Read what a service's terms let it do with your content and data
The data use terms in terms of service say what rights the provider takes over what you upload and generate: usually a licence to host, copy and process your content to run the service, sometimes extending to improving products, analytics or training models. They also say whether the licence ends when you delete content. Ask Search+ about the scope, purposes and duration of the licence, and read the cited clause.
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Last updated October 2026
How to check data use terms with Search+
- Upload the terms and the privacy policy
Upload both, as PDF or Word files. The licence to content is in the terms, while personal data practices are usually in the privacy policy, and the two can point to each other.
- Ask about ownership and licence separately
Ask who owns your content, then ask what licence you grant the provider and how broad it is: worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable.
- Ask about purposes and duration
Ask what the provider may use the content for, whether that includes improving services or training models, and whether the licence ends when you delete content or close your account.
Questions about data use terms
Do I keep ownership of the content I upload under these terms?
What licence do I grant the provider, and can it pass that licence to others?
Do the terms allow my content to be used to improve the service or train models?
Does the licence end when I delete my content or close my account?
What do the terms say about data generated by my use of the service, such as usage statistics?
What to look for in data use terms
Most terms say users keep ownership but grant the provider a licence. The breadth of that licence is what matters.
Words such as worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable and royalty-free each widen the licence. Read them one by one.
A licence limited to "providing the service" is narrower than one that also covers developing new products or training models.
Some licences end when content is deleted; others survive for backups, content others have reposted, or indefinitely.
Ask across both documents and Search+ cites each one, so you can see which promise sits where.
Data use wording and what to ask
| Wording you may see | What it usually signals | A follow-up question |
|---|---|---|
| "you retain all ownership rights" | User keeps ownership | What licence is granted in the next sentence? |
| "worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence" | A broad licence | Who may receive a sublicence? |
| "to provide, maintain and improve the Services" | Purpose of use | Does improving the services include training models? |
| "perpetual and irrevocable" | Licence survives deletion | Is there any way to end it? |
| "aggregated and anonymized usage data" | Rights over usage data | Can that data be disclosed to others? |
What are data use terms in terms of service?
Data use terms are the provisions in terms of service that set who owns content users upload or create and what licence the provider receives to use that content and related data, for which purposes and for how long.
Questions about data use terms
Can Search+ tell me whether I keep ownership of my uploads?
Will it show me whether my content can be used to train models?
Can it tell me if the licence ends when I delete content?
Can I compare data use terms between two services?
Is this legal advice about my rights in my content?
Know what you licensed when you uploaded
Start a workspace, upload the terms and privacy policy, and ask what the service can do with your content.
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