Our Updated Terms and Privacy Policy
**Edit 8/19/20: We have updated the language in the terms for more clarification. You can read more here:
You may have noticed a banner across all of Medium notifying you of our upcoming new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We’ve received some questions about the updates, so we’d like to give you more context and information about them.
While some of the language in these policies has changed, Medium’s fundamental beliefs (and behaviors) have not. Here’s the deal:
- You own all the content you post on Medium, and we make no claims to it, nor will we ever in the future.
- We do not, and will not, sell your information. Ever.
Here are links to our latest Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. These go into effect on September 1st, 2020. Until that date, our existing Terms and Privacy Policy remain in effect. The purpose of the banner you’ve seen is to give you a heads-up about upcoming changes plus an opportunity to think about them and ask questions.
The following section in the new Terms of Service does have updated, but not materially new, language:
Rights and Ownership
You retain your rights to any content you submit, post or display on or through the Services.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, by submitting, posting, or displaying content on or through the Services, you grant Medium a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully paid, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your content in all media formats and distribution methods now known or later developed without compensation to you.
This is the same as the permissions in our Terms’ previous version. It’s just written in different language that’s more precise.
What this term means is that you’re granting us a license to reproduce the content you post on Medium within the surfaces and products served by Medium only. These are the referenced “Medium Services.” These services include our website, our official apps, and any other future product or service that is powered by the Medium network.
You are NOT granting us permission to use your content outside of the Medium network. You also are NOT granting us copyright to or ownership of your content. For example, we would make no claim of ownership over your copyright content for development into any other materials such as books, films, or television shows without your permission and participation.
Additionally, nothing about our updated Terms changes or overrides your ability to monetize any content you choose to publish into our Partner Program. Nothing is changing with the Partner Program.
In short, you still 100% own your content, and you remain in control of it.
You’re just granting us permission to display it on Medium. If you don’t agree to that, you’re free to export your content at any time from your Settings Page, and you retain complete ownership over it. You can also delete your account on that same page.
Additionally, we have moved the language regarding sale of your information from the Terms to our Privacy Policy. But it remains the same:
Medium does not sell your personal information.
Ever. Full stop. We have made a commitment to be an ad-free platform and, as such, we will not sell your information.
Additionally, we have clarified CCPA compliance and rights for California residents to our Privacy Policy, and added the option for all users to opt-out of binding arbitration in our Terms of Service.
Medium continues to respect and promote the rights of creators and users, and we stand firm in our commitment that you alone own and control your work and your data.
If you have any further questions, please send us an email to yourfriends@medium.com.
