Etsy Privacy Policy Update October 2025: What Sellers Need To Know
Etsy is making updates to their Privacy Policy, effective October 9, 2025 - here's what sellers need to know.
As always, sellers are encouraged to read the entire updated terms carefully, but Value Added Resource has you covered with a side by side comparison highlighting some key changes.
Disclaimer: comparisons are made using both automated and manual methods and are provided for informational purposes only - no warranty of completeness or accuracy is expressed or implied and users are advised to do their own due diligence.
First, Etsy has added language specifically point to its use of cookies and similar disclosures in areas outside of the UK and the European Economic Area, including drawing specific attention explicitly calling out additional rights or disclosures US users in California may be entitled to.
The company directs those users to the various cookie disclaimer pages and US regional privacy policy pages for additional details.
I won't copy and paste all of the updates here, but here are a few excerpts:
Old version:
Etsy uses Cookie Technologies to recognize your logged-in state on Etsy, to understand what purchases members and visitors are interested in...
New version:
Etsy uses Cookie Technologies to recognize your logged-in state on Etsy, to understand what items and content members and visitors are interested in...
Old version:
Remarketing and retargeting, which shows relevant ads to an audience based on prior shopping and browsing patterns on Etsy;
Audience targeting, which refers to targeting advertisements to a large audience based on the audience’s known or inferred demographics;...
New version
Remarketing and retargeting:, Remarketing and retargeting shows relevant ads to an audience based on prior shopping and browsing patterns on Etsy. For retargeting, data from Google Analytics may be combined with Etsy’s first-party data and third-party cookies (like Google’s advertising cookies) as permitted by Google’s and Etsy’s respective policies.;
Audience targeting:, Audience targeting refers to targeting ads to a large audience based on the audience’s known or inferred demographics. Etsy may share hashed identifiers that represent an email address or name, along with other information you provide to us such as approximate location, birthday and/or phone number, with partners such as Google and/or Facebook so they can provide Etsy with audiences interested in specific types of products and services.
Google and/or Facebook will only provide this information, and can only identify you, based on their separate policies and agreements with their users.
Again, users are encouraged to read the full policies to understand who these changes will affect them depending on their location.
That being said, it's very clear many of these changes which provide more detail about how data is being tracked and shared with third parties is being driven by the lawsuit filed against Etsy in July which alleges the company's use of pixel tracking violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
Liz Morton
While some of these changes may protect Etsy from similar claims in the future, they likely won't offer a defense for the company regarding claims made prior to the effective date of the new policies.
Etsy appears to be trying to do an end run around that by adding a new section that was not in previous version, claiming the policy applies retroactively - but I'm not sure a judge would see it that way if the company is challenged on this point.
New section:
If you access our Sites or Services, or otherwise interact with Etsy, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy, including our Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy and Cookies & Similar Technologies Disclosures, which describe our use of cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies and your choices with respect to our use of these technologies for interest-based advertising.
This Privacy Policy applies retroactively to your interactions with Etsy before becoming a Member or agreeing to this Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, you may not use the Sites and Services.
Strangely, Etsy also now says their privacy policies do not apply to the practices of sellers, making it explicitly clear sellers are third parties on the platform.
Old version:
This policy does not apply to the practices of third parties that you may choose to share information with when you use the Services. Please note that the collection and use of your information by these third parties is subject to their own privacy policies and terms. You should understand the privacy and security practices of any third party before you share information with them.
New version:
This policy does not apply to the practices of Etsy Sellers. It also does not apply to any third parties that you may choose to share information with when you use the Services. Please note that the collection and use of your information by these third parties is subject to their own privacy policies and terms. You should understand the privacy and security practices of any third party before you share information with them
They've also updated how they refer to Etsy's mission, with an emphasis on unique items from creators around the world - though it's hard to tell if this indicates any actual changes to how Etsy operates or if it's just fluffy corporate speak.
Old version:
Our mission at Etsy is to keep human connection at the heart of commerce. We connect Buyers with Sellers that have made, designed, handpicked, or sourced the items in their shop.
New version:
Etsy’s mission is to Keep Commerce Human. We are the marketplace for unique items from real people. We stay true to this by connecting buyers with items made, designed, handpicked, or sourced by creative sellers around the world.
Information Etsy Collects and Receives
This section of the Privacy Policy is almost exclusively provided as images, which makes it much more difficult to determine what has changed.
However, a cursory comparison of the old versus new images shows the following updates:
- In the "Buyer Public Profile Information" section, the new image mentions “Gender (if you choose to provide it)” whereas the old one omits gender as an explicit bullet point.
- In the "Seller Public Profile Information" section, both mention "gender" but phrasing around age and gender for shop owners is slightly reordered.
- In the "Survey Responses and Market Research" section, the new image expands that business and selling information might be collected, and the list of items under demographic information is rearranged and expanded slightly.
The newer image seems to clarify certain items by separating lists into individual lines or slightly expanding descriptions, e.g., business and selling info for surveys, and listing gender and other profile info as separate items.
Demographic information mentions "your age, gender, or other similar demographic details" explicitly on the new version and also adds “holiday shop announcements” and “Linked third party accounts,” which do not appear as clearly in the older version’s public profile data categories.
How Etsy Uses Your Information and Their Legal Basis
Similar to the previous section, the policies in this section are mostly displayed as images and most of the changes appear to be minor, for example to update or clarify language or provide more explicit details about personalized recommendations and machine learning personalization, rather than significant changes to the policy.
How Etsy Shares Your Information
Etsy changed the word "will" in part of the section to the word "may", suggesting that displaying some seller information like business names and locations is optional for the company in some circumstances and may not always occur.
Old version:
For certain Sellers, some additional information will be publicly displayed. For example, your business name, shop location, or business registration number associated with your account (which you may modify and update in your account settings) is publicly displayed.
New version:
For certain Sellers, some additional information may be publicly displayed. For example, your business name, shop location, or business registration number associated with your account (which you may modify and update in your account settings) may be publicly displayed.
Etsy also removed Reverb as a subsidiary, since it was sold off earlier this year, and has added Etsy Gifting LLC, which is the card issuing entity for Etsy gift cards.
They've also added marketing and gift cards as uses for which Etsy may share data amongst subsidiaries in the "Etsy Group."
Old version:
The information shared among the Etsy Group Companies may be used for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and generally to operate our business, including for ID verification purposes, transaction monitoring, fraud prevention, payment processing, customer support, business development, user account administration and IT, technical, and engineering support.
New version:
The information shared among the Etsy Group Companies may be used for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and generally to operate our business, including for ID verification purposes, transaction monitoring, fraud prevention, payment processing, marketing, the issuing of, and use of, gift cards as a payment method, legal and regulatory compliance, customer support, business development, user account administration, and IT, technical, and engineering support.
And an image which was labeled "Third-Party Service Providers" in the old version is now called "Third-Party Service Providers and Network Participants" in the new version, with the new version adding "Data room facilitators" as a new type of third party provider.
A "Data room facilitator", also sometimes known as a virtual data room (VDR) provider, is a company that offers secure online platforms for sharing and managing confidential documents during complex business transactions like mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, fundraising, and IPOs - raising questions about what Etsy might be planning to do with this data.
How Etsy Protects Your Information
Etsy has added Mastercard’s identity verification product, Ekata, to their list of tools to help mitigate the risk of unlawful or unauthorized access, destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure, or use of data.
This section simply adds Ekata and notifies users that Mastercard’s use of their information to provide Etsy fraud prevention solutions is subject to the Ekata Privacy Policy.
How Long Etsy Stores Your Information
Etsy has updates this section to add that data retention timeframes can be determined by internal policies, not just legal obligations.
Old version:
Etsy will retain your information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy, for as long as your account is active, or as needed to comply with our legal obligations under applicable law.
New version:
Etsy will retain your information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy, for as long as your account is active, or as needed to comply with our legal obligations, internal policies, or under applicable law.
Your Rights and Choices
Etsy has added a new section that will be of particular interest to those who have had automated decisions enforced against their accounts.
Automated Decision-Making: You have the right not to be subject to a decision when it is based solely on automated processing (i.e. an operation that is performed without any human intervention), if it produces a legal effect or significantly impacts you, except under certain conditions, for example, where the decision is necessary for our contractual relationship with you, you have provided your consent, or when Etsy is authorized under relevant law to conduct such processing.
You have the right to request additional safeguards in these circumstances, such as the right to obtain a human review of the decision.
Etsy also recently updated their Payments Policy with changes which will go into effect on October 9th as well:
Liz Morton
How will these changes impact your Etsy business? Let us know in the comments below!
