U.S. users must resolve most disputes with Instacart through private arbitration rather than in court, and cannot join class action lawsuits. There is a 30-day window to opt out after accepting these terms.
This analysis describes what Instacart'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
This provision requires U.S. users to individually arbitrate disputes rather than sue in court or participate in class actions, which may affect their practical ability to pursue small or complex claims against Instacart.
Interpretive note: Enforceability of the class action waiver may vary by jurisdiction, particularly in California and Canadian provinces with consumer protection statutes that may limit or override arbitration requirements.
Instacart rewrote its entire Terms of Service, adding 367 new sentences including sections on AI-powered services, updated arbitration procedures, and revised data handling practices. The restructuring makes it harder to compare what changed because the entire document was reorganized.
View change record →U.S. users who do not opt out within 30 days of accepting these terms waive their right to jury trial and class action participation for virtually all disputes with Instacart. The opt-out mechanism is available by written notice to legal@instacart.com within 30 days.
How other platforms handle this
You and Teachable agree to resolve any disputes through final and binding arbitration, except as set forth under Exceptions to Agreement to Arbitrate below. You also agree that disputes will only be resolved on an individual basis and not as a class, consolidated, or representative action.
Any dispute arising from or relating to the subject matter of these Terms shall be finally settled by arbitration in San Francisco County, California, in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. ("JAMS") then in effect, by ...
THESE TERMS REQUIRE THE USE OF ARBITRATION (SECTION 12.2) ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE DISPUTES, RATHER THAN JURY TRIALS OR CLASS ACTIONS, AND ALSO LIMIT THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE.
Monitoring
Instacart has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 25 platforms.
"FOR U.S. RESIDENTS, EXCEPT IN NARROW CIRCUMSTANCES, ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND INSTACART NOT RESOLVED INFORMALLY ARE SUBJECT TO THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT OF SECTION 7, WHICH REQUIRES BINDING, FINAL ARBITRATION—NO CLASS ACTIONS OR JURY TRIALS. YOU MAY OPT OUT OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS OF ACCEPTING THESE TERMS. SEE SECTION 7 (DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT) FOR WHAT'S COVERED, EXCEPTIONS, FEES, RULES, AND HOW TO OPT OUT.— Excerpt from Instacart's Instacart Terms of Service
1. REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) generally governs the enforceability of this clause in U.S. federal courts. The FTC has scrutinized mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts under its unfair or deceptive acts or practices authority. California courts have historically applied heightened scrutiny to consumer arbitration clauses under unconscionability doctrine, though FAA preemption limits state-level restrictions in many circumstances. The 60-day informal resolution requirement as a condition precedent to arbitration may face challenge if courts find it functionally delays or deters access to dispute resolution. 2. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The class action waiver combined with mandatory individual arbitration creates significant aggregate liability limitation for Instacart across its large consumer base. The enforceability of such waivers in adhesion contracts has been contested in California and other jurisdictions, and legal teams should assess current Ninth Circuit precedent and any state-level developments that may affect enforceability. 3. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California creates the highest exposure given its history of consumer arbitration challenges. Quebec and Ontario may limit arbitration enforceability for consumer contracts under provincial consumer protection statutes, though the terms acknowledge Canadian provincial law carve-outs. Any jurisdiction that has enacted arbitration opt-out protections for consumers creates heightened review requirements. 4. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: For B2B partners and embedded experience operators, the arbitration clause applies to their use of the platform as customers; separate commercial agreements may govern partner-specific dispute resolution. Procurement teams should confirm whether this arbitration clause passes through to any downstream contractual obligations. 5. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should audit the opt-out notification mechanism to ensure it is clearly disclosed at the point of account creation and terms acceptance. The 30-day opt-out window creates a time-sensitive disclosure obligation. Legal should confirm the arbitration clause language has been reviewed against current AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules, which are referenced implicitly by the fee and procedure structure in Section 7.
Full compliance analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Monitor: 25 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.
Coinbase's User Agreement includes a mandatory arbitration clause that most users may not have reviewed. Here is what the clause states and how the opt-out process works.
561 arbitration provisions across 197 platforms. ConductAtlas tracks how dispute resolution is being restructured across the internet.
Compliance Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Compliance includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.
Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.
This provision requires U.S. users to individually arbitrate disputes rather than sue in court or participate in class actions, which may affect their practical ability to pursue small or complex claims against Instacart.
U.S. users who do not opt out within 30 days of accepting these terms waive their right to jury trial and class action participation for virtually all disputes with Instacart. The opt-out mechanism is available by written notice to legal@instacart.com within 30 days.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 131 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Instacart.