Cloudflare Privacy Policy

Cloudflare is updating its Privacy Policy effective October 31, 2019. You can view the updated Privacy Policy here.

Effective March 14, 2019

We have updated our October 25, 2018 privacy policy to list our German entity as our legal representative entity in the EU and to add the contact information for our new office in Sydney, Australia.

This Cloudflare Privacy Policy (“Policy”) outlines the information that Cloudflare, Inc. (“Cloudflare”, “we”, “us” or “our”) gathers, how we use that information, and the options you have to access, correct, or delete such information.

CLOUDFLARE’S PROMISE

Our mission to help build a better Internet is rooted in the importance we place on establishing trust with our Customers, Website Visitors, and the Internet community globally. To earn and maintain that trust, we commit to communicating transparently, providing security, and protecting the privacy of data on our systems.

We keep your personal information personal and private. We will not sell, rent, share, or otherwise disclose your personal information to anyone except as necessary to provide our services or as otherwise described in this Policy without first providing you with notice and the opportunity to consent.

1. POLICY APPLICATION.

   This Policy applies to Cloudflare’s collection, use, and disclosure of the information of the following categories of individuals:

   • Attendees: Individuals who provide their information to Cloudflare or Cloudflare representatives when they attend or register to attend Cloudflare-sponsored events or other events at which Cloudflare participates.

   • Website Visitors: Individuals who visit our Websites and who may opt to provide an email address to receive communications from Cloudflare. For the purposes of this Policy, “Websites” shall refer collectively to www.cloudflare.com as well as any other websites Cloudflare owns and that link to this Policy. For clarity, “Websites” does not include any sites owned or operated by our Customers, including where we serve as Registrar.

   • Customers: Those who register on their own or on behalf of an entity or organization to use any of the Cloudflare Services (as defined below), including administrators on a Customer account. For the purposes of this Policy, “Services” shall refer to all network service solutions marketed for subscription at www.cloudflare.com, including when Services are sold by an authorized partner or reseller.

   • Resolver Users: Individuals who use Cloudflare’s Recursive Domain Name System (“DNS”) Resolver services, such as the 1.1.1.1 Resolver. Learn more about 1.1.1.1.

   • End Users: Individuals who visit our Customers’ websites and whose information we process in order to provide the Services to our Customers pursuant to our agreements with them.

   This Policy does not apply to our Customers’ websites, which may have their own terms and privacy policies. Our Customers are solely responsible for establishing policies for and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including those relating to the collection of personal information in connection with the use of our Services by End Users with whom our Customers interact.

   Cloudflare’s Websites and Services are not intended for, nor designed to attract, individuals under the age of eighteen. Cloudflare does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from any person under the age of eighteen.

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT.

   Attendees:

   • We may ask for and collect personal information such as your name, address, phone number and email address when you register for or attend a sponsored event or other events at which Cloudflare (and/or its representatives) participates.

   Website Visitors:

   • Name, email address, and other contact information. We ask for and—at your option—collect personal information from you when you submit web forms on our Websites, including opportunities to sign up for and agree to receive email communications from us. We also may ask you to submit such personal information if you choose to use interactive features of the Websites, including participation in surveys, contests, promotions, sweepstakes, requesting customer support, or otherwise communicating with us. We will send such communications in accordance with applicable law.

   • Log Files. Just as when you visit and interact with most websites and services delivered via the Internet, when you visit our Websites, including the Cloudflare Community Forum, we gather certain information and store it in log files. This information may include but is not limited to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, system configuration information, URLs of referring pages, and locale and language preferences.

   • Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies. We may use cookies and other information gathering technologies for a variety of purposes, such as providing us with information about how you interact with our Websites and assisting us in our marketing efforts. You can control how websites use cookies by configuring your browser's privacy settings (please refer to your browser's help function to learn more about cookie controls). Note that if you disable cookies entirely, Cloudflare’s Websites may not function properly. We may also use cookies and similar technologies to provide you advertising on third-party sites based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish not to have this information used for the purpose of serving you interest-based ads, you may opt-out by clicking here (or if located in the European Union, click here). For more information about the cookies Cloudflare uses, please see our Cookie Policy.

   • Interactive Areas. The Websites may offer publicly accessible blogs, community forums, comments sections, discussion forums, or other interactive features (“Interactive Areas”). If you choose to participate in any of these Interactive Areas, please be aware that any information that you post in an Interactive Area might be read, collected, and used by others who access it. If you wish to remove your personal information from any of our Interactive Areas, please see the section below entitled, Your Data Rights.

   Customers:

   • Customer Account Information. When you register for a Cloudflare account, we collect your email address. We will also ask you to enter your website domain in order to participate in the Services. We refer to this information as “Customer Account Information” for the purposes of this Policy. Customer Account Information is required to identify you as a Customer and permit you to access your account(s). By voluntarily providing us with such Customer Account Information, you represent that you are the owner of such personal data or otherwise have the requisite consent to provide it to us.

   • Payment Information. You are not required to enter your credit card information unless and until you decide to continue with a paid subscription to our Services. When you sign up for one of our paid Services, you must provide billing information. The information you will need to submit depends on which billing method you choose. For example, if you pay with a credit card, we will collect your card information and billing address, although we do not store full credit card numbers or personal account numbers.

   Resolver Users:

   • We will collect limited DNS query data that is sent to the resolvers. This data does not contain user IP addresses or any other personally identifiable information, and the bulk of the data is only stored for 24 hours. You can learn more about our 1.1.1.1 commitment to privacy here and here.

   End Users:

   • Cloudflare provides web optimization and security services that our Customers use to improve and protect their websites, including a reverse proxy, pass-through security service, and a content distribution network. Because Cloudflare is a reverse proxy, our IP addresses may appear in WHOIS and DNS records for websites using our Services. We are a conduit for information controlled by others. It is our Customers and their users who are responsible for the content transmitted across our network (e.g., images, written content, graphics, etc.).

   • We collect End Users’ information when they use our Customers’ websites, web applications, and APIs. This information may include but is not limited to IP addresses, system configuration information, and other information about traffic to and from Customers’ websites (collectively, “Log Data”). We collect and use Log Data to operate, maintain, and improve our Services in performance of our obligations under our Customer agreements. For example, Log Data can help us to detect new threats, identify malicious third parties, and provide more robust security protection for our Customers.

   Legal Basis for Processing (EEA only):

   If you are an individual from the European Economic Area (EEA), please note that our legal basis for collecting and using your personal information will depend on the personal information collected and the specific context in which we collect it. We normally will collect personal information from you only where: (a) we have your consent to do so, (b) where we need your personal information to perform a contract with you (e.g. to deliver the Cloudflare Services you have requested), or (c) where the processing is in our legitimate interests. Please note that in most cases, if you do not provide the requested information, Cloudflare will not be able to provide the requested service to you.

   In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from you, or may otherwise need the personal information to protect your vital interests or those of another person.

   Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw or decline consent at any time. Where we rely on our legitimate interests to process your personal data, you have the right to object.

   If you have any questions about or need further information concerning the legal basis on which we collect and use your personal information, please contact us at privacyquestions@cloudflare.com.

3. HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT.

   Cloudflare only processes personal information in a way that is compatible with and relevant for the purpose for which it was collected or authorized. As a general matter, for all categories of data we collect except Resolver User data, we may use the information we collect (including personal information, to the extent applicable) to:

   • provide, operate, maintain, improve, and promote the Website and Services;

   • enable you to access and use the Website and Services;

   • process and complete transactions, and send you related information, including purchase confirmations and invoices;

   • send transactional messages, including responses to your comments, questions, and requests; provide customer service and support; and send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;

   • send commercial communications, in accordance with your communication preferences, such as providing you with information about products and services, features, surveys, newsletters, offers, promotions, contests, and events about us and our partners; and send other news or information about us and our partners. See Section 8 below for information on managing your communication preferences.

   • process and deliver contest or sweepstakes entries and rewards;

   • monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with the Websites and Services and for marketing or advertising purposes;

   • comply with legal obligations as well as to investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions, unauthorized access to the Services, and other illegal activities;

   • personalize the Websites and Services, including by providing features or content that match your interests and preferences; and

   • process for other purposes for which we obtain your consent.

   Resolver Users. We use information we collect from Resolver Users to operate and improve the Cloudflare Resolver, such as to assist us in our debugging efforts if an issue arises. We will not combine the information collected from DNS queries with any other Cloudflare or third party data in any way that can be used to identify individual end users. Learn more.

   Information from Third Party Services. We may combine information we collect as described above with personal information we obtain from third parties. For example, we may combine information entered on a Cloudflare sales submission form with information we receive from a third-party sales intelligence platform vendor to enhance our ability to market our Services to Customers or potential Customers.

4. INFORMATION SHARING.

   We work with other companies who help us run our business (“Service Providers”). These companies provide services to help us deliver customer support, process credit card payments, manage and contact our existing Customers as well as sales leads, provide marketing support, and otherwise operate and improve our Services. These Service Providers may only process personal information pursuant to our instructions and in compliance both with this Privacy Policy and other applicable confidentiality and security measures and regulations, including our obligations under the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield frameworks described in Section 6, below.

   Specifically, we do not permit our Service Providers to use any personal information we share with them for their own marketing purposes or for any other purpose than in connection with the services they provide to us.

   In addition to sharing with Service Providers as described above, we may also share your information with others in the following circumstances:

   • Within the Cloudflare Group (defined for the purposes of this Policy as Cloudflare Inc. (United States), Cloudflare Ltd. (England), and Cloudflare, Pte. Ltd. (Singapore));

   • With our resellers and other sales partners who may help us distribute the Services to Customers;

   • With an app developer when you install an app from our App Marketplace;

   • In the event of a merger, sale, change in control, or reorganization of all or part of our business;

   • When we are required to disclose personal information to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims. (Learn more about how we handle law enforcement requests here);

   • Where we have a good-faith belief sharing is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of our Service Agreement, or as otherwise required to comply with our legal obligations; or

   • as you may otherwise consent from time to time.

   Learn more about information sharing specific to the 1.1.1.1 Resolver.

   We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, including as defined under California Civil Code Sec. 1798.83.

5. DATA AGGREGATION.

   Cloudflare may aggregate data we acquire about our Customers and their End Users, including the Log Data described above. For example, we may assemble data to determine how Web crawlers index the Internet and whether they are engaged in malicious activity or to compile web traffic reports and statistics. Non-personally identifiable, aggregated data may be shared with third parties.

6. INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION TRANSFERS.

   Cloudflare is a U.S.-based, global company. We primarily store your information in the United States and the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). To facilitate our global operations, we may transfer and access such information from around the world, including from other countries in which the Cloudflare Group has operations for the purposes described in this Policy.

   Whenever Cloudflare shares personal information originating in the EEA or Switzerland with a Cloudflare entity outside the EEA or Switzerland, it will do so on the basis of the EU standard contractual clauses or the Privacy Shield Frameworks detailed in this section.

   If you are accessing or using our Websites or Services or otherwise providing information to us, you are agreeing to the transfer of your personal information to the United States and other jurisdictions in which we operate.

   Cloudflare is certified under both the EU-U.S. and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the EEA and Switzerland to the United States, respectively. If there is any conflict between the terms in this Policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. For more information on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield or Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield, please visit the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield website at: https://www.privacyshield.gov/welcome.

7. DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS.

   Attendees, Website Visitors, and Customers: You have the right to access, correct, update, export, or delete your personal information. You may email us at SAR@cloudflare.com with any such subject access requests (“SAR”), and we will respond within thirty (30) days. Customers also can access, correct, export, or update their Account Information by editing their profile or organization record at cloudflare.com.

   Resolver Users: We do not retain any personally identifiable information about Resolver Users that would be subject to the data subject rights described above.

   End Users: Cloudflare has no direct relationship with End Users. Even where “Cloudflare” may be indicated as the authoritative name server for a domain, unless Cloudflare is the owner of that domain, we have no control over a domain’s content. Accordingly, we rely upon our Customers to comply with the underlying legal requirements for subject access requests. If an End User requests that we access, correct, update, or delete their information, or no longer wishes to be contacted by one of our Customers that use our Services, we will direct that End User to contact the Customer website(s) with which they interacted directly. Our Customers are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to their website users.

   For any SAR, we will need to verify a requestor is inquiring about their own information before we can assist. Where a SAR may implicate the personal data of another individual, we must balance the request against the risk of violating another person’s privacy rights. We will comply with SARs to the extent required by applicable law or the US-Swiss or US-EU Privacy Shield. In the EU, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

8. COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES.

   You may manage your receipt of commercial communications by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of such emails, through your account settings if you have a Cloudflare account, or you may send a request to unsubscribe@cloudflare.com

9. DATA SECURITY, DATA INTEGRITY, AND ACCESS.

   We take all reasonable steps to protect information we receive from you from loss, misuse or unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and/or destruction. We have put in place appropriate physical, technical, and administrative measures to safeguard and secure your information, and we make use of privacy-enhancing technologies such as encryption. If you have any questions about the security of your personal information, you can contact us at privacyquestions@cloudflare.com.

10. REGISTRAR.

    If you purchase a domain name from Cloudflare’s registrar service, ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and the relevant registry operators overseeing the domain’s top-level domain require us to collect registrant data for the purposes of domain registration and via the WHOIS protocol. We may also be required to share this public data with ICANN, the relevant registry operators and other such providers with whom we contract in order to provide our domain name services, and additionally upon the legitimate request of third parties. Registrant data may include the domain name, registrant name and other contact information, and domain name server information. Learn more.

11. NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES.

    If we make changes to this Policy that we believe materially impact the privacy of your personal data, we will promptly provide notice of any such changes (and, where necessary, obtain consent), as well as post the updated Policy on this website noting the effective date of any changes.

12. BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS.

    We may assign or transfer this Policy, as well as information covered by this Policy, in the event of a merger, sale, change in control, or reorganization of all or part of our business.

13. ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONTROLS.

    Non-English translations of this Policy are provided for convenience only. In the event of any ambiguity or conflict between translations, the English version is authoritative and controls.

14. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

    If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.

15. EU REPRESENTATIVE.

    Cloudflare Germany GmbH is our European Union representative pursuant to Article 27 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

16. CONTACT INFORMATION.

    Cloudflare, Inc.
    101 Townsend St.
    San Francisco, CA 94107
    Attention: Data Protection Officer
    privacyquestions@cloudflare.com

    Cloudflare, Ltd.
    2nd Floor
    25 Lavington Street
    London
    SE1 0NZ
    Attention: Data Protection Officer
    privacyquestions@cloudflare.com

    Cloudflare Germany GmbH
    Rosental 7
    80331 München
    Attention: Data Protection Officer
    privacyquestions@cloudflare.com

    Cloudflare, Pte., Ltd.
    182 Cecil Street, #35-01
    Frasers Tower, Singapore 069547
    Attention: Data Protection Officer
    privacyquestions@cloudflare.com

    Cloudflare Australia Pty Ltd.
    333 George St., 5th Floor
    Sydney, NSW 2000
    Attention: Data Protection Officer
    privacyquestions@cloudflare.com