Indeed Forced Arbitration & bundling of consent

Background

Indeed operates a global job-search & recruiting platform owned by Recruit Holdings. Indeed’s legal terms & help-center materials set the baseline for how job seekers & employers communicate on & off the site, including email, phone calls & text messages (SMS).

Incident

On August 22, 2025, Indeed’s Terms of Service were updated (page header: “Last Updated: August 22, 2025”). The page warns that Section D.12 contains an arbitration agreement applicable to all U.S. users & highlights a waiver of jury trial & class/collective/representative actions.

Scope of arbitration

Section D.12 defines an “Arbitration Dispute” broadly to include claims “arising out of or relating in any way to the Site… any communications you send or receive… the Terms or prior versions of the Terms, or any aspect of your relationship with Indeed,” & states that the agreement applies to disputes between users as well as with Indeed, including disputes with facts predating the agreement unless previously noticed. Limited exceptions include small-claims matters, certain IP disputes (excluding patent disputes, which remain arbitrable), & claims that cannot be subject to pre-dispute arbitration agreements (e.g., under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment Act of 2021), unless voluntarily elected for arbitration by the claimant.

Opt-out process

Job seekers are afforded a 30-day window to opt out of the arbitration agreement for their account(s) by sending a specified notice to [email protected] or by emailing a completed opt-out form to that address. The Terms prescribe required content & order for an email opt-out & restrict opt-out to the account holder’s own account(s). The agreement states Indeed will give at least 14 days’ advance notice of future material modifications to the arbitration terms, & that such changes will not apply to disputes that arose, or were known, before the change takes effect.

Administration, rules, & mass-arbitration procedures

Arbitrations are to be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), using AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules for job-seeker disputes, or AAA Commercial Rules for non-job-seeker disputes, “as supplemented, where applicable, by the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules.” The Terms link to the current AAA rules & fee schedules.

For “Mass Arbitration” (defined as 25+ substantially similar demands within 90 days with consistent or coordinated representation), Section D.12(k) sets out: (i) bellwether arbitrations (five per side), (ii) a stay of non-bellwether filings, (iii) global mediation, (iv) an election to proceed in court if mediation fails (while preserving the class-action waiver otherwise), (v) batch administration of remaining claims in groups of up to 100, & (vi) tolling & streamlined discovery across proceedings.

Consent to calls & texts during job applications

What Indeed’s Terms & Help Center say

Indeed’s Terms state that, by providing a phone number, users agree to receive calls & text messages (“Text Messages”) at that number, which “may be automated,” & that providing a number or using the site “establishes a business relationship, allowing Indeed to send… related Text Messages.” The Terms describe STOP as the recognized opt-out mechanism for Indeed texts, note that other unsubscribe attempts may not be recognized, & list short-code programs for job-seeker notifications & recruiter invites.

Indeed’s Help Center article Text Messages or Phone Calls Claiming To Be Indeed? It Might Be a Scam explains that Indeed does text job seekers for reminders/notifications & two-factor authentication only, provides the official short codes (36666, 56666, 463333; & shared 22395, 78156 for 2FA), & reiterates that employers may call or text only if the job seeker shared a phone number in the application. A companion Help Center page details what information an employer can access when a candidate applies, including the phone number contained on the resume used in the application.

Why some describe this as “bundled” consent

In Indeed’s job-application flow, the permission to be contacted by phone/SMS is tied to employer outreach about applications. Under the Terms, providing a phone number & using the Site also authorizes Indeed to send related SMS notifications unless & until the user replies STOP or manages communication settings. As a result, enabling employer phone/SMS contact can also result in receiving text messages from Indeed itself, consistent with the Terms & Help Center disclosures cited above. Regulators & courts have recently debated whether consent to contact must be obtained on a per-seller (one-to-one) basis; as summarized below, the FCC’s attempt to mandate one-to-one consent for telemarketing texts was vacated in January 2025, which affects how “bundling” standards are applied in practice.

Company statements & guidance

Indeed’s Terms FAQ & help content provide the company’s official explanations of how legal terms work & how communications occur on the platform, including the use of email aliases, when employers can contact candidates, what data is shared, & how to unsubscribe from marketing communications.

Legal & regulatory context

• AAA rule updates (May 1, 2025). The AAA announced comprehensive updates to its Consumer & Employment/Workplace Arbitration Rules effective May 1, 2025; Indeed’s Terms incorporate AAA rules by reference for job-seeker disputes.
• FCC one-to-one consent rule vacated (Jan. 24, 2025). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC’s “one-to-one consent” rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, affecting federal expectations for unbundled SMS consent across industries.
• Judicial deference to FCC TCPA rulings limited (June 20, 2025). The U.S. Supreme Court held that district courts are not bound to defer to FCC interpretations of the TCPA in private cases, further shifting compliance analysis to statutory text & court decisions rather than agency orders.

Timeline

• 2025-01-24: Eleventh Circuit vacates the FCC’s TCPA one-to-one consent rule (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC).
• 2025-05-01: AAA’s updated Consumer & Employment/Workplace Arbitration Rules take effect.
• 2025-08-22: Indeed publishes updated Terms of Service with Section D.12 arbitration agreement, mass-arbitration procedures, & 30-day opt-out instructions.

Consumer response

Public complaint boards & review aggregators include reports of unwanted messages & other dissatisfaction related to Indeed’s communications, though these reports are anecdotal & unverified. Indeed’s help-center materials emphasize how to identify & report scam calls or texts that impersonate the company, & provide official short codes & reporting steps.

Analysis

The August 2025 Terms update places most U.S. disputes into binding arbitration with a 30-day opt-out & builds in mass-arbitration management procedures. During job applications, users who enable phone/SMS contact provide employers access to the phone number on the resume used to apply, and—under the Terms—also authorize Indeed to send certain SMS communications until they opt out by replying STOP. The Eleventh Circuit’s January 2025 vacatur of the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule, & subsequent Supreme Court limits on deference to FCC TCPA interpretations, form an important backdrop for evaluating whether application-stage phone/SMS permissions function as “bundled” consent in practice under current federal standards.