This Privacy Policy is effective as of October 31, 2019.
We have updated our October 31, 2019 privacy policy to address new products and services, to list our Portuguese entity as our legal representative entity in the EU, to address the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and to add to this Policy the statements we previously listed separately in our Privacy Shield Framework Statement. In addition, in light of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (Brexit), we have made changes to clarify our commitment to protect the personal data we receive from the United Kingdom after Brexit.
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.
Our mission to help build a better Internet is rooted in the importance we place on establishing trust with our Customers, users, 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 or rent your personal information to anyone. We will not share or otherwise disclose your personal information 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.
This Policy applies to Cloudflare’s collection, use, and disclosure of the information of the following categories of data subjects:
This Policy does not apply to “Application Users”—those individuals who use Cloudflare’s consumer-facing applications, such as the 1.1.1.1 +Warp Application. See the Application Privacy Policy for more information about the data collection and use practices for Cloudflare's consumer-facing applications.
This Policy also does not apply to our Customers’ domains, websites, APIs, mobile applications, and networks, 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.
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, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, click here). For more information about the cookies Cloudflare uses and your privacy choices, 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 8, below.
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. In addition, when you have a domain and use the Services, we collect information about how you configure your account and the Services for your domain(s) (e.g., firewall settings), and we maintain logs of administrator activity on your domain(s). We refer to all of this information collectively 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 payment 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 payment and billing information. The information you will need to submit depends on which payment 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.
Cloudflare processes End Users’ information on behalf of our Customers when End Users use our Customers’ domains, websites, APIs, mobile applications, Internet connected devices, and networks.
This information may include but is not limited to IP addresses, system configuration information, and other information about traffic to and from Customers’ websites or networks (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.
When 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.).
Cloudflare also stores server and network activity data, and observations and analyses derived from traffic data collected by Cloudflare in the course of providing the Services (together, “Operational Metrics”). Examples of Operational Metrics include service uptime and service availability metrics, request volumes, error rates, cache rates, and IP threat scores.
Cloudflare only processes personal information in a way that is compatible with and relevant to the purpose for which it was collected or authorized. As a general matter, for all categories of data described in Section 2 above except Public Resolver User data, we may use the information (including personal information, to the extent applicable) to:
Public Resolver Users. We use information we collect from Public Resolver Users to operate and improve the Cloudflare Resolver, such as to assist us in our debugging efforts if an issue arises. We do not use or store any Public Resolver User personal information. We will not combine any 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.
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.
Cloudflare is a data controller for the Personal Data collected from all categories of data subjects listed above except for the Personal Data of End Users. Cloudflare processes the Personal Data of End Users on behalf of its Customers.
If you are an individual from the European Economic Area (the “EEA”), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, 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.
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 7, below.
Specifically, we do not permit our Service Providers to sell any personal information we share with them or to use any personal information we share with them for their own marketing purposes or for any purpose other than in connection with the services they provide to us.
In addition to sharing with Service Providers as described above, we also may share your information with others in the following circumstances:
Public Resolver Users: Learn more about information sharing specific to the 1.1.1.1 Resolver.
Registrants: 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.
Notice to California Residents: We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (California Civil Code Sec. 1798.100 et seq.), nor do we do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes as defined under California Civil Code Sec. 1798.83.
Cloudflare is a U.S.-based, global company. We primarily store your information in the United States and the European Economic Area. 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, the United Kingdom or Switzerland with a Cloudflare entity outside the EEA, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, it will do so on the basis of the EU standard contractual clauses (adjusted to address transfers from the United Kingdom) 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.
Privacy Shield. 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, the United Kingdom and Switzerland to the United States, respectively (“Privacy Shields”). We commit to periodically review and verify the accuracy of our policies and our compliance with the Privacy Shields. 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.
If you believe that we maintain copies of your personal data within the scope of the Privacy Shields, you may direct any inquiries to SAR@cloudflare.com or via mail to: Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107, Attn: Data Protection Officer. We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days of receipt and verification of your identity.
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. If neither we nor our dispute resolution provider are able to resolve your complaint, as a last resort you may engage in binding arbitration through the Privacy Shield Panel.
Our commitments under the Privacy Shields are subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. We may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. Under such circumstances, we may be prohibited by law, court order or other legal process from providing notice of disclosure.
Attendees, Website Visitors, Customers, and Registrants: 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.
Public Resolver Users: We do not retain any personally identifiable information about Public 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 EEA, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
Cloudflare will send you commercial communications based on the communication preferences in your account settings. Cloudflare also will send you service-related communications. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cloudflare Portugal, Unipessoal Lda., further identified in the Contact Information section, is our European Union representative pursuant to Article 27 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Cloudflare, Ltd., further identified in the Contact Information section, is our UK representative pursuant to the UK GDPR.
Cloudflare, Inc.
101 Townsend St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Attention: Data Protection Officer
privacyquestions@cloudflare.com
Cloudflare, Ltd.
County Hall/The Riverside Building
Belvedere Road
London, SE1 7PB
Attention: Data Protection Officer
privacyquestions@cloudflare.com
Cloudflare Portugal, Unipessoal Lda.
Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 29
1200-369 Lisboa
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
Cloudflare (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd.
16 South Guangshun Street
Donghuang Building 17th Floor
Chaoyang District Beijing 100015
Attention: Data Protection Officer
privacyquestions@cloudflare.com
