Circle Terms Scorecard

Grade F — Predatory terms (score 41/100)

Developer agreement mandates individual arbitration and class waiver, claims a perpetual irrevocable license to user content, allows termination for any reason, and shares data for advertising with no security commitment.

Forced arbitration, perpetual IP license, broad data sharing for ads, and no security commitment

Terms at a glance

Sells your data
YES
Forced arbitration
YES
Trains AI on your content
UNCLEAR
Collects biometric data
NO
Shares data with government
UNCLEAR
Easy to cancel
YES
Tells you before changes
NO
Deletes data on request
UNCLEAR

What the terms actually say

Section 12 — Dispute Resolution and Binding Individual Arbitration

ANY ARBITRATION UNDER THESE GENERAL TERMS WILL ONLY BE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS; CLASS ARBITRATIONS, CLASS ACTIONS, REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS, AND CONSOLIDATION WITH OTHER ARBITRATIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED.

You must resolve all disputes through individual arbitration and cannot join a class action against Circle.

Section 12 — Opt Out Window

To reject this provision, you must send us an opt-out notice (the "Opt Out") within thirty (30) days after you create a Circle Developer Account or we first provide you with the right to reject this provision.

Arbitration opt-out requires written notice within 30 days of account creation; this short, paper/email-only window still functions as forced arbitration.

Section 4 — Submission of User Content

By submitting, posting or displaying User Content... you give Circle a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such User Content

Circle claims a permanent, irrevocable right to use your content even after termination, for any purpose related to its services.

Section 7 — Termination

We may terminate these Terms or suspend or terminate your use of the Developer Tools or the Services (or any portion thereof) at any time for any reason.

Circle may terminate your access at any time for any reason, with no notice obligation.

Section 7 — Post-Termination Data Handling

we may (but have no obligation to other than to the extent required by applicable Legal Requirements) delete your information and account data stored on our servers

After termination, Circle has no obligation to delete your data on any particular timeline.

Opt-Out Request Page — Sale/Share Disclosure

Circle discloses personal information to third parties for its targeted advertising and data analytics purposes. Based on broad legal definitions, these disclosures may be considered "selling" and/or "sharing" of personal information.

Circle shares personal information with third parties for targeted advertising and analytics, which may qualify as sale or sharing under privacy laws.

Section 13 — Governing Law and Section 12 Court Venue

These Terms are governed by Delaware law... any judicial proceedings... will be brought in and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state or federal courts in Boston, Massachusetts.

Disputes must be resolved in Boston, MA under Delaware law, regardless of the user's location.

Section 10 — Indemnity

You will indemnify, defend, and hold us (and our employees, directors, agents, affiliates and representatives) harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, losses, damages, judgments, tax assessments, penalties, interest, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees)

You must indemnify Circle for all claims, damages, and legal fees, including from third-party claims related to your use.

Section 14 — Limitation on Time to Initiate a Dispute

Any action or proceeding by you relating to any Dispute must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues.

You must bring any claim within 1 year, an unusually short window that cuts off otherwise valid claims.

Section 12 — Dispute Resolution (Jury Waiver)

YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO HAVE YOUR CASE DECIDED BY A JURY AND YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION AGAINST CIRCLE.

You explicitly waive the right to a jury trial in addition to the class-action waiver.

Section 9 — Limitation of Liability (Security Disclaimer)

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL CIRCLE BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, LOSS, OR INJURY RESULTING FROM HACKING, TAMPERING, OR OTHER UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS OR USE OF THE DEVELOPER TOOLS, SERVICES OR YOUR CIRCLE DEVELOPER ACCOUNT

Circle refuses all responsibility for security breaches, unauthorized access, or hacking of your account.

Section 7 — Termination (No Data Export Mechanism)

If these Terms or your use of the Services is terminated or suspended for any reason or no reason... we may (but have no obligation to other than to the extent required by applicable Legal Requirements) delete your information and account data stored on our servers

No mention of any data export or download tool; data may simply be deleted with no portability right.

Last reviewed 2026-09-02 under rubric v3.5.

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