Gusto uses cookies and tracking tools on its platform to monitor your activity and collect information about how you use its services.
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
Tracking technologies on a payroll and HR platform may capture behavioral data alongside sensitive employment information, and users may not be aware of the extent of this tracking.
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 →Severity downgraded from medium to low; previous version had empty excerpt while current version includes detailed explanation of how cookies work and specific tracking technologies used (beacons, tags, scripts).
View full change record →Gusto tracks your activity on its platform using cookies, beacons, and scripts, which means behavioral data about how you interact with your payroll and HR information is collected in addition to the sensitive personal data you actively submit.
How other platforms handle this
If you choose to reveal any personal information about yourself to other users, you do so at your own risk. We strongly encourage you to use caution in disclosing any personal information online.
When you are asked to provide information, you may decline to do so; but if you choose not to provide information that is necessary to provide some of our Services, you may not be able to use those Services.
to object to profiling activities based on our own legitimate interests
"We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Platform and hold certain information. Cookies are files with small amounts of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our services.Excerpt from Gusto's Privacy Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Cookie and tracking technology use engages CCPA/CPRA requirements for disclosure and opt-out of tracking that constitutes 'sharing' for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Tracking technologies on a payroll and HR platform may capture behavioral data alongside sensitive employment information, and users may not be aware of the extent of this tracking.
Gusto tracks your activity on its platform using cookies, beacons, and scripts, which means behavioral data about how you interact with your payroll and HR information is collected in addition to the sensitive personal data you actively submit.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Gusto.