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The policy discloses that Betterment shares identifiers, commercial information, and internet and electronic network activity data with advertising and marketing networks for targeted advertising, and acknowledges this may constitute a 'sale' or 'share' under certain state privacy laws including CCPA.
This analysis describes what Betterment's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes that Betterment's advertising technology practices involve sharing three categories of personal data with advertising networks, and the policy explicitly acknowledges this activity may meet the legal definition of 'sale' or 'sharing' under state privacy laws, triggering opt-out rights for eligible residents.
The updated policy discloses a new Fully Paid Securities Lending program through Apex Clearing, under which Betterment will share customer personal information and account details with Apex if customers choose to participate. The revised terms also establish that generative AI service providers have committed that personal information will not be used for model training. For customers participating in promotional offers requiring offline fulfillment, the policy now explicitly states that personal information including mailing address may be shared with third-party partners. You can review the FPSL Program supplemental disclosures for details about the securities lending arrangement, or choose not to participate in the program.
View change record →The agreement authorizes disclosure of identifiers, commercial information, and internet activity data to advertising and marketing networks, and states residents of qualifying states may opt out of this sharing through Betterment's website privacy controls at any time.
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"We do not and will not sell consumer personal information in the traditional and colloquial sense of the word 'sale.' We do use advertising technology on our website, which under some State Privacy Laws may be considered a 'sale' or 'share' of your information. We do not exchange our clients' personal information for monetary payments. As discussed below, you may opt-out of targeted advertising at any time on our website. We disclose the following categories of personal information to third parties for the purpose of engaging in targeted advertising and other marketing activities, including to expand the reach and effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. These disclosures may be considered 'sales' or 'sharing' or use of personal information for 'targeted advertising' under certain State Privacy Laws. Categories of personal information 'shared,' 'sold,' or used for targeted advertising categories of third parties: Identifiers; Commercial information; Internet and electronic network activity information (including information from cookies). Categories of third parties: Advertising and marketing networks.Excerpt from Betterment's Privacy Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages CCPA as amended by CPRA, which grants California residents the right to opt out of the 'sale' or 'sharing' of personal information, including for cross-context behavioral advertising. The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) and California Attorney General have enforcement authority. Multiple other state privacy laws including Colorado CPA, Virginia VCDPA, Connecticut CTDPA, and Texas TDPSA include analogous opt-out rights for targeted advertising. The FTC also has jurisdiction over advertising data practices under the FTC Act. 2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The policy's acknowledgment that its advertising technology practices may constitute a 'sale' or 'share' under state law represents a material disclosure. Compliance teams must confirm that the opt-out mechanism is functional, accessible, and processes requests within state-mandated timeframes (45 days under CCPA, with a 45-day extension). 3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: California creates the highest exposure given CPPA enforcement authority. Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, and other states with enacted privacy laws also create opt-out right obligations. The GLBA preemption argument does not extend to advertising data sharing, which is not a core financial services function governed by GLBA. 4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Advertising network agreements should specify permitted data use, prohibit re-identification, and include data processing terms consistent with applicable state privacy law service provider or contractor classifications. Betterment's statement that it does not exchange client data for monetary payments may not satisfy the broader 'sharing' definition under CPRA, which covers data disclosed for cross-context behavioral advertising regardless of monetary consideration. 5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should confirm the opt-out mechanism on Betterment's website processes requests in real time or within required timeframes, assess whether Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals are honored as required under CCPA/CPRA, review advertising network contracts for CCPA contractor or service provider compliance, and determine whether the three disclosed categories of shared data are fully mapped to all advertising technology vendors in use.
This provision establishes that Betterment's advertising technology practices involve sharing three categories of personal data with advertising networks, and the policy explicitly acknowledges this activity may meet the legal definition of 'sale' or 'sharing' under state privacy laws, triggering opt-out rights for eligible residents.
The agreement authorizes disclosure of identifiers, commercial information, and internet activity data to advertising and marketing networks, and states residents of qualifying states may opt out of this sharing through Betterment's website privacy controls at any time.
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