Booking.com · Booking.com Terms and Conditions

User-Generated Content Royalty-Free License

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What it is

When you post a review, photo, or comment on Booking.com, you give the company a permanent, worldwide, free license to use, modify, and republish that content in any format — and that license cannot be revoked.

Clause Stability Highly Volatile

1
Change
1
Month Monitored
Apr 18, 2026
First Seen
Apr 18, 2026
Last Seen
This clause has changed once in 1 month of monitoring.

Change history

added Apr 18, 2026

New provision in first tracked version.

View full change record →

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Any review, photo, or comment submitted to Booking.com can be used by the company indefinitely, globally, and in any medium without additional consent or compensation to the user who created it — including in advertising or AI training datasets.

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
    Submit a GDPR or CCPA data deletion request through Booking.com's privacy portal. Log into your account, navigate to privacy settings, and submit a request to delete your personal data including user-generated content.

Cross-platform context

See how other platforms handle User-Generated Content Royalty-Free License and similar clauses.

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

Consumers who write reviews or upload photos permanently lose exclusive control over that content, which Booking.com can use commercially, modify, and license to third parties without further permission or payment.

View original clause language
By uploading any content to our platform (including reviews, photographs, and comments), you grant Booking.com a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, distribute, publish, create derivative works from, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you submit and that use of your content by Booking.com will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision implicates GDPR Articles 6 and 9 (lawful basis for processing personal data embedded in user-generated content, particularly reviews that may reveal health or political information), GDPR Article 17 (right to erasure — the 'irrevocable' license term creates tension with erasure rights), and GDPR Articles 13-14 (transparency about how submitted content is processed). It also engages the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) if content is used to train AI systems, which may require additional disclosure. The FTC's endorsement and testimonial guidelines (16 CFR Part 255) are relevant if user reviews are commercially republished.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has jurisdiction over deceptive practices related to user-generated content licensing, endorsement republication, and undisclosed commercial use of consumer-submitted reviews under FTC Act Section 5 and 16 CFR Part 255.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Booking.com Terms and Conditions
Entity
Booking.com
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
April 18, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002984
Document ID
CA-D-00237
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
52c4414b2e6350e445ed7a44c8bc8ae56a7608f1f1d032c99314f99fcd4f8724
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Booking.com | Document: Booking.com Terms and Conditions | Record: CA-P-002984
Captured: 2026-04-18 11:26:18 UTC | SHA-256: 52c4414b2e6350e4…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/bookingcom/bookingcom-terms-and-conditions/user-generated-content-royalty-free-license/
Accessed: May 2, 2026
Classification
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