Zillow · Zillow Terms of Use · View original document ↗

Perpetual Royalty-Free Content License

Medium severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Rare · 5 of 343 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

When you post any content on Zillow such as reviews, photos, or comments, you give Zillow a permanent, free license to use, copy, edit, and distribute that content in any way they choose, forever.

This analysis describes what Zillow'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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This license is permanent and irrevocable, meaning that even if you delete your content or close your account, Zillow retains the right to use your submitted content indefinitely and for any purpose.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Any content you submit to Zillow, including home photos, reviews, or comments, becomes subject to a permanent license that Zillow can use in any manner, including creating derivative works or selling the content, without paying you or seeking further permission.

How other platforms handle this

Target Medium

By submitting content to Target, you grant Target a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media.

Substack Medium

You hereby grant Substack a license to translate, modify, reproduce, and otherwise act with respect to your Posts to enable us to provide, improve, and notify you about new features within Substack. You understand and agree that we may need to make changes to your Posts to conform and adapt those Po...

Medium Medium

By posting content to Medium, you give us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully paid, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, publish, translate, publicly perform and display your content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your content in...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
By submitting Content to us, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, copy, modify, transmit, sell, exploit, create derivative works from, distribute, and/or publicly perform or display such Content, in whole or in part, in any manner or medium, now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose.

— Excerpt from Zillow's Zillow Terms of Use

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages copyright law under the U.S. Copyright Act, as it constitutes a broad license grant by users over their original works. Where users submit personal data as part of content, CCPA and similar state privacy laws may interact with this license, particularly regarding the right to deletion: if a California resident exercises deletion rights, the continued use of submitted content under this license may create tension with the deletion right as applied to personal information embedded in that content. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The breadth of the license, described as covering any purpose in any medium now known or hereafter developed, is broad but not unusual for major consumer platforms. However, the irrevocable nature combined with real estate context, where users may submit sensitive property photos or personal identifying information, warrants disclosure review. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California residents may have questions about how this license interacts with CCPA deletion rights. EU users, if any are covered by these terms, would face tension with GDPR Article 17 right to erasure, as a perpetual irrevocable license may conflict with erasure obligations depending on how content is categorized. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations submitting proprietary content or branded materials through Zillow's platform should be aware that they are granting an unrestricted license, which may conflict with their own intellectual property management policies and require vendor agreement review. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should assess whether the license grant is adequately disclosed at the point of content submission, whether the irrevocable nature of the license is compatible with deletion right obligations under applicable privacy law, and whether any categories of user-submitted content may constitute personal data subject to data minimization or purpose limitation requirements.

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Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority to examine whether the scope and irrevocability of content licenses in consumer contracts constitute unfair or deceptive practices, particularly if not adequately disclosed.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Zillow Terms of Use
Entity
Zillow
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 8, 2026
Last verified
May 11, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-010058
Document ID
CA-D-00231
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
5d71385f3f09129d73d0aba23f8d5b1024b58a8a4476f69b382a0fdf060a99d9
Analysis generated
May 8, 2026 12:45 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Zillow
Document: Zillow Terms of Use
Record ID: CA-P-010058
Captured: 2026-05-08 12:45:03 UTC
SHA-256: 5d71385f3f09129d…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/zillow/zillow-terms-of-use/perpetual-royalty-free-content-license/
Accessed: July 1, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Zillow's Perpetual Royalty-Free Content License clause do?

This license is permanent and irrevocable, meaning that even if you delete your content or close your account, Zillow retains the right to use your submitted content indefinitely and for any purpose.

How does this clause affect you?

Any content you submit to Zillow, including home photos, reviews, or comments, becomes subject to a permanent license that Zillow can use in any manner, including creating derivative works or selling the content, without paying you or seeking further permission.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 5 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Zillow?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Zillow.