You can decide who you will allow to set third party cookies on your browser or device by going to our consent preferences center. You can change your mind and revisit your consent choices at any time by returning there.
If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about having your information used in this manner by our partners, you may visit https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1, https://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN or https://youradchoices.com/token.
We will use your personal data only for the purposes for which we collect it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal data for another purpose, we will explain the legal basis we rely on.
The table below shows what we use your personal data for and the lawful basis for processing it in each case.
Purpose | Type of data | Lawful basis |
---|---|---|
Recognize you and analyze how you, and other users, navigate the Services and apps and what type of content you’re interested in, and to manage and improve the Services by testing new features of our sites and apps. We do this by using cookies or similar technology as explained in our “Cookie Policy” section. | Data that indirectly identifies you such as your IP address, mobile device ID and location data. This data does not include anything that allows us to identify you by name or contact details. | Legitimate interest. |
Recognize you and analyze how you, and other users, interact with ads on our Services and what type of ads you’re interested in. We do this by using cookies or similar technology as explained in our “Cookie Policy” section. | Data that indirectly identifies you such as your IP address, mobile device ID and location data. This data does not include anything that allows us to identify you by name or contact details. | Consent. |
Communicate legal information to you. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) and data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address and information you include in your user profile). | Legitimate interest. |
Analyze comments and feedback you have given us including comments, feedback and reviews you have posted on our Services in order to use the information to carry out journalistic activities, to improve our services and content offerings, and to enforce our Terms of Service. | Data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address) and data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data). | Legitimate interest. |
Provide you with communications and services you’ve signed up, for such as our newsletters. | Data that directly identifies you such as your name, username, email address and location data. | Consent. |
Register you as a user of our Services and other products and services and administer your Account. | Data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address and other information included in your user profile). | Creation or performance of a contract. |
Publish content on our Services including articles, feedback, reviews and user comments about our posts. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) and data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address and information included in your user profile). | Creation or performance of a contract. |
Fulfill orders for subscriptions, products or services placed through our Services. | Data that directly identifies you including your name and address, email address, other contact details, financial and transactional data. | Creation or performance of a contract. |
Collect money you owe us. | Data that directly identifies you including your name and address, email address, other contact details, financial and transactional data. | Legitimate interest. |
Verify or obtain payments due to us when you buy something from a third party after clicking on an “affiliate” link in our content, measure the performance of affiliate links, analyze and develop this part of our business. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID) or data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, email address and location data). | Legitimate interest. |
Communicate our terms, notify you about changes to them and communicate with you about non-compliance. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) or data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username and email address). | Creation or performance of a contract. |
Communicate our Privacy Policy and notify you of changes to them | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) or data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address). | Compliance with a legal obligation. |
Conduct surveys or undertake similar types of research so that we can improve and develop our business, our Services. | Data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, name, email address and location data) | Consent. |
Allow you to take part in a prize draw, sweepstake, or other competition or other promotional activity. | Data that directly identifies you such as your name, username, and email address. | Creation or performance of a contract. |
Administration and protection of our business including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, user support, reporting and hosting data, administration and IT services, network security, fraud prevention, customer services and business reorganization, including exchanging information with third parties for fraud protection and spam/malware prevention. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) and data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address). | Legitimate interest. |
Send marketing communications to you if you subscribe to our newsletters or other products and services. We explain how we comply with the law and how you can manage your preferences in our “Marketing choices” section. | Data that directly identifies you such as your name and email address. | Consent |
Communicate with you about our services that you sign up to receive when you create an Account and transactions that you conduct using our services, including published content you visit, content you submit for publication on buzzfeed.com, and content posted by you on buzzfeed.com (including your comments on content, feedback and reviews). | Data that directly identifies you such as your name and email address. | Creation or performance of a contract |
Comply with applicable laws, regulations and legal and regulatory processes. | Data that indirectly identifies you (such as your IP address or mobile device ID and location data) and/or data that directly identifies you (such as your name, username, and email address). | Creation or performance of a contract |
If you are an EU or UK resident, you have certain rights in respect of the information that we hold about you. Below is a short overview of those rights:
To exercise your rights, please complete the form on our Request Portal which can be accessed here. In order to protect your privacy and that of others, we will ask you to prove your identity before we take any steps in response to a request you have made. If a third party is making a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove that they have your permission to act for you.
We may contact you to ask you for further information to help you exercise your legal rights or to speed up our response. We will try to respond to requests within one month and we will let you know if we need to take longer, for example because your request is complicated. We may have an overriding lawful basis for processing your personal data, or certain exemptions may apply. If we refuse your request, we will explain why. You may also reach us at [email protected].
You have the right to complain about data privacy matters to the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk), or the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence. You can contact the ICO on 0303 123 1113. We invite you to raise your concerns with us first, so that we can try to resolve them.
We have appointed IT Governance Europe Limited to act as our EU representative. If you wish to exercise your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) or have any queries in relation to your rights or general privacy matters, please email our Representative at [email protected]. Please ensure to include our company name in any correspondence you send to our Representative.
Residents of certain states have additional rights and choices beyond what is described in Sections 1-13 of this Privacy Policy. This section addresses those additional rights.
Opt-out of Sale/Share/Targeted Advertising.
If you would like to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal data for targeted advertising, please visit this page: “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” or contact us at [email protected].
Please note that because these activities are based on Cookies, you will need to opt out again if you visit one of our Services from a different device or browser or if you clear your Cookies. Your selections are specific to the device, website, and browser you are using, and are deleted whenever you clear your browser’s cache. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal data of minors under 16 years of age without legally-required affirmative authorization.
Exercising Your Other Privacy Rights
If you have a registered account with us, you can submit your access or deletion request by signing into your account. You can find instructions on how to proceed at our consent preferences center.
If you do not have a registered account, you may exercise your rights by completing the form on our Request Portal which can be accessed here. You may also reach us at [email protected].
Please note that the verifiable consumer request must:
We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal data if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal data relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an Account with us. We will only use personal data provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.
Only you or a person that you authorize to act on your behalf may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal data. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.
You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or deletion twice within a 12-month period.
Please note that certain data may be exempt from such access, data portability, correction, and deletion requests under US Privacy Law. For example, we need to retain certain data in order to provide the Services to you or to comply with our legal obligations.
If we are unable to honor your request or you are not satisfied with the outcome of your request, you have the right, within a reasonable period of time, to appeal our decision. Please send your appeal by email to [email protected] with “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line
This section provides you with our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data in the 12 months prior to our last update to this Policy (see the date at the top). It also explains your rights regarding your personal data that we collect pursuant to applicable U.S. state privacy laws.
If you opt-in to do so, we may use your name and email address for our marketing purposes and to help our business partners with their marketing.
Categories of data sold or shared: | Categories of Vendors or Other Entities We Sell/Share data With: |
---|---|
Your contact details | Social network partners and our business partners. |
Internet activity information, inferences and online identifiers | Advertising networks, data analytics vendors, social networks, and other Advertising Partners. |
Categories of data Disclosed: | Categories of Vendors or Other Entities We disclose data to: |
---|---|
Your contact details | Our email service vendors, sweepstakes/promotions partners, social network partners, other vendors who assist in providing services on our behalf, and our business partners. |
Payment information | Our payment processing vendors. |
Demographic information | Our research and survey vendors, and our advertisers and other business partners. |
Purchase history & preferences | Our affiliate partners, and other vendors who assist in providing services on our behalf. |
Internet activity information, inferences and online identifiers | Advertising networks, internet service providers, data analytics vendors, operating systems and platforms, and social networks. |
Location data | Internet service providers, data analytics vendors, operating systems, and platforms. |
We may share your personal data with government entities when required to do by law.
From time to time, we may offer financial incentives in connection with the collection or use of personal information. The material terms of the financial incentive will generally be presented to you at the time you sign up. You may withdraw from any financial incentive at any time by emailing us at [email protected].
The CCPA requires us to provide metrics on the number of requests we have received each year from California consumers and how they have been fulfilled. This information can be found in the chart below.
*Note: The numbers above reflect requests received from all individuals, rather than requests received from California consumers only.
Under California Civil Code sections 1798.83- 1798.84, California residents are entitled to ask for a notice identifying the categories of personal customer data which we share with our affiliates and/or third parties for their own direct marketing purposes, and providing contact information for such affiliates and/or third parties. If you are a California resident and would like a copy of this notice, please submit a written request to the following address: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, 10th Floor, Attn: Legal Department.