You cannot use Perplexity to gather other people's personal information without permission, build stalking or tracking tools, or conduct surveillance without consent.
This analysis describes what Perplexity AI'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 addresses AI-enabled privacy violations, including the use of generative AI to build surveillance or data harvesting tools targeting individuals without their knowledge.
Users who attempt to use Perplexity to build surveillance tools, harvest personal data, or enable stalking violate this policy; the prohibition covers both direct surveillance and tool development for those purposes.
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"You may not use the Services to collect, process, or store personal information of others without authorization, to conduct unauthorized surveillance, or to build tools designed to enable stalking, tracking, or monitoring of individuals without their knowledge and consent.— Excerpt from Perplexity AI's Perplexity Acceptable Use Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages CCPA and CPRA in California, GDPR in the EU, and various US state consumer privacy laws, all of which restrict unauthorized collection and processing of personal information. The FTC Act's prohibition on unfair practices applies to unauthorized surveillance. State wiretapping and electronic communications laws may also apply depending on the surveillance method. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High for enterprise users who deploy Perplexity in data-intensive workflows. The provision's prohibition on 'collecting, processing, or storing personal information of others without authorization' is broadly worded and may capture certain analytics or research use cases that incidentally involve personal data. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU users face GDPR enforcement by national data protection authorities. California users are subject to CCPA and CPRA enforcement by the California Privacy Protection Agency. Illinois BIPA may apply if biometric data is involved in any surveillance use case. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprises should assess whether their Perplexity deployments involve processing personal data of third parties, and if so, whether data processing agreements with Perplexity are in place and adequate under applicable privacy law. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should audit enterprise use cases to ensure no Perplexity-powered workflows collect or process personal information of individuals without appropriate legal basis and disclosure, particularly in HR, customer service, or research contexts.
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This provision addresses AI-enabled privacy violations, including the use of generative AI to build surveillance or data harvesting tools targeting individuals without their knowledge.
Users who attempt to use Perplexity to build surveillance tools, harvest personal data, or enable stalking violate this policy; the prohibition covers both direct surveillance and tool development for those purposes.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Perplexity AI.