Social Media Privacy Grades
7 companies analysed · Sorted by privacy score
Social media platforms collect more personal data than almost any other category of software. Beyond posts, messages, and photos, most networks also track off-app browsing, inferred interests, contact graphs, precise or approximate location, and—increasingly—biometric signals from photos and video. Advertising-funded models create a built-in incentive to maximise retention and profiling, which shows up in vague sharing language, broad consent, and weak deletion guarantees. The spread between leaders and laggards here is wide: some apps still push extensive tracking and AI training on content by default, while others offer clearer opt-outs and less cross-site stitching. When you choose a platform, prioritise policies that limit third-party sharing, explain AI use in plain English, and give you export and deletion that actually cover inferred data. Every grade below comes from a full policy read against the same four pillars we use everywhere—collection, sharing, controls, and promises—with scoring details on our About page.
| # | Company | Grade | Score | In plain English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C+ | 63/100 | Snapchat deletes chats by default within 24 hours and explicitly won't use your private messages for…Snapchat deletes chats by default within 24 hours and explicitly won't use your private messages for ads — two genuine privacy commitments. But it still builds a detailed advertising profile from your content, device, and activity, enriches it with data from advertisers, and can collect precise location and contacts if you grant permission. | → | |
| 2 | C+ | 60/100 | Reddit collects your behaviour, device data, and inferences about your demographics, and shares some…Reddit collects your behaviour, device data, and inferences about your demographics, and shares some of it with ad-tech partners — but it explicitly doesn't sell your personal data, deletes IP addresses after 100 days, doesn't track precise location, and extends privacy rights to all users worldwide, not just those in regulated regions. | → | |
| 3 | D | 38/100 | LinkedIn builds a remarkably detailed professional and personal profile from everything you do on an…LinkedIn builds a remarkably detailed professional and personal profile from everything you do on and off the platform — including inferred age, gender, salary, and seniority — then shares it with Microsoft, advertisers, and third-party partners. Your data persists even after account closure, your public activity is fed into Microsoft's broader ad ecosystem, and there is no way to opt out of non-personalised ads. | → | |
| 4 | D | 32/100 | Meta collects almost everything: what you post, what you look at and for how long, device and locati…Meta collects almost everything: what you post, what you look at and for how long, device and location data, and data from other people and advertisers. They infer sensitive traits and use Meta AI conversations for ad targeting. Data is shared across all Meta products and with advertisers. You can adjust ad preferences and download your data, but you can't stop collection itself. | → | |
| 5 | F | 24/100 | X collects everything you do on and off the platform, infers your identity even when you're signed o…X collects everything you do on and off the platform, infers your identity even when you're signed out, and explicitly allows third-party 'collaborators' to use your data to train their own AI models. There is no meaningful way to stop the core collection, your public posts are available via API for mass scraping, and security is disclosed only in the vaguest terms. | → | |
| 6 | F | 22/100 | Meta collects almost everything about you across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads, shares …Meta collects almost everything about you across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads, shares it with advertisers, and keeps it indefinitely — including your AI chat conversations which now fuel ad targeting. | → | |
| 7 | F | 18/100 | TikTok collects your biometrics, keystroke patterns, and even content you record but never post — th…TikTok collects your biometrics, keystroke patterns, and even content you record but never post — then shares data with ByteDance affiliates, advertisers, and researchers. You have limited control and no meaningful way to stop collection while using the app. | → |