Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s happening now?  

A: As of 25 May 2018, AOL and Yahoo are coming under a unified Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. 

Q. When will this change apply to me?

A: If you access our services as a signed-in user (e.g. you have an account and sign-in to access services like Messenger, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail and others) you will need to agree to the new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.  These changes take effect for signed-in users as soon as they agree.  Until you agree your account will remain under the legacy AOL Terms and Privacy Policy or legacy Yahoo Terms and Privacy Policy.  Eventually, you will need to agree to continue accessing your account.  
If you access our services via a signed-out state (e.g., services where an account and sign-in are not required like Yahoo Search), the new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy will apply to you as of 25 May 2018.     

Q: How will my information be used? How will this help me as a user?

A: Your information is used to continually deliver innovative, engaging and entertaining products and services to you, consistent with the new Privacy Policy. We believe that we can more efficiently deliver a better experience to you by sharing user information across our various brands. We will use this information to integrate and improve our services, provide more relevant advertising and content, as well as for other purposes disclosed in the Privacy Policy.

Q: What user information is being shared?

A: We share user information only in limited circumstances, including among our affiliates ; our trusted partners who work on behalf of or with us based on our directions and in compliance with appropriate confidentiality measures; our advertising, analytics and business partners; and as otherwise disclosed in the Privacy Policy.

Q: What is not changing?

A: Our commitment will always be to put our users first. We strive to be transparent about how we collect and process your information, keep your information secure and provide you meaningful choices. 

Q: What choices does Yahoo offer to control my information?

A: One benefit of simplifying under a single Privacy Policy is that we now offer all of your choices in one place. To learn more about the choices we offer and to exercise control over your information, please visit our Privacy Controls section.

Q: What has changed in the Terms of Service?  

A: Below is a list of some of the key updates in the Terms of Service. This summary is not exhaustive, so we encourage you to review the full, updated version of the Terms of Service here.  

  • We’ve added a mutual arbitration clause, which applies to U.S. users and Latin American users outside of Brazil. Hopefully, disputes will never be an issue, but in the case of one, this allows a third-party arbitrator to help us resolve them.  We’ve also added a class action waiver. These provisions are an important part of our relationship with you, so please read them carefully.  

  • We’ve specified the legal entity that provides each service to you. For some services, this may be a different entity than the entity that previously provided the service.  We’ve also reserved the right to transfer the providing entity for each service in the future.  
  • General provisions that apply to billing, auto-renewal, and refunds have been added. Unless the additional terms for a service override the Terms of Service, these provisions apply to your use of our paid services.
  • Applicability of Terms. If you are using our services on behalf of another account owner (e.g., as an administrator, consultant or analyst) or on behalf of a company, business or other entity, the Terms of Service apply to your activities and are binding on the account owner or entity.
  • Indemnity for Non-Personal Use. If you are using our Services on behalf of a company, business or other entity, or if you are using our Services for commercial purposes, we’ve added an indemnity provision, which requires you and the entity to protect us against certain legal actions. 
  • We’ve updated our choice of law and forum provisions. For your use of our products and services governed by U.S. law, New York law now governs and New York, New York is the designated forum.