Instacart Privacy Policy
Last Updated: November 2, 2023
Thank you for using Instacart! We are committed to providing you the best online shopping and delivery experience possible. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how that information is used, under what circumstances we share information, and the choices you can make about that information. This Policy applies whether you access Instacart through a browser, through a mobile app, or through any other method.
Additional Terms
Instacart is an independent business, separate from and its affiliates (“Gelson's”). This Privacy Policy, not those of Gelson's, explain how Instacart will collect, use and share information that we collect on this Instacart Gelson's Store Site. Gelson's is a trademark of . All Rights Reserved.
We may share any information collected from this Gelson's Store Site, including your personal information, information about your order details, and information that we combine from other sources, with Gelson's. Gelson's may use this information for its own purposes, including for its own sales and marketing purposes. You can opt-out of receiving Gelson's sales and marketing emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in those emails. Further details are available in Instacart’s Terms of Service.
Information we collect
1. Information you provide to us or allow others to provide to us
At various points in the Instacart experience, you may provide us with information about yourself. For example, when you create an account with Instacart, you provide us with personal information like your name, email address, and zip code. And if you place an order with Instacart, we collect information including your address, phone number, birth date (for alcohol orders), credit card information, and the details of your order.
If you log into the Instacart service through a third-party service, both we and that third-party may receive some information about you and your use of the services. For example, if you choose to log into Instacart with your Facebook account, we may receive information about your contacts. We may also offer social sharing tools (such as the Facebook “Like” button) that let you share actions on Instacart with other sites and vice versa. In those cases, the providers of those tools may receive information about you when you use those tools. You should check the privacy policies of these services and your settings there for more information.
Our partners may let us collect information about use of their sites/apps or share such information with us. For example, if you use an Instacart button or widget on another site or app, we may receive information about your use of that button or widget and the third-party site/app.
Our Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we obtain actual knowledge that any information we collect has been provided by a child under the age of 13, we will delete that information.
2. Technical information about usage of Instacart
When you use the Instacart services, either through a browser or mobile app, we automatically receive some technical information about the hardware and software that is being used.
Cookies, Pixels, and Other Tracking Technologies:
We and our partners use various technologies to collect information, including cookies, pixels, and device identifiers. Cookies are small text files that are sent by your computer when you access our services through a browser. We may use session cookies (which expire when you close your browser), persistent cookies (which expire when you choose to clear them from your browser), pixels, and other identifiers to collect information from your browser or device that helps us do things such as understand how you use our services, personalize your experience, measure advertising performance, and remember that you are logged in to Instacart. Our partners, advertisers, and third-party advertising networks may use these technologies to collect information about your online activity over time and across different websites or online services.We employ some third-party services to help us understand the usage of Instacart, and these third-parties may also deploy cookies or pixels on our site or collect information through our mobile applications. For example, we use Google Analytics to understand, in a non-personal way, how users interact with various portions of our site -- you can learn more about information that Google may collect here.
Log information:
When you use Instacart, our servers will record information about your usage of the service and information that is sent by your browser or device. Logs information can include things like the IP address of your device, information about the browser, operating system and/or app you are using, unique device identifiers, pages that you navigate to and links that you click, searches that you run on Instacart, and other ways you interact with the service. If you are logged into the Instacart service, this information is stored with your account information.How we use your information
We may use the information we collect for various purposes, including to:
- Provide the Instacart service to you, improve the quality of the service, and develop new products and services
- Allow your Personal Shopper (which means those that shop for and/or deliver the order for you, including our retail partner and their employees/agents where applicable or our third-party providers) to choose your items at a retailer site, deliver your items to you, and/or call or text you with any updates or issues
- Charge you for the purchase and delivery costs through one or more payment processing partners
- Offer you customized content (including advertising, coupons, and promotions).
- Understand how users interact with our service as a whole in order to test new features or changes in our features, and improve the services for everyone
- Provide customer service, respond to your communications and requests, and contact you about your use of Instacart (Note: You can opt-out of receiving promotional communications from Instacart by using the settings on the Account Info page)
What we share
Instacart is a platform that presents you with a set of retailer virtual storefronts from which you can select goods for picking, packing and delivery by individual Personal Shopper(s) to your location or, if available, for you to pick up in-store. In order to make this work, we need to share information about you and your order with the other parties who help enable the service. This includes, for example, the Personal Shopper(s) who pick and deliver your order, and the payment processing partner(s) that we use to validate and charge your credit card. To be clear, only our payment processing partner(s) receive any credit card information.
We also share information under the following principles:
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With your consent or at your direction
— We will share your information with entities outside of Instacart when we have your consent to do so or it is done at your direction.
For example:
- If you enter loyalty card information from a particular retailer, we share that information with the retailer you chose along with your order so that information can update your loyalty card account.
- If you share a recipe publicly on Instacart, it is viewable by anyone along with your first name and last initial.
- If you invite friends to use Instacart through our referral program or to share a shopping cart, we will share some information with the friends you invite like your name and picture. Likewise if you choose to join someone else’s cart, they will see some of your information.
- For external processing or service provision — We sometimes employ third parties outside of Instacart to process information on our behalf or to provide certain services (such as delivery services or advertising services). For the purposes of this processing or provision of services, we may share your information with them under appropriate confidentiality provisions.
- For legal purposes — We may share your information when we believe that the disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal process, or requests from law enforcement or regulatory authorities, (b) prevent, detect, or otherwise handle fraud, security, or technical issues, and (c) protect the safety, rights, or property of any person, the public, or Instacart.
- On a non-personal or aggregate basis — We share information with retailers and advertisers on both a non-personally identifying basis (including order and delivery details but not including credit card information) and an aggregate basis.
- To enable purchase of alcohol — When you buy alcohol using Instacart, we may be required by law to share certain information with the retailer who makes the sale. This information could include, among other things, the names and addresses of the purchaser and recipient, state ID information, the quantity, brand, price, proof, and volume of alcohol purchased, and a recipient signature.
- For business purposes — We may share your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company. We may also share your information between and among Instacart, and its current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership.
Changes to this Policy
This policy may change from time to time and any revised Policy will be posted at this page, so we encourage you to review it regularly. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this Policy and, in the case of materials changes to the Policy, we may provide you with additional notice (such as a notice in our user interface or sending you a notification by email).
Disclosures for Residents of California
These additional disclosures for California residents apply only to individuals who reside in California. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“ CCPA ”) provides additional rights to know, delete and opt out, and requires businesses collecting or disclosing personal information to provide notices and means to exercise those rights. The words used in this section have the meanings given to them in the CCPA, which may be broader than their common meaning. For example, the definition of “personal information” under the CCPA includes your name, but also more general information like age.
A. Notice of Collection.
Although the information we collect is described in greater detail in Section III above, the categories of personal information that we have collected – as described by the CCPA – including in the past 12 months are:
- Identifiers - including name, email address, and IP address.
- Other individual customer records - including phone number , billing and shipping address, and credit or debit card information. This category includes personal information protected under pre-existing California law (Cal. Civ. Code 1798.80(e)), and overlaps with other categories listed here
- Demographics - including your age. This category includes data that may qualify as protected classifications under other California or federal laws.
- Commercial information - including purchases and engagement with our Services.
- Internet activity - including your interactions with our Service.
- Geolocation data - including location enabled services such as WiFi and GPS.
- Sensory Information - such as recordings of phone calls between you and us and surveillance video at our properties, where permitted by law.
- Inferences - including information about your interests, preferences and favorites.
- Health Information - Including any information you provide to us regarding an experience with Gelson's that may require us to contact Gelson's or other retailer partners for public health or safety reasons, or to facilitate a refund. We do not share your identity with retailers the we may contact in such a capacity, but do share date, time and location of a transaction, which may allow a retailer to independently identify you.
For more information on our collection practices, including the sources we receive information from, please review “ Information We Collect ” section above. We collect and use these categories of personal information for the business purposes described in “ How We Use Your Information ” section above, including to provide and manage our Services.
We disclose the following categories of personal information to third parties for our commercial purposes: identifiers, demographic information, commercial information, relevant order information, internet activity, geolocation data, sensory information, and inferences. We partner with different types of entities to assist with our daily operations and manage our Service. Please review the "What We Share" section above for more detail about the third parties we have shared information with and the underlying principles the guide our sharing practices.
B. Minors 13 – 16 Years of Age
As stated above, we do not knowingly “sell,” personal information as that term is defined under the California Consumer Protect Act (“CCPA”), including that of minors under 16 years old who are California residents.
C. Do Not Track
Your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to online services you visit. Note, however, there is no industry consensus as to what site and app operators should do with regard to these signals. Accordingly, unless and until the law is interpreted to require us to do so, we do not monitor or take action with respect to “Do Not Track” signals. For more information on “Do Not Track,” visit http://www.allaboutdnt.com.
D. Right to Know and Delete.
California residents have the right to delete the personal information we have collected from you, and the right to know certain information about our data practices in the preceding twelve (12) months. In particular, you have the right to request the following from us:
- The categories of personal information we have collected about you;
- The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected;
- The categories of personal information about you we disclosed for a business purpose or sold;
- The categories of third parties to whom the personal information was disclosed for a business purpose or sold;
- The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling the personal information; and
- The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
If you would like to download or delete your personal information, you can do so here, or email us at privacyrequests@instacart.com. In the request, please specify which right you are seeking to exercise and the scope of the request. We will confirm receipt of your request within 10 days. We may require specific information from you to help us verify your identity and process your request. If we are unable to verify your identity, we may deny your requests to know or delete.
E. Right to Opt-Out.
We do not generally sell information as the term “sell” is traditionally understood. However, if and to the extent “sale” under the CCPA is interpreted to include advertising technology activities such as those implemented specifically for interest-based advertising, we will comply with applicable law as to such activity.
F. Authorized Agent.
You can designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. However, we will require written proof of the agent’s permission to do so and verify your identity directly.
G. Right to Non-Discrimination.
You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment by us for the exercise of any your rights.
H. Financial Incentives.
Financial incentives are programs, benefits, or other offerings, including payments to consumers as compensation, for the disclosure, deletion, or sale of personal information about them. We offer a number of promotions and other incentives at any given time, each with their own individual terms. For a list and more details about our promotions and other incentives current at this time, please visit our “Terms of Promos and Credits” page which lists each promotion and links its respective terms here. Your intentional participation in any of the programs, benefits, or other offerings under this Section will be interpreted as affirmative consent to the terms of such incentive.
For example, we offer a referral rewards program to our users who recommend our services to their contacts as prospective customers, when those prospective customers sign up for, and makes a purchase using, the Service. We generally do not treat consumers differently if they exercise a right under California law. However, in certain circumstances, discounted prices or rewards will require you to be part of the particular program. In such circumstances, we may offer a price difference because the price is reasonably related to the value of your data.
I. Shine the Light.
If you are a California resident, you may ask Instacart for a notice describing what categories of personal information Instacart shares with third parties or affiliates for those third parties or affiliates’ direct marketing purposes and identify the name and address of the third parties that received such personal information. Please submit a written request to the address provided below and specify you want a copy of your California Shine the Light Notice. We may require additional information from you to allow us to verify your identity and are only required to respond to requests once during any calendar year.
H. Consumer Affairs
Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California residents are entitled to the following specific consumer rights notice: If you have a question or complaint regarding the Website, please send an email to legal@instacart.com. You may also contact us by writing to us at the address provided below under Section XII entitled “Contact Information”. California residents may reach the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 400 R Street, Suite 1080, Sacramento, California 95814, or by telephone at (916) 445-1254 or (800) 952-5210.
For Residents of Nevada
If you are a Nevada resident, you may ask Instacart to add you to our opt-out list for possible future sales of certain information we have collected or will collect about you. To submit such a request, please contact our designated request email address: privacy@instacart.com.
Contact Information
Questions or comments about our Privacy Policy? Contact our Trust & Safety Manager at:
Instacart
50 Beale Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, California 94105
privacy@instacart.com
1-888-246-7822
For customer service inquiries visit our Help Center