Meta's updated terms tighten rules on automated data collection, requiring compliance with new specific terms and allowing Meta to revoke access anytime.
AI Analysis
Meta's updated terms tighten rules on automated data collection, requiring compliance with new specific terms and allowing Meta to revoke access anytime.
New 'Automated Data Collection Terms' are introduced, requiring compliance for any automated data access.
Meta explicitly reserves the right to restrict or revoke permission for automated data collection at any time.
The policy reinforces Meta's stance against unauthorized text and data mining by external parties.
Why this score
New specific terms for automated data collection introduced.+1
Meta can revoke data access permission at any time.+1
Explicitly restricts external data scraping, enhancing user data protection.-1
What changed
## Terms of Service
- If you choose to use our Products for free with ads, you allow us to show you ads that businesses and organizations pay us to promote on and off the Meta Products.
- If you choose to subscribe to use our Products without ads, you won’t see ads from us and we do not use your data for ads. The details of price, currency and payment period for the subscription for no ads will be provided to you before you complete your purchase.
- Provide for your account the same name that you use in everyday life.
- Provide accurate information about yourself.
- Create only one account (your own) and use it for personal purposes.
- Not share your password, give access to your Facebook account to others, or transfer your account to anyone else (without our permission).
- You are under 13 years old.
- You are a convicted sex offender.
- We've previously disabled your account for violations of our Terms, the Community Standards, or other terms and policies that apply to your use of Facebook. If we disable your account for a violation of our Terms, the Community Standards, or other terms and policies, you agree not to create another account without our permission. Receiving permission to create a new account is provided at our sole discretion, and does not mean or imply that the disciplinary action was wrong or without cause.
- You are prohibited from receiving our products, services, or software under applicable laws.
- You may not use our Products to do or share anything: That breaches or attempts to circumvent these Terms, the Community Standards, and other terms and policies that apply to your use of our Products.That is unlawful, misleading, discriminatory, or fraudulent (or assists someone else in using our Products in such a way).That you do not own or have the necessary rights to share.That infringes or breaches someone else's rights, including their intellectual property rights (such as by infringing another’s copyright or trademark, or distributing or selling counterfeit or pirated goods), unless an exception or limitation applies under applicable law.
- That breaches or attempts to circumvent these Terms, the Community Standards, and other terms and policies that apply to your use of our Products.
- That is unlawful, misleading, discriminatory, or fraudulent (or assists someone else in using our Products in such a way).
- That you do not own or have the necessary rights to share.
- That infringes or breaches someone else's rights, including their intellectual property rights (such as by infringing another’s copyright or trademark, or distributing or selling counterfeit or pirated goods), unless an exception or limitation applies under applicable law.
- You may not upload viruses or malicious code, use the services to send spam, or do anything else that could disable, overburden, interfere with, or impair the proper working, integrity, operation, or appearance of our services, systems, or Products.
- - You may not access or collect data from our Products using automated means (without our prior permission) or attempt to access data you do not have permission to access, regardless of whether such automated access or collection is undertaken while logged-in to a Facebook account. We also reserve all of our rights against text and data mining.
+ - You may not access or collect data from our Products using automated means (including by engaging in Automated Data Collection as defined in the Automated Data Collection Terms) without our prior permission, or attempt to access data you do not have permission to access, regardless of whether such automated access or collection is undertaken while logged-in to a Facebook account. If you engage in any Automated Data Collection, you must also comply with the Automated Data Collection Terms. We may restrict or revoke our permission at any time. We also reserve all of our rights against text and data mining.
- You may not proxy, request, or collect Product usernames or passwords, or misappropriate access tokens.
- Except as provided in the Platform Terms, you may not sell, license, or purchase any data obtained from us or our services, regardless of whether such data was obtained while logged-in to a Facebook account.
- You may not misuse any reporting, flagging, dispute, or appeals channel, such as by making fraudulent, duplicative, or groundless reports or appeals. Learn more about our policy on frequent submission of manifestly unfounded reports and complaints in our Misuse Policy.
- You may not do, or attempt to do, anything to circumvent, bypass, or override any technological measures that Meta uses to control or limit access to our Products or data.
- where your content has been used by others in accordance with this license and they have not deleted it (in which case this license will continue to apply until that content is deleted);
- where deletion within 90 days is not possible due to technical limitations of our systems, in which case, we will complete the deletion as soon as technically feasible; or
- where immediate deletion would restrict our ability to: investigate or identify illegal activity or violations of our terms and policies (for example, to identify or investigate misuse of our Products or systems);protect the safety, integrity, and security of our Products, systems, services, and users, and to defend ourselves;comply with legal obligations for the preservation of evidence, including data Meta Companies providing financial products and services preserve to comply with any record keeping obligations required by law; orcomply with a request of a judicial or administrative authority, law enforcement, or a government agency;
- investigate or identify illegal activity or violations of our terms and policies (for example, to identify or investigate misuse of our Products or systems);
- protect the safety, integrity, and security of our Products, systems, services, and users, and to defend ourselves;
- comply with legal obligations for the preservation of evidence, including data Meta Companies providing financial products and services preserve to comply with any record keeping obligations required by law; or
- comply with a request of a judicial or administrative authority, law enforcement, or a government agency;
- Supplemental Terms: Some of the Products we offer are also governed by supplemental terms. If you use any of these Products, you will be provided with an opportunity to agree to supplemental terms that will become part of our agreement with you. For instance, if you access or use our Products for commercial or business purposes, such as buying ads, selling products, developing apps, managing a group or Page for your business, or using our measurement services, you must agree to our Commercial Terms. If you post or share content containing music, you must comply with our Music Guidelines. If you have a subscription for no ads, then the No Ads Terms also apply. If you use Avatars, then the Avatar Terms also apply. If you use our AI products and features, the Meta AI Terms also apply. To the extent any supplemental terms conflict with these Terms, the supplemental terms shall govern to the extent of the conflict.
- Severability: If any portion of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion will be deemed amended to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and if it can’t be made enforceable, then it will be severed and the remaining portion will remain in full force and effect. If we fail to enforce any of these Terms, it will not be considered a waiver. Any amendment to or waiver of these Terms must be made in writing and signed by us.
- No Transfer: You will not transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else without our consent.
- Legacy Contact: You may designate a person (called a legacy contact) to manage your account if it is memorialized. If you enable it in your settings, only your legacy contact or a person who you have identified in a valid will or similar legal document expressing clear consent to disclose your content to that person upon death or incapacity will be able to seek limited disclosure of information from your account after it is memorialized.
- No Third-party Beneficiaries: These Terms do not confer any third-party beneficiary rights. All of our rights and obligations under these Terms are freely assignable by us in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise.
- User Name Change: We may need to change the username for your account in certain circumstances (for example, if someone else claims the username and it appears unrelated to the name you use in everyday life).
- Feedback: We always appreciate your feedback and other suggestions about our products and services. But we may use feedback and other suggestions without any restriction or obligation to compensate you, and we are under no obligation to keep them confidential.
- Community Standards: These guidelines outline our standards regarding the content you post to Facebook and your activity on Facebook and other Meta Products.
- How we apply our content policies: This provides information on the restrictions we may impose on the use of Facebook, including information on how we apply our content policies, procedures, measures and tools.
- Misuse Policy: This policy sets out how we may suspend access to Facebook where we determine that you have frequently provided manifestly illegal content, or suspend processing reports or complaints where we determine that you have frequently submitted manifestly unfounded reports or complaints. You can also learn more about how we deal with repeated violations of our content policies here.
- Complaints Handling Process: This provides information on the rules of procedure of our internal complaints handling system.
- Commercial Terms: These terms apply if you also access or use our Products for any commercial or business purpose, including advertising, operating an app on our Platform, using our measurement services, managing a group or a Page for a business, or selling goods or services.
- Community Payment Terms: These terms apply to payments made on or through Meta Products.
- Commerce Policies: These guidelines outline the policies that apply when you offer products or services for sale on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
- Music Guidelines: These guidelines outline the policies that apply if you post or share content containing music on any Meta Products.
- Advertising Policies: These policies apply to partners who advertise across the Meta Products and specify what types of ad content are allowed by partners who advertise across the Meta Products.
- No Ads Terms: These Terms apply if you have a subscription for no ads.
- Self-Serve Ad Terms: These terms apply when you use self-serve advertising interfaces to create, submit, or deliver advertising or other commercial or sponsored activity or content.
- Facebook Pages, Groups and Events Policy: These guidelines apply if you create or administer a Facebook Page, group, or event, or if you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion.
- Meta Platform Policy: These terms apply to the use of the set of APIs, SDKs, tools, plugins, code, technology, content, and services that enables others to develop functionality, retrieve data from MetaProducts, or provide data to us.
- Developer Payment Terms: These terms apply to developers of applications that use Facebook Payments.
- Meta Brand Resources: These guidelines outline the policies that apply to use of Meta trademarks, logos, and screenshots.
- Recommendations Guidelines: The Facebook Recommendations Guidelines and Instagram Recommendations Guidelines outline our standards for recommending and not recommending content.
- Recommender Systems’ System Cards: This link sets out information on the main parameters of our recommender systems, as well as options for customizing your experience.
- Live Policies: These policies apply to all content broadcast to Facebook Live.
- Messaging services terms relevant for EU and EEA users: terms applicable to the messaging, voice and video calling services included in Facebook Products are listed here and here in accordance with EU rules.
- Avatar Terms: These terms apply to the use of our Avatars and our Avatar features, including purchases and acquisitions of Avatar clothing in the Avatar store.
- Meta AI Terms: These terms govern use of our Generative AI products and features.
Regional impact
EUMedium
The stricter rules on automated data collection may offer better protection against unauthorized scraping of personal data, aligning with GDPR principles. However, Meta's own data mining rights remain broad, which could
USMedium
These changes offer some enhanced protection against third-party data scraping, which is generally positive for user privacy. Users should still be mindful of Meta's extensive data collection practices for advertising pu
GlobalMedium
Globally, users benefit from Meta's clearer stance against unauthorized data scraping, which can reduce data misuse. However, the broad reservation of rights for Meta's own text and data mining remains a privacy consider