This analysis describes what PayPal'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
Creating a PayPal account is not a prerequisite for PayPal to collect a person's Personal Information; data collection applies to any use of covered services.
Using PayPal-powered services without an account still subjects the reader to PayPal's Personal Information collection.
How other platforms handle this
You may give us your Identity Data, Contact Data, Financial Data, Profile Data, and other information by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, e-mail or otherwise.
you may refer a friend to Instacart or send an Instacart gift delivery or gift card to someone. In these cases, we collect the recipient's name, email, and delivery address, as applicable.
We collect information about your use of the Services, such as the dates and times of access, browsing history, search, information about the links you click and about third-party applications...
"We will collect Personal Information from you even if you are a non-account holder when you use our Services, such as when you use our Pay without a PayPal Account, use Unbranded Payment Services...Excerpt from PayPal's Privacy Statement
Netflix updated its Privacy Statement on April 18, 2026, disclosing voice recording collection and expanded household ad profiling for the first time.
Google's Privacy Policy covers Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and every site running Google Analytics. Here is what it actually authorizes.
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Creating a PayPal account is not a prerequisite for PayPal to collect a person's Personal Information; data collection applies to any use of covered services.
Using PayPal-powered services without an account still subjects the reader to PayPal's Personal Information collection.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 296 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PayPal.