Gusto retains your personal data even after you close your account, for as long as necessary to meet legal, regulatory, and business purposes.
This analysis describes what Gusto'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
The clause establishes that data retention obligations are determined by regulatory requirements rather than user preference, creating a structural limitation on data deletion capabilities within the service architecture.
The updated policy explicitly discloses that Gusto sells or shares personal information (defined under state privacy laws) with third parties including business, advertising, and technology partners. The company describes 'sale' as providing information in exchange for valuable consideration, and 'share' as providing information for cross-context behavioral advertising. This disclosure formalizes practices that may have been permitted under previous language but were not explicitly described. You can opt out of sales or sharing of personal information through the Cookies, Analytics, and Other Tracking Technologies section.
View change record →The updated Privacy Policy now explicitly states it covers retirement account management (401k, SEP IRA, IRA accounts) and adds Stripe alongside Plaid as a third-party service provider that collects financial institution data. The policy restructures how it describes Gusto's role in different contexts: when Gusto acts as a service provider processing payroll or other data on behalf of employers, when it acts as an employer itself, or when it operates as a co-employer under a professional organization (PEO) arrangement, with separate privacy notices applying in each case. The policy introduces a new commitment that de-identified data will not be re-identified except to verify compliance with applicable law. If you connect a bank account through Stripe, that data will be treated under Stripe's Privacy Policy, which you should review separately.
View change record →Your most sensitive personal and financial data will continue to be held by Gusto after you stop using their service, potentially for years, due to regulatory and legal retention requirements. This limits the practical effect of a deletion request in some cases.
How other platforms handle this
Affirm will retain your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation.
Mistral AI shall retain the Customer Exportable Data and Assets for a period of thirty (30) days from the earlier between (a) the expiration of the Transitional Period or (b) Customer's notification under Section 2.2.2 (b) of these Additional Terms.
We collect and keep personal data only as needed or allowed for the purposes set out in this Statement, based on the reason we collected the personal data in the first instance and what is permitted under the laws that apply to the processing.
"As a financial institution, Gusto is subject to certain retention requirements under state and federal law. As a result, certain types of Employer Data may not be removed from the Platform.Excerpt from Gusto's Privacy Policy
Extended data retention implicates CCPA/CPRA exemptions for data retained for legal compliance purposes, IRS and state payroll record retention requirements, and potential conflicts with data minimization principles under applicable state privacy laws.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Get the research letter
Companies change their terms quietly. We read every version and catch what actually changed. One email a week on the changes that matter and what they mean.
The clause establishes that data retention obligations are determined by regulatory requirements rather than user preference, creating a structural limitation on data deletion capabilities within the service architecture.
Your most sensitive personal and financial data will continue to be held by Gusto after you stop using their service, potentially for years, due to regulatory and legal retention requirements. This limits the practical effect of a deletion request in some cases.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 275 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Gusto.