Betterment · Betterment Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

Sensitive Financial Data Collection

Medium severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 325 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

Betterment collects highly sensitive personal and financial information including your Social Security Number, bank account numbers, investment history, and account balances as part of operating its services.

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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The collection of Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and full financial transaction histories creates significant risk exposure if the data is ever breached, misused, or shared beyond what users expect.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

This provision means Betterment holds some of the most sensitive data tied to your financial identity, including your SSN and complete banking and investment account details, which are high-value targets in the event of a data breach or unauthorized access.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Delete Your Data
    Send a written data deletion request to privacy@betterment.com specifying the personal information you want deleted and your account details. Betterment will process verified requests in accordance with applicable law.

How other platforms handle this

PlanetScale Medium

When you visit the Careers portion of our websites, we collect the information that you provide to us in connection with your job application. This includes but is not limited to business and personal contact information, professional credentials and skills, educational and work history and other in...

American Airlines Medium

American does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children – persons under the age of 13, or another age if required by applicable law – other than when required to comply with the law or for safety and security reasons. Due to the nature of our Services, we may collect travel i...

GOAT Medium

We may collect information about your location, including precise geolocation information, when you use our Services. We use this information to provide location-based services, such as showing you products available in your area, and for other purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

See all platforms with this clause type →

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
We collect several categories of personal information. The specific pieces of personal information we collect about you will depend on how you interact with us and which of our products and services you use. This may include: Identifiers such as your name, address, phone number, email address, Social Security Number, date of birth, government-issued ID, and IP address. Financial and transactional information such as bank account numbers, investment account details, transaction history, account balances, and payment information.

— Excerpt from Betterment's Betterment Privacy Policy

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision implicates the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Regulation P, which govern the collection and safeguarding of nonpublic personal financial information by financial institutions. SEC Regulation S-P further requires registered investment advisers to implement written information security programs. The FTC also has jurisdiction over unfair or deceptive data practices. Collection of Social Security numbers and government-issued IDs may also engage applicable state identity theft protection statutes. 2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The breadth of sensitive identifiers collected, including SSNs, government IDs, and full financial account details, creates significant data security and regulatory obligations. Any unauthorized disclosure of this data would likely trigger state breach notification laws in all 50 states as well as GLBA incident response requirements. 3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: All U.S. jurisdictions impose breach notification obligations for SSN and financial account data. California, New York (SHIELD Act), and Illinois impose heightened requirements. EU and UK users, if any, would trigger GDPR and UK GDPR obligations, though the policy appears primarily U.S.-focused. 4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Any service provider receiving this category of data must be subject to written agreements restricting use to the purposes for which it was shared, consistent with GLBA and CCPA service provider requirements. Procurement teams should verify that all data processors handling SSNs and account numbers have appropriate technical and organizational controls and contractual indemnification provisions. 5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should maintain an up-to-date data inventory mapping all locations where SSNs and financial account numbers are stored, processed, and transmitted; conduct regular penetration testing and access control reviews; and confirm that incident response plans address GLBA and state law notification timelines.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • CFPB
    CFPB has supervisory authority over nonbank financial companies including investment platforms handling consumer financial data under GLBA and related consumer financial protection statutes.
    File a complaint →
  • FTC
    FTC has jurisdiction over unfair or deceptive data collection and security practices by financial services companies not subject to other federal regulator oversight.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
FCRA
United States Federal
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GLBA
United States Federal
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
Betterment Privacy Policy
Entity
Betterment
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 10, 2026
Last verified
May 10, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-009204
Document ID
CA-D-00212
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
629c272827ea0612be12e62d401333f60cf68e24915b52ee0ededd29e635c68b
Analysis generated
May 10, 2026 15:51 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Betterment
Document: Betterment Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-009204
Captured: 2026-05-10 15:51:14 UTC
SHA-256: 629c272827ea0612…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/betterment/betterment-privacy-policy/sensitive-financial-data-collection/
Accessed: May 14, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Betterment's Sensitive Financial Data Collection clause do?

The collection of Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and full financial transaction histories creates significant risk exposure if the data is ever breached, misused, or shared beyond what users expect.

How does this clause affect you?

This provision means Betterment holds some of the most sensitive data tied to your financial identity, including your SSN and complete banking and investment account details, which are high-value targets in the event of a data breach or unauthorized access.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Betterment?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Betterment.