Hugging Face · Hugging Face Terms of Service

Perpetual Irrevocable Public Content License

High severity
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Why it matters

Once content is made public, you cannot revoke other users' rights to use it — even if you later delete or privatize the repository. This has serious implications for proprietary models, datasets, or code.

Consumer impact

Users who publish content publicly on Hugging Face grant every other user a perpetual and irrevocable license to use, reproduce, and create derivative works from that content — this cannot be undone. Hugging Face can also modify, suspend, or discontinue services at any time without notice, and its liability to users is capped at amounts paid in the prior 12 months. You can set repositories to private to limit this broad public license and protect your content from unrestricted use by others.

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.
  • Export Your Data
    Log into your Hugging Face account, navigate to your repository settings, and change the repository visibility to 'Private' before publishing sensitive content to avoid granting an irrevocable public license.

Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC may be relevant if the irrevocable license constitutes an unfair or deceptive practice that materially affects consumers' intellectual property rights without adequate disclosure.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Hugging Face Terms of Service
Entity
Hugging Face
Document last updated
March 24, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 20, 2026
Last verified
March 20, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-001629
Document ID
CA-D-00331
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
63e44d19b2d67c859aa7e84784e2ec73b1bb5b708e90a06be9b87493019e7f63
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Hugging Face | Document: Hugging Face Terms of Service | Record: CA-P-001629
Captured: 2026-03-20 04:09:41 UTC | SHA-256: 63e44d19b2d67c85…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/hugging-face/hugging-face-terms-of-service/perpetual-irrevocable-public-content-license/
Accessed: April 4, 2026
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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