eBay Privacy & Data Sharing Policy Update March 24, 2023
Update 3-4-24
Get details on the latest update to eBay's privacy and data sharing policy that will be effective April 8, 2024:
Liz Morton
eBay has updated their privacy and data sharing policies, effective March 24, 2023.
As usual, eBay has not provided a synopsis or side by side comparison. I always recommend viewing the full policy yourself, but here are a few important changes users should be aware of:
In general, many of the changes are minor and appear to be geared toward acknowledging the expansion of eBay's operations to include more 3rd party partners and affiliates, much like the recent payment policy update.
In these cases, the policy language stays the same, but eBay Inc. or eBay companies has been replaced by eBay Affiliates.
For example -
Old version:
Scope and updates of this User Privacy Notice
This User Privacy Notice applies to your use of this website and all eBay applications, services (including payment services), products and tools (collectively the "Services"), regardless of how you access or use these Services, including access via mobile devices and apps. For additional regional disclosures, please see section 12. Regional and State Privacy Disclosures below.
New version:
Scope and updates of this User Privacy Notice
This User Privacy Notice applies to your use of this website and all eBay applications, services (including payment services), products and tools (collectively the "Services") provided by eBay Inc. or its affiliates (eBay Inc. and the companies it directly or indirectly controls are referred to as "eBay Affiliates"). This User Privacy Notice applies regardless of how you access or use these Services, including access via mobile devices and apps. For additional regional and state disclosures, please see section 12. Regional and State Privacy Disclosures below.
I won't list every example of this particular change to language as it appears many times throughout the policy - it's just important to understand that anything in the privacy policy may apply to both eBay directly and any affiliates or third party partners they may use.
Many of these changes appear to indicate eBay could be facing increasing scrutiny from government watchdogs and regulators worldwide regarding security, fraud, and the sale of stolen goods through the marketplace, requiring increased vetting and verification of user data.
ID Requirements
Old version:
Data that identifies you, such as your name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, your username or your tax identification number that you provide when setting up your eBay account or at a later date.
If you use our payment services as a seller, additional identification data (such as social security number or date of birth), tax identification numbers (such as VAT identification number) and other information (such as bank account number) that you provide when using our payment services as a seller.
New version adds IDs and selfie photos as possible requirements for additional verification.
Data that identifies you, such as your name, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, username or tax identification number that you provide when setting up your eBay account or at a later date.
If you use our Services as a seller, additional identification data, such as, government-issued ID (e.g. social security number), date of birth, tax identification numbers (such as VAT identification number), identification documents and information contained on IDs, selfie photos, and other information (such as bank account number) that you provide when using our payment and other services as a seller.
Identity info included when you submit a report to eBay
Old version:
In some cases: age, gender, country of birth, nationality, employment status, family status, interests and preferences.
New version adds country of residence and adds additional language stating your identifying data such as name and email will be provided when you submit a report to eBay.
In some cases: age, gender, country of birth, nationality, country of residence, employment status, family status, interests and preferences.
When you submit a report to eBay: Data that identifies you, such as your name and email address, and additional information that you provide with your report.
Expanding data that is considered part of your transactions
Old version:
Data that is generated as part of one of your transactions (bids, purchases, sales) or that is linked to your eBay account as a result of a transaction in which you are involved, such as transaction amounts, time and location of transactions and form of payment or payout method.
Data that is generated through your other actions when you use our Services and which is linked to your eBay account, e.g. when you place items in your shopping cart, place items on the watch list, save sellers, searches or interests, or follow users.
New version adds fees, eBay accounts numbers, currency preferences and third party partners:
Data that is generated as part of one of your transactions (e.g. as relating to bids, purchases, sales, fees) or that is linked to your eBay account as a result of a transaction in which you are involved, such as transaction amounts, time and location of transactions and form of payment or payout method.
Data that is generated through your other actions when you use our Services and which is linked to your eBay account (e.g. eBay account numbers, your currency preference, when you place items in your shopping cart, place items on the watch list, save sellers, searches or interests, follow users, or seek to use the services of third-party partners for payments or otherwise).
Item Image Metadata
This is a completely new section that does not appear in the old version and grants eBay the right to record settings of your camera and other metadata from item images you upload
Certain metadata recording the settings of your camera included in images of items you upload for sale.
Fraud, Anti-Money Laundering, and Regulatory Compliance
Old version:
Prevention, detection and mitigation of illegal activities (e.g. fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing).
New version adds child abuse and sanctions violations:
Prevention, detection and mitigation (including compliance with reporting requirements) of illegal activities (e.g. fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, child abuse and violations of sanctions legislation).
Also adds the following language that was not in the previous version:
Complying with information collection, verification, disclosure and reporting requirements under consumer protection, anti-fraud, online platform and tax legislation.
Complying with data access requirements under payment services legislation (e.g. under the EU Payment Services Directive) as a provider of payment services).
Ensuring the security of our Services.
Old version:
Protection of the legitimate interests of third parties in connection with civil law disputes, including the investigation of such disputes, unless there is a statutory obligation to this effect, if we may legitimately assume that it is necessary to disclose the data to such third parties in order to avert imminent disadvantages.
Prevention, detection, mitigation and investigation of fraud, security breaches and other prohibited or unlawful activities, including the assessment of corresponding risks (e.g. through the use of captchas, a port enumeration technology to identify user sessions using remote desktop tools or the telephone number stored in your eBay account for risk assessments and two-factor authentication), unless there is a statutory obligation to this effect.
New version adding specific call out of the VeRO and PROACT programs, disclosure to third parties with an NDA, adding financial crimes and sanction legislation and adding that eBay will verify report submitted are not malicious or fraudulent:
Protection of the legitimate interests of third parties (including participants of the VeRO program and the PROACT program) in connection with civil law disputes, including the investigation of such disputes, unless there is a statutory obligation to this effect, if we may legitimately assume that it is necessary to disclose the data to such third parties in order to avert imminent disadvantages.
In such cases, we will only disclose what we believe is necessary, and to the extent permitted by applicable laws, such as the seller's name, address, city, zip code, country, telephone number, email address and company name to the third party and bind the third party by a worldwide non-disclosure agreement to treat the data as confidential.
Prevention, detection, mitigation and investigation of fraud, financial crimes and harms, violation of international sanctions legislation, security incidents and other prohibited or unlawful activities, including the assessment of corresponding risks (e.g. through the use of captchas, a port enumeration technology to identify user sessions using remote desktop tools, metadata or the telephone number stored in your eBay account for risk assessments and two-factor authentication) and the implementation of corresponding measures (e.g. disabling certain forms of payment based upon the risk associated with the underlying transaction), unless there is a statutory obligation to this effect.
Verifying that reports submitted to eBay (incl. unnamed reports) are not fraudulent or malicious.
New section added that was not in previous version - this one is very interesting because in the past eBay has always said they cannot share with users any information about the outcome of investigations. 🤨
My guess is regulators are requiring eBay to be more forthcoming with this information and not that eBay has simply decided to be more transparent voluntarily.
New version:
Enabling eBay Affiliates to comply with legal obligations they are subject to, including information collection, verification, disclosure and reporting requirements under consumer protection, anti-fraud, online platform and tax legislation.
To comply with an impending legal obligation.
For users in the United States: investigating and communicating the outcome of disputes with the affected users (e.g. sharing information about eBay's investigation of a complaint of a user's violation of a policy with the reporting user).
Who does eBay share your data with?
Old version:
Where necessary, we transmit your personal data to processors and the following recipients for one or several of the purposes described above:
- eBay Inc. corporate family members
- External service providers
- Other eBay users
- Law enforcement agencies, courts, government agencies or public authorities, intergovernmental or supranational bodies
- Third parties who are involved in judicial proceedings
New version adds VeRO participants, PROACT, and third parties involved in investigating fraud, IP infringement, or crime, payment providers and financing offers:
Where necessary, we transmit your personal data to processors and the following recipients for one or several of the purposes described above:
- eBay Affiliates
- External service providers
- Other eBay users
- Law enforcement agencies, courts, government agencies or public authorities, intergovernmental or supranational bodies
- Third parties who are involved in judicial proceedings
- Participants in the eBay VeRO program, PROACT program, and other third parties in the event of an investigation for fraud, intellectual property infringement, retail crime, stolen goods, product piracy or other unlawful activity
- Payment service providers
- Third-party partners in furtherance of offering commercial financing opportunities
Location Data & Biometrics
Old version:
Processing of your precise location data to provide location-based services. Please note that most mobile devices allow you to manage or disable the use of precise location services for all applications in the settings menu
For users within the European Economic Area (EEA): Storing your financial information (e.g. credit card and account numbers) for future transactions
Provision of a single sign-on service allowing you to register or log-in to third party services using your eBay log-in credentials
New version adds biometric data:
Processing of your precise location data to provide location-based services. Please note that most mobile devices allow you to manage or disable the use of precise location services for all applications in the settings menu.
For users within the European Economic Area (EEA): Storing your financial information (e.g. credit card and account numbers) for future transactions.
Provision of a single sign-on service allowing you to register or log into third-party services using your eBay log-in credentials.
For sellers, processing of your biometric data to identify you and further prevent fraud and reduce other risks on our platform, and in connection with Know Your Customer and similar compliance requirements.
Those were the most important changes I found - let me know in the comments below if you have questions or concerns about what these changes mean for buyers and sellers on the platform!
No Warranty of Accuracy; Disclaimer. This comparison was created using automated and manual tools. We make no warranty, and expressly disclaim all warranties, as to the accuracy or completeness of the documents, files, data, and information provided.
Excerpts provided are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all changes to the eBay privacy and data sharing policy. As always, we recommend reviewing all terms, conditions and agreements before using the eBay platform.
