Shopper and Shopper Applicant Privacy Policy

This Shopper and Shopper Applicant Privacy Policy explains what information we collect from Instacart Shoppers, how that information is used, and under what circumstances we share that information.

1. Information you provide to us or allow others to provide to us

During the course of your relationship with Instacart, you may provide us with information about yourself. For example, you may provide us with information during the sign-up process, such as your name, photograph, address, phone number, email address, social security number, and insurance information, and other biographic information.

2. Technical information about your usage of the Instacart platform

When you use the Instacart platform, either through a browser or mobile app, we automatically receive some technical information about the hardware and software that is being used.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies: We and our partners use various technologies to collect information, including cookies and device identifiers. Cookies are small text files that are sent by your computer or device when you access our services through a browser or mobile application. We may use session cookies (which expire when you logout of the app or close your browser), persistent cookies (which expire when you choose to clear them from your browser), and other identifiers to collect information from your browser or device that helps us personalize your experience and remember things like your current zip code or that you have already logged in to Instacart.

We employ some third-party services to help us understand the usage of Instacart, and these third-parties may also deploy cookies on our site or collect information through our mobile applications. For example, we use Google Analytics to understand, in a non-personal way, how users interact with various portions of our site — you can 

learn more about information that Google may collect here.

Log information: When you use the Instacart platform, our servers will record information that is sent by your device or browser. This information can include things related to your shopping services for Instacart (such as orders accepted, items found, and items replaced) as well as things like the IP address of your device, information about the browser, operating system and/or app you are using, unique device identifiers, pages that you navigate to and links that you click, searches that you run on Instacart, and other ways that you interact with the Instacart platform.

Location information: In connection with your use of the Instacart mobile app to provide shopping services, we may collect information about the location of your device when the app is running in the foreground or background.

For business purposes: We may use your information to help us provide, maintain and improve the Instacart service. For example, we may use your information to contact you, respond to your communications and requests, provide support, and process your payments, and verify your identity.

Platform improvements: We may also use your information to make improvements to the Instacart platform, to understand how shoppers and shopper applicants interact with our service, and to develop new services.

Disclosure of information to third parties. We may share your information with third parties under certain circumstances:

• With your consent or at your direction — We may share your information with entities outside of Instacart when we have your consent to do so or it is done at your direction.
• With customers — We may provide some of your information to customers in connection with your shopping and/or delivering an order. For example, we may display your first name and last initial to customers to show them who is shopping and/or delivering their order. We may also display your location to the customer when their order is in the delivery process.
• With our retail partners — We may share your information with our retail partners in order to provide and maintain the Instacart service. For example, we may need to share your contact information with a retail partner in order to enable you to deliver certain products, such as alcohol products. In addition, we may provide your information to a retail partner if there is a complaint, dispute, or conflict between you and a retail partner or customer, or to prevent or stop activity that Instacart or a retail partner considers to be inappropriate, illegal, unethical, or legally actionable.
• For legal purposes — We may share your information when we believe that the disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal process, or requests from law enforcement or regulatory authorities, (b) prevent, detect, or otherwise handle fraud, security, or technical issues, and (c) protect the safety, rights, or property of any person, the public, or Instacart.
• For external processing — We sometimes employ third parties outside of Instacart to process information on our behalf in compliance with this Privacy Policy and using other appropriate security and confidentiality measures.
• For business purposes — We may share your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company. We may also share your information with third parties on a non-personally identifying basis and an aggregate basis for legitimate business purposes. We may also share your information between and among Instacart, and its current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership.

We may require Shoppers using the Instacart platform to verify their identity through the use of a facial recognition technology system (the “System”). As described in this policy, the System requires you to take pictures of your face and submit them to Instacart for verification. Instacart does not take a position on whether the information collected, used, and stored through this System qualifies as biometric information as defined by any federal, state, or local law.

• Purpose: We collect your facial images to verify your identity, preserve the integrity of the Instacart platform, prevent against either intentional or unintentional, inaccurate or unauthorized use of the Instacart Platform, and ensure only authorized Shoppers are using the Shopper User Profile assigned to a specific individual.
• Collection, Storage, And Usage Of Information: You may be required to submit to Instacart: (1) a picture of your face taken on a mobile device to serve as your avatar, and (2) an additional picture while visibly holding your government issued identification card (the “Pictures”). The Pictures will then be stored in the System as part of your Shopper User Profile until that profile is deleted. From time to time, Instacart may require you to take an additional or updated image of your face on your mobile device (“Verification Pictures”) and submit the Verification Pictures to Instacart for comparison to the Pictures for identify verification. The Pictures and any Verification Pictures are used only for identity verification and platform security and use integrity purposes. The Pictures and Verification Pictures are securely maintained in Instacart’s databases and systems, and are not shared outside of Instacart other than as necessary with Instacart’s third-party vendors for identity verification and platform security and use integrity purposes.
• Retention And Destruction Of User Profile Information: Instacart retains your User Profile, the Pictures, and Verification Pictures for as long as you continue to use the Instacart platform. Specifically, the Pictures are stored on the System until your User Profile is deleted. Verification Pictures are stored on the System for 30 days. Should you cease using the Instacart platform and later resume the use of the Instacart platform, you must create a new User Profile and submit new Pictures to Instacart through the System for re-verification of identity. Additionally, upon your written request, Instacart will delete your existing User Profile, including Pictures and Verification Pictures, from the System, unless Instacart is authorized by law to retain such information. You may subsequently create a new User Profile, including new Pictures and Verification Pictures.

This policy may change from time to time and any revised Policy will be posted at this page, so we encourage you to review it regularly. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this Policy and, in some cases, we may provide you with additional notice (such as a notice on our Shopper page or sending you a notification).

Questions or comments about our Privacy Policy? Contact us at:

Instacart
50 Beale St. Suite 600
San Francisco, California 94105
privacy@instacart.com

For customer service inquiries visit our Help Center