Snapshot of the source text at fetch time, not a live mirror of the policy page.
Plain-English summary
Yelp's policy states that messages on their service are not private and can be accessed and disclosed by Yelp (risk_flags-1). They also cannot guarantee absolute security for your personal information. Public posts and account information may be retained even after account closure, and businesses cannot remove their pages or reviews by closing accounts (cancellation_renewal-1, cancellation_renewal-2). Yelp may retain information as long as deemed necessary or legally required (cancellation_renewal-3). Communications with Yelp, including calls and chats, may be monitored and recorded (gotchas-1). Information about your phone calls made to businesses through Yelp may be shared with those businesses (gotchas-2). Lastly, Yelp may receive information about you from third-party platforms if you use them to sign up or log in (gotchas-3).
90% confidence
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Risk Flags
1 finding
Critical issues and red flags that could lead to significant harm.
high95% confidence
Messages on the Service are not private and can be accessed, reviewed, and disclosed by Yelp.
Messages sent or received using the Service are not private, and Yelp may access, review, and disclose them in connection with investigations related to use of the Service or for purposes of improving the Service.
Why it matters: Your communications through the service, including private messages, are not guaranteed to be private and may be read by Yelp employees or disclosed for investigations or service improvement.
Please also note that the messages you send or receive using the Service are only private to the extent that both you and the recipient(s) of your messages keep them private. For example, if you send a message to another user, that user may choose to share it. We may access, review, and disclose such messages in connection with investigations related to use of the Service or for purposes of improving the Service.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 12 · Citation strength: strong
Data Use
3 findings
How the company collects, uses, and shares your data.
medium95% confidence
Yelp may combine data across devices and platforms.
Yelp may cross-reference and combine information collected and stored through different devices and platforms.
Why it matters: Your activity and information across different devices and Yelp platforms may be combined, creating a more comprehensive profile of your usage.
The information that we collect and store through those different devices and platforms may be cross-referenced and combined, and your contributions will typically be similarly visible and accessible through all Yelp platforms.
Yelp may collect location data when the mobile app runs in the background.
If enabled, Yelp may collect location data whenever its mobile application is running, including when running in the background.
Why it matters: The app may track your location even when you are not actively using it, potentially leading to continuous collection of your movements.
We may also collect and store your location whenever our mobile applications are running, including when running in the background, if you enable our mobile apps to access such information.
Categories of Data, paragraph 7 · Citation strength: strong
medium95% confidence
Yelp may share certain publicly available content with third-party partners for reproduction, adaptation, distribution, performance, and display.
Yelp may allow third-party partners to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display certain publicly available content from the Service, such as photos and reviews.
Why it matters: Content you post publicly on Yelp, including photos and reviews, may be used and distributed by Yelp's third-party partners for various purposes, potentially reaching a wider audience than anticipated.
We may allow third-party partners to use certain content on Yelp, such as by reproducing, adapting, distributing, performing and displaying, some of the publicly available content on the Service, such as your photos, reviews, and other information listed in Section 3 (Data You Share With Us – Public Content) .
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 2 · Citation strength: strong
Cancellation & Renewal
3 findings
Terms related to account termination, subscription cancellation, and automatic renewals.
medium90% confidence
Certain public posts and account information may be retained after account closure.
When you close your account, Yelp removes certain public posts from view and/or dissociates them from your account profile, but may retain information about you for purposes authorized under the Privacy Policy and consistent with their data retention policy, unless prohibited by law.
Why it matters: Closing your account does not guarantee complete deletion of all your data; some information, including certain public posts, may be retained by Yelp.
When you close your account, we remove certain public posts from view and/or dissociate them from your account profile, but may retain information about you for the purposes authorized under this Privacy Policy and consistent with our data retention policy, unless prohibited by law.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 14 · Citation strength: strong
medium95% confidence
Businesses cannot remove their pages, ratings, or reviews by closing their accounts.
Businesses are unable to remove their business pages, ratings, or reviews simply by closing their accounts.
Why it matters: If you are a business owner, closing your account will not remove your business's presence, including ratings and reviews, from Yelp.
Please note that businesses cannot remove their business pages, ratings, or reviews by closing their accounts.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 14 · Citation strength: strong
medium95% confidence
Yelp retains information as long as reasonably necessary or as required by law.
Yelp retains information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Why it matters: Your data may be kept for an extended period, even after you stop using the service, based on Yelp's assessment of necessity or legal obligations.
Yelp retains information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 14 · Citation strength: strong
Gotchas
3 findings
Potentially overlooked clauses that could disadvantage users.
medium90% confidence
Yelp may monitor and record all communications for quality purposes.
Any communications with Yelp, including phone calls or chats, may be monitored and recorded for quality purposes.
Why it matters: Your conversations with Yelp, including phone calls and chats, may be recorded without your explicit consent at the time of communication, which could be an privacy concern for some users.
Any of our communications with you, including any phone calls or chats, may be monitored and recorded for quality purposes .
Public Content, paragraph 9 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Yelp may share information about your calls with businesses.
If you make a phone call to a business through or in connection with your use of the Service, Yelp may share information about your call with the business, such as the date, time, and your phone number, as if you had called them directly.
Why it matters: When calling a business through Yelp, your call details, including your phone number, may be shared with the business, potentially allowing them to contact you directly.
If you make a phone call to a business through or in connection with your use of the Service, we may share information about your call with the business that the business would have received had you called them directly, such as the date and time of your call and your phone number.
Data We Share With Third Parties, paragraph 12 · Citation strength: strong
medium95% confidence
Yelp may receive information about you from third-party platforms if you sign up or log in through them.
If you sign up or log into Yelp using a third-party platform like Google or Apple, or link your Yelp account with one, Yelp may receive information about you from those platforms.
Why it matters: Using third-party platforms for sign-up or login means Yelp will receive your data from those platforms, potentially sharing more personal information than intended.
If you sign up or log into Yelp using a third-party platform like Google or Apple, or link your Yelp account with a third-party platform, we may receive information about you from such third-party platforms.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 8 · Citation strength: strong
Protections
1 finding
Commitments and features that protect user interests.
Protection95% confidence
Yelp does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Yelp does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13, and their service is not directed to children. If they become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information without parental consent, they will take steps to remove it and terminate the account.
Why it helps: This protects children under 13 by preventing the knowing collection of their personal data and provides a mechanism to remove such information and terminate accounts if inadvertently collected.
If you are a Quebec resident, you must be 14 years or older to access or use the Service. For all other jurisdictions, you must be over the minimum age of consent in your country, and in any case, over the age of 13. Please contact us here to report the impermissible use of Yelp Services by children. If we become aware that a child under 13, or under the applicable age of consent, has provided us with personal information without parental consent, we will take steps to remove such information and terminate the child’s account.
Content & Data Partners, paragraph 15 · Citation strength: strong
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