Disqus Privacy Policy
Updated May 19, 2025
This Privacy Policy tells you how Disqus collects, uses, sells, discloses and protects data relating to you (the “User”) in connection with our Service (as defined below), as well as your choices regarding our collection and use of this data.
1. INTRODUCTION
Overview. Disqus offers an online public comment and opinion sharing platform where users login and create profiles to participate in conversations with peers and enjoy an interactive experience in Disqus comment sections, polls, and other interactive features that are provided on this site, as well as embedded in third-party sites. Use of our platform and software, and interaction with our cookies or similar tracking technologies (collectively the “Service”), whether on this site or on a third-party site, is subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy. The Service is a public platform and Disqus or others may search for, see, use, or re-post any of your User Content (as defined in our Terms of Use) that you post through the Service. Disqus is also a marketing and data company, and uses and shares personal data collected from third party sites where our Service is enabled for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising. For more information on our marketing activities, please see Section 4: Targeted Advertising and Ad Partners below.
Applicability to third-party websites and services. Disqus offers an online engagement service that other websites use to enable discussion and interactivity among their users. This Privacy Policy applies to the data Disqus collects about Users of the Service and through cookies on Service-enabled websites, and does not apply to the independent data collection practices of any website that uses the Service or other website linked to from the Service. For information about how third-party websites collect and use your personal information, please refer to those websites’ privacy policies.
Your Privacy Rights. You have rights over your personal information. These rights are described in greater detail in Section 9: Your Rights , below. You can exercise your data privacy rights here.
Children’s Privacy. The Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect or sell personal information from children under 18 or knowingly allow such persons to register for an account on the service. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 18, we will delete it. If you believe that we might have collected personal information from a child under 18, please contact us, or submit a data privacy rights requests here.
2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about a person that can reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a specific person or household.
We collect, and have collected in the past twelve (12) months, the following kinds of personal data about Users:
I. Identifiers (“Identity Data”) such as first name, last name, username or similar identifier, internet protocol (IP) address, unique Cookie ID, Device ID, date of birth, email address, telephone number, and mailing address;
II. Personal Information categories listed in California Customer Records Statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e), which includes any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with a particular individual but is not publicly available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records;
III. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law, such as race, gender, or age;
IV. Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as browsing and comment history, feedback and survey responses, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access the Service;
V. Professional or employment-related information, to the extent that you include it in your profile or comments, or that it can be inferred from the pages that you view;
VI. Educational information, to the extent that you include it in your profile or comments, or that it can be inferred from the pages that you view;
VII. Sensitive Personal Information. We do not intentionally collect any personal data about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health or genetic or biometric data, or information about criminal convictions and offences. However, if you make comments using the Service that include such data about yourself it will be publicly available and may be processed by Disqus or others. Additionally, we collect and share information collected through cookies or similar tracking technology about the web pages you have viewed, which may allow the third-parties with whom we share your information to make inferences about you that could constitute sensitive personal information.
We may also combine, de-identify, or aggregate any of the information we collect through our Service for any of the purposes described below.
3. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED?
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including via:
Direct interactions. This includes personal data you provide when you create an account or leave a comment.
Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our Service, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. Specifically, in the following ways:
Cookies. A cookie is a small digital file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating settings on your browser, or, in some cases, by interacting with pop-up cookie banners. We use cookies placed on third party websites on which the Service is enabled to collect information about how you interact with those websites even if you do not leave comments, respond to polls, or otherwise directly interact with the Service on those websites, as well as information about the other websites that you visit. Disqus uses cookies and allows partners to also set cookies through the Service in order to facilitate cross-context behavioral advertising. What this means in practice is that we use cookies to help determine which ads you see online, by logging your visits to many advertiser / brand websites, and then showing you ads for similar products and services.
Disqus uses 'authentication' cookies, e.g., sessionid, disqusauth, and disqusauths, to keep you logged in from your web browser and personalize your Disqus experience.
Disqus uses 'unique' cookies, e.g., disqus_unique and _jid, to associate web-based activities with a page load and with a web browser, and understand your interests and product usage.
When Disqus loads ads, we use ad serving technologies from Google that may set cookies for the purposes of personalized marketing, associating ads with later activities, and limiting how often you are shown specific ads.
Log File Information: Server logs collect technical data such as your IP address, browser type, and information about the number of clicks and how you interact with links on the Service, partner sites, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information.
Pixels and Similar Trackers. When you use the Service, we employ pixels, clear gifs (also known as web beacons) which are used to collect Technical Data and information such as online usage patterns. We also use clear gifs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened and which links or advertisements are clicked by recipients. We also use pixels and clear gifs on third party websites on which the Service is enabled to collect information about how you interact with those websites, even if you do not leave comments, respond to polls, or otherwise directly interact with the Service on those websites.
Third parties or publicly available sources. We obtain or receive personal data about you from analytics providers such as Google; advertising partners listed here; and third-party data brokers who sell personal data. We obtain or receive personal data from third party connections or log-ins through social media platforms such as Facebook Connect, Google or Twitter/X when you “follow,” “like,” or link your account to the Service. Please note that some of these providers, in particular analytics providers like Google, may process data from European Economic Area (EEA) residents outside the EEA.
Managing Cookies in Your Browser
You may be able to adjust your browser settings to manage your cookie preferences, such as setting your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie and give you the choice to decide whether or not to accept it. If you reject cookies, you may still use our site, but the functionality of some areas may be limited.
Below are links to information about managing your cookie preferences in common browsers:
4. TARGETED ADVERTISING and AD PARTNERS.
Targeted Advertising. Advertising is the predominant way Disqus makes money. Advertising revenue allows Disqus to operate, support and improve the Service. Disqus uses, and shares with third party ad partners and affiliates, cookie IDs, device IDs (including mobile), hashed email addresses, IP address, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and browser information, demographic or interest data, content viewed and actions taken on the Service, on partner sites, or on other third party sites. This includes information about the websites you’ve viewed and advertisements you’ve interacted with in order to provide you with more relevant advertising targeted to your preferences and interests. This may be derive from your interaction with the Service, partner sites or other third party websites. For a list of third-party ad partners that Disqus is currently working with click here.
Email Marketing. Disqus may also send you email newsletters and email marketing messages if you have provided us with permission, or consented to receive such emails, as required in the jurisdiction in which you reside. Email marketing messages may be tailored to your interests based on the information described above in this section. For information about how to opt-out and to exercise your privacy rights please click here.
Ad Partners and Third Party Disclosures. We partner and share data with third parties that collect information across various channels, including offline and online, for purposes of delivering more relevant advertising to you or your business. Our partners use this information to recognize you across different channels and platforms, over time, (including but not limited to, computers, mobile devices, addressable TV, or other media), for marketing, analytics, attribution, and reporting purposes. While Disqus does not make inferences based on your data, our advertising partners may draw inferences from your data to understand your preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.
In the past twelve (12) months, we have shared or sold the following data:
§ Identifiers;
§ Personal Information categories listed in California Customer Records Statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e);
§ Protected classification characteristics;
§ Internet or other electronic network activity information;
§ Professional or employment-related information;
§ Educational information; and,
§ Sensitive Personal Information.
5. HOW WE USE PERSONAL DATA AND OUR LEGAL BASIS FOR USE
In the EEA, United Kingdom (UK), and Brazil, we typically rely on your consent to use personal data. In some cases, we use data as necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), but only where your rights and interests are not negatively impacted. Finally, we may also use it where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or to protect the health, safety, or legal rights of any person.
We have set out in the table below a description of the ways we use personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you have any additional questions.
Purpose or Activity | Type of Personal Data | Source of Personal Data | Basis of Processing |
To register you as a new user | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Internet or Electronic Network Activity | · Direct Interactions · Automated Technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Performance of a contract with you · With your consent |
To manage our relationship with you which may include notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy, asking you to leave a review or take a survey | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Performance of a contract with you · Necessary to comply with a legal obligation · Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records updated and to study how customers use our Service) · With your consent |
To administer and protect our business and the Service (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, support, reporting and hosting of data) | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Necessary to comply with a legal obligation · Necessary for our legitimate interests (e.g. to keep our records updated and to study how customers use our Service) |
To deliver relevant content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve you | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity · Professional or Employment Related Information · Educational Information · [Sensitive Information] | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Consent. When you have provided explicit consent to our use of personal data to provide you with relevant and personalized content · Necessary for our legitimate interests |
To use data analytics to improve our Service | · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy) |
To send you newsletters and promotional emails that may interest you | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity · Professional or Employment Related Information · Educational Information · [Sensitive Information] | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Consent. When you have provided explicit consent to our use of personal data to provide you with relevant and personalized content · Necessary for our legitimate interests (to develop our Service and grow our business) |
To sell or share personal data with third parties for marketing and advertising purposes | · Identifiers · Personal Information Categories listed in the California Customer Records Statute · Protected Classification Characteristics under California or federal law · Internet or Electronic Network Activity · Professional or Employment Related Information · Educational Information · [Sensitive Information] | · Direct Interactions · Automated technologies · Cookies · Log File Information · Clear Gifs · Third parties or publicly available sources | · Consent. When you have provided explicit consent to our use of personal data to provide you with relevant and personalized content. · Legitimate interest. In particular outside the EEA we may sell or share data as allowed under applicable local laws, which may not require your consent for us to do so. |
6. DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We may disclose any of the categories of personal data that we collect from and about you in the following circumstances, for the purposes set out in the table above. In the past 12 months, we have sold and/or shared all of the categories of personal data listed above with Zeta Global and our Business Partners (as described below).
Zeta Global. Disqus user data is shared with our affiliated company Zeta Global for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising. Disqus data is merged by Zeta with data from other online and offline sources to inform marketing decisions and messages on behalf of Zeta’s advertiser customers (brands and agencies). Zeta may also share data obtained from Disqus with these advertiser customers.
Business Partners. We also share personal data with external third parties for similar purposes as with Zeta Global. These third parties include other companies who participate in cross-context behavioral advertising, and data brokers who may further sell or share your personal data. We may also share personal data with advertisers with whom you have already shared your data interest categories based on your online activity, for marketing purposes. For a list of external third parties, please click here.
Service Providers. We rely on service providers (e.g. companies that provide web hosting or analytics services) for the operation of our website and Service, and these service providers may have access to your personal data. Our service providers are contractually prohibited from using your personal data for their own purposes, and are required to treat your personal data and maintain its confidentiality in the same way as us.
Business Transactions. We may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new company may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice. We may also engage in limited data sharing to evaluate and test our potential data partners. Where such testing takes place, the data is encrypted or encoded before it is shared. Furthermore, such sharing is subject to appropriate contractual provisions and the data is promptly deleted after the testing is completed.
Legal Requirements. In addition, we may access, preserve, and disclose your personal data, if we believe doing so is required by law, court order or other valid legal processes. We may also access, preserve, and disclose such personal data if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect your, our or others' rights, property, or safety, or to investigate fraud.
We require all third parties with whom we share data to take appropriate steps to ensure the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with all applicable laws.
7. DATA RETENTION.
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
8. SECURITY.
Disqus uses commercially reasonable safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of all information collected through the Service. To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information, and for controlling access to your email communications from Disqus. Disqus is not responsible for the functionality or security measures of any third party.
9. Your Rights.
Depending on the laws where you live, you may have one or more of the following rights under local laws. Disqus extends these rights to all individuals, regardless of where they live, including the right to:
I. Request a copy of personal data we have collected about you;
II. Opt-out of our sale or sharing of personal data about you;
III. Opt-out of receiving email from the Service;
IV. Request that we delete data we have collected about you;
V. Request that we correct incorrect data;
VI. Request that we limit our use of, or delete sensitive personal data that you may have previously provided in a comment (due to technical limitations, all of these requests will be handled as requests to delete data).
Disqus will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights. Prior to fulfilling a request for a copy of your personal information, Disqus is required to reasonably verify your identity, which we generally do by sending a verification link to the email address associated with your personal information. Under applicable laws, you can use an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, but that agent must be able to complete our verification process in order to demonstrate that they have been authorized to make the request.
You also have the right in many countries to contact the relevant privacy or data protection authority if you believe we are not complying with privacy laws, and we have not been able to resolve the situation to your satisfaction.
Visit our Privacy Choices page for more details about these rights or to exercise them.
Rights Requests. Under California law, we are required to publish statistics on how many people exercised their privacy rights in the previous year. The following statistics are for people who made requests relating to Disqus during the twelve months ending December 31, 2024. These statistics cover all requests received from individuals around the world.
· Number of requests for access to (copy of) data: 468
· Number of requests for data deletion: 1475
· Number of requests for opt-out (Do Not Sell): 7166
· Number of requests that were not actioned because the requestor did not complete the verification process: 5275
10. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS.
For users based in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK we may share your personal data within the Disqus Group or with external third parties. This may involve transferring your data outside the EEA. Specifically, data will be processed by technical support teams in the United States, India, and the Philippines.
Whenever your personal data is processed outside of the EEA, we protect it using specific contracts approved by the European Commission and/or the equivalent contractual provisions approved by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office which ensures that personal data the same protection it has in Europe regardless of where it is processed.
11. Do Not Track/Global Privacy Signal (“GPC”)
Disqus recognizes and processes user preferences as set in the browser-based “Do Not Track” signals via the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) feature.
12. GENERAL
Contact. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please email us at privacy@disqus.com, or contact us by mail at 3 Park Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10016.
Changes to Privacy Policy. Disqus may, in its sole discretion, modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and so you should review this page periodically. When we change the policy, we will update the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of any changes to this policy means you accept such changes.
Click here to view the Terms of Service.