"Perplexity presents a high privacy risk score of 68 due to collection of exceptionally sensitive data categories (biometric, genetic, health, government identifiers, sexual orientation), broad sharing with advertising partners and third-party AI models, and pervasive cross-site tracking through cookies and pixels. The policy's vague retention periods combined with limited user control over third-party practices and reliance on consent-based tracking mechanisms further elevates risk, placing Perplexity in the range of ad-supported platforms like Google/Microsoft rather than privacy-focused services."
perplexity Privacy Concerns & Scorecard
Perplexity collects an exceptionally broad range of sensitive data types including biometric identifiers, voice recognition data, genetic data, neural data, health information, government identifiers, racial/ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and financial information (bank account numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers).
Health data is shared with service providers and third-party AI models without explicit restrictions on downstream use or re-use for model training.
Cross-site behavioral tracking enabled through third-party cookies and pixels that collect data across websites to serve tailored ads, with tracking dependent on consent mechanisms.
Limited control over third-party privacy practices despite extensive data sharing; policy directs users to review separate privacy notices of uncontrolled third parties.
Deletion requests may be denied if legal obligations, dispute resolution, or agreement enforcement require retention.
No recommended actions at this time.
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Data Collection & Tracking
Personal Information Collected
Account creation, authentication, identification, and account recovery
Payment processing, order fulfillment, and commercial analysis
Voice authentication, health service integrations, and Email Assistant functionality
Location-based services, personalization, and location targeting for ads
Service delivery, device compatibility, security, and advertising measurement
Service functionality, personalization, support, and product improvement
Ad measurement, behavioral targeting, and personalization across websites
Collected only if voluntarily provided by users in queries, documents, or account information
Profile completeness, professional services, and personalization
User research, survey analysis, and demographic targeting
Cross-Platform Tracking
Perplexity tracks users across multiple websites and apps through third-party cookies, pixels, and SDKs that collect behavioral data for targeted advertising purposes. The Comet browser performs device-level tracking of browsing history even in incognito mode, and data is collected from all connected third-party services, apps, and integrations users authorize.
Tracking Methods:
First-Party Cookies
Perplexity places cookies on its own domains to track user sessions, preferences, and advertising measurement within perplexity.ai
Third-Party Cookies & Pixels
Advertising partners, analytics providers, and content providers place tracking pixels and cookies on Perplexity to collect data across websites for behavioral targeting and ad measurement
Software Development Kits (SDKs)
Third-party SDKs embedded in Perplexity's mobile apps collect device and behavioral data and transmit it to external services for tracking and analytics
Device Fingerprinting
Collection of device identifiers, OS, hardware specs, and other device attributes enables tracking of the same user across different browsers and devices
Location Services
Precise geolocation collected via device location permissions and GPS data enables real-time location tracking and location-based ad targeting
Browser Tracking (Comet)
Perplexity's Comet browser collects browsing history, visited domains, and user activity across all websites; tracking continues even in incognito mode
AI & Data Training
perplexity uses your content to train AI
Below is what's used and how (if at all) you can object.
What Content Is Used
Search Queries and Prompts
User search queries and prompts may be used to train and improve Perplexity's AI models; policy does not explicitly restrict this use and states data is shared with 'third-party AI models'
Conversation Content
User conversation histories and exchanges with Perplexity may be retained and used for model training and improvement
Uploaded Documents
Documents uploaded by users to Perplexity may be retained and processed by AI models for training purposes
Inferred Data and Patterns
Inferences drawn from collected user data are shared with 'company group, service providers, business partners, and professional services' which may include AI model training
How to Object
No opt-out available
This service does not currently provide a public way to opt out of AI training.
Why We Analyzed perplexity
TrueTerms automatically audits privacy policies and data practices using advanced machine learning to keep you informed and protected. This scorecard is based on the latest available public terms of service and privacy policies as of 2026.