Etsy AI training terms change (2026)

Etsy & its "third party partners and vendors" will have the right to train artificial intelligence (AI) on what users upload to the online marketplace from December 16, 2026, under revised Terms of Use. Etsy published those Terms & a new Privacy Policy on October 26, 2026; the policy says Etsy may use content such as listing information, product reviews & community posts to train AI models.

The clause is "subject to any applicable opt-out rights described in our Privacy Policy", but marketplace news site Value Added Resource reported that neither the Terms nor the Privacy Policy names a general way specifically for US sellers to keep their listing photos, descriptions or other uploads out of AI training while they keep selling on Etsy. The policy counts continued use after notice of its changes as acceptance & tells users who disagree that "you may close your account".

AI training rights over user content

Terms of Use clause

Liz Morton, founder & editor of marketplace news site Value Added Resource, reported on October 29, 2026 that Etsy's updated Terms of Use were published on October 26 & will take effect on December 16, 2026. The version of Etsy's Terms of Use marked "Last updated on Sep 30, 2026" describes itself as "a legally binding contract between you and Etsy".

Value Added Resource wrote that the revised Terms add "explicit authorization for AI training and development". The added sentence in the revised Terms reads:

This also includes the right for us and our third party partners and vendors to use Your Content to develop, train, test and improve artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, including to improve the Services and/or help keep them safe, subject to any applicable opt-out rights described in our Privacy Policy.

Privacy Policy language

Etsy's new Privacy Policy states that it "was published on October 26, 2026, and will take effect on December 16, 2026". Under the heading "Where necessary for our legitimate interests", the policy says Etsy "may also use Content you upload to our Services", such as listing information, product reviews & community posts, "to train and develop artificial intelligence and machine learning models", including for new features "like AI listing tools or AI review summaries".

Etsy relies there on its own legitimate interests or those of third parties where they are "not outweighed by your rights and freedoms", & the policy says that for users outside the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or the United Kingdom (UK), "the legal bases on which we rely may differ".

In a separate row of the same table, the policy says Etsy may also share uploaded Content, "e.g., listing information, product reviews, community posts", & other information it collects with its "fraud and security suppliers, to improve their services and our own", in order to keep its marketplace "safe and secure" & enforce its policies.

License already in the Terms

The Terms marked "Last updated on Sep 30, 2026" define "Your Content" as content a user posts using Etsy's services, such as shop names, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews & videos, & say Etsy does not "make any claim to it". Posting it grants Etsy &, "as authorized by Etsy in its sole discretion", third parties "a license to use it". A subsection Etsy called "the legalese version of the last section" describes a "non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual" license "to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content".

The examples Etsy gives in those Terms say it has permission to display a listing photo or video to buyers & can "resize or enhance it so it looks good to a buyer using our mobile app", can translate an English description "into French so a buyer in Paris can learn the story behind your item", & can feature a seller's photo or video "on our homepage, in one of our blogs or even on a billboard" to promote the seller's business & Etsy's. Value Added Resource wrote that because the existing license was already broad enough to give Etsy extensive rights to use seller content, the new language "does not necessarily mean" Etsy is beginning AI training with that information "for the first time".

Acceptance and opt-out

Continued use as acceptance

Etsy's new Privacy Policy says that a user who keeps using the Services after Etsy gives notice of changes, or after the user learns about them, is "accepting and agreeing to the updated Privacy Policy". The policy adds: "If you do not agree with the changes, you may close your account." Etsy's Terms of Use, last updated on September 30, 2026, say that use of the Services "after the effective date of the changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms".

Value Added Resource wrote that because the license is perpetual & irrevocable, removing a listing or closing a shop "may not terminate Etsy's contractual permission to use previously uploaded content", & that Etsy has not clarified how it handles that material in AI training datasets or models.

Objection rights by region

For processing that Etsy bases on its legitimate interests, the Privacy Policy says users in the EEA, the UK & other countries have the right to object to & seek the restriction of that processing. The policy's Right to Object reads:

If we process your information based on our legitimate interests as explained above, or in the public interest, you can object to this processing in certain circumstances. In such cases, we will stop processing your information unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing or where it is needed for legal reasons.

The policy says users can manage, change, limit, correct or delete their information through their Etsy account settings or profile, & can exercise the listed rights, "subject to applicable law", through the contact options in its Section 12, which include an email address for Etsy's Data Protection Officer. For users located in the United States, the policy says they "may be entitled to additional rights or disclosures" & refers them to a separate United States Regional Privacy Policy.

Value Added Resource wrote that sellers in the European Union & United Kingdom "may have additional rights to object to processing of personal information", though those protections "do not necessarily cover every type of creative content uploaded to the marketplace".

Rules for outside AI tools and agents

Under the heading "Don't Steal Our Stuff", the revised Terms say:

Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use, collect, store, or transmit any content, data, or information obtained from the Services — whether by automated or manual means — for the purpose of developing, training, fine-tuning, evaluating, benchmarking, testing, prompting, distilling, or otherwise contributing to any machine learning model, artificial intelligence system, or related technology, without our express permission.

The Terms marked "Last updated on Sep 30, 2026" already required users to agree not to "crawl, scrape, or spider any page of the Services" without Etsy's "express permission". Value Added Resource reported that Etsy has limited public access to "portions of" its seller community forums, which it said leaves that material harder for outside AI companies to reach while Etsy keeps access for its own technology development.

The revised Terms also treat access to Etsy's services "by automated means", including bots, scripts, browser extensions, artificial intelligence or machine learning systems & "agentic technologies acting on behalf of a user or third party", as use of the Services, & call each such tool an "Automated Agent". Etsy says it may, "in our sole discretion and at any time", permit, condition or prohibit the use of Automated Agents for any purpose, including browsing, data collection, account interaction or transaction execution. Where it permits an Automated Agent, Etsy may require it to disclose that it is automated & to identify the person or entity on whose behalf it operates, & users are responsible for "all acts and omissions of any Automated Agent you deploy, control, or authorize".

Background

In an October 22, 2026 post on its news site, Etsy wrote that nearly 6 million creative entrepreneurs sell on Etsy & that nearly 90% run their shops on their own. An April 21, 2026 article in Etsy's Seller Handbook said buyers "can now see quick, AI-powered highlights from your reviews". Etsy's third-quarter 2026 shareholder letter said Etsy was continuing to test an AI-powered assistant that uses each shop's data to provide personalized insights & recommendations.

The same handbook article said Etsy had partnered with platforms so shoppers can discover, browse & purchase some items directly within AI services including ChatGPT, Gemini & Copilot. Technology news site Engadget reported on January 8, 2026 that Microsoft's Copilot Checkout, which lets people complete purchases directly inside Copilot, was rolling out in the US & integrates with Etsy, among other companies. Retail news site Retail TouchPoints reported on January 9, 2026 that eligible Etsy sellers did not need to opt in to have their listings included in Copilot Checkout.

According to Value Added Resource, Etsy announced stricter rules for AI-generated products & listing images four days before publishing the new Terms. In a Seller Handbook article dated October 22, 2026, James Ossman, Etsy's Vice President of Customer Operations, wrote that Etsy was "clarifying our expectations for AI use and updating listing image requirements" & introducing restrictions that prohibit bot-generated listings & AI-generated functional guides, such as patterns, recipes & instructions. The article said a listing must include "at least one unedited photo of the actual item against a real background", adding that some exceptions may apply depending on the types of items a seller sells.

Ossman's article said Etsy had not "always addressed the topic of AI as directly or as quickly" as sellers may have wanted. It also said many active buyers say they cannot tell which items involve AI-generated content, which it called "a top-three barrier to shopping more often on Etsy".

A separate Seller Handbook article, also dated October 22, 2026, on Etsy's stance on AI creations, said there are "important ongoing conversations regarding the training of AI models", including ethical questions about the use of copyrighted works.

Etsy's statements

In an earlier filing, the Form 10-K annual report for 2025, dated February 19, 2026, Etsy, Inc. said its systems are "increasingly reliant on AI and large language models" (LLMs), which it described as complex & "subject to increasing litigation and regulatory scrutiny".

According to Value Added Resource, an Etsy spokesperson provided the following explanation of the company's intended use of seller content for AI development:

The recent update to our Terms and Privacy Policy regarding AI Models is intended to enable Etsy to use user-generated content to improve LLMs that strengthen our marketplace in service of our community, like AI-powered tools that make running a shop easier for sellers, surfacing the most relevant items for buyers, and technology that helps detect fraud.

According to Value Added Resource, Etsy's response left two questions open: whether third parties that Etsy authorizes can use seller content to build AI products that have nothing to do with its marketplace, & whether Etsy has already trained models on that content under its existing Terms.

In a Seller Handbook article dated April 21, 2026, Etsy told sellers that "AI powered seller tools are optional" & that the tools always give sellers a chance to review, edit & approve. Value Added Resource reported that Etsy has not made a comparable commitment about giving sellers control over the use of their content for AI training.

Reporting and commentary

Value Added Resource updated Morton's report on November 4, 2026. On October 31, 2026, Paul Drecksler, founder & editor of the e-commerce news site Shopifreaks, posted a summary of the terms change that attributed its account to "Liz Morton at Value Added Resource".

In an article on EcomCrew, a website for online sellers, last updated November 2, 2026, writer Alexa Alix wrote that the change "does not transfer ownership to Etsy" & that it does not establish December 16 as the first time Etsy uses seller material in AI systems.

In a recap on Medium, a blogging platform, of the Shopifreaks newsletter's 302nd edition, published November 2, 2026, Drecksler wrote that Etsy's new terms bar outside companies from training AI on its data "without permission". He wrote that the question "is about sellers giving or not giving THEIR permission" while keeping the ability to sell on Etsy.

See also

• Post-purchase EULA modification
• Terms of service
• EBay opts-in users for AI training
• Adobe ToS update gives the company rights over consumers' works
• DeviantArt