Coinbase Data Sharing Policy Takes Effect on 22nd January 2023
On 23rd December 2022, Coinbase publicly announced that they would be sharing and selling customer data for marketing purposes as well as other business related purposes. According to their notice, this includes both active and former customers:
“If you are a new customer, we can begin sharing your information 30 days from the date we sent this notice. When you are no longer our customer, we continue to share your information as described in this notice. However, you can contact us at any time to limit our sharing.”
Reddit User Claims Coinbase Ignores Opt Out Requests for Data Sharing
This is in accordance with U.S. financial law allowing users to opt out of financial and personal data sharing for marketing purposes under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). However, according to Reddit user u/durg0n, they had repeatedly request to opt out of data sharing with Coinbase over the past month, but Coinbase did not respond to their request.
Despite the Reddit user filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and even closing their account in protest, Coinbase still did not agree to limit data sharing with marketers and affiliates.
How to Opt Out of Coinbase Data Sharing?
Based on feedback from other Reddit users, Coinbase customers can try the following methods to opt out of Coinbase’s data sharing.
- If you have a current/active account, there is an opt-out setting on the website/app people are reporting success with:
- Website: Settings > Privacy > Share my Personal Info
- App: The 9 dots in the corner > Profile and Settings > Privacy > Share my Personal Info
- Note — You should double-check it is properly set as it seems to be defaulting to sharing enabled, even in Europe.
- Not all locations appear to have the opt-out setting available (ex: Argentina). If you live in such a country, try contacting Coinbase Support to opt-out manually.
- If you have a closed/former account, the only option is to contact Coinbase support. Reddit user u/durg0n has tried this method, but mentions it is still worth a try.
- If you have an old open account, you may be forced to agree to the new Terms of Service (ToS) in order to access the privacy settings. Please note that the newer ToS’s include other forms of data sharing and arbitration. Accepting it may open you up to data being used in other ways and limit your legal rights. According to Reddit comments, it is probably better to deal with Coinbase Support and send in a written request. But you could accept the new TOS and use the website to opt-out if you don’t care about the TOS.
- If you have already ‘deleted’ your data, you should write in and opt-out anyway. Coinbase retains some ‘deleted’ data of former customers (ostensibly required for regulatory purposes), and this may be subject to the data sale. u/durg0n suggests writing in to Coinbase Support that you wish to limit data sharing to be safe, and carefully read the reply to see if they actually did it or not.
