Privacy Center

March 19, 2025, last updated on March 27, 2025

At eBay, the privacy of your personal data is important to us.

This week, we’re updating our User Privacy Notice to provide users with additional information about our Responsible AI approach, how we use AI-powered tools and products, and when and how personal data may be used to develop and train AI models.

We are sharing this blog post as part of our commitment to transparency with our users and to provide information to the broader community about Responsible AI at eBay.

How we use AI

We’re leveraging the latest advances in AI to make online commerce smarter and more efficient.

In our Tech Blog, we regularly share insights about our investments in AI: from exciting new collaborations through to our launch of new features and tools.

As part of our commitment to transparency, we have updated our User Privacy Notice to provide further information about how we use AI-powered tools and products at eBay, including by offering new or enhanced features and products such as generative AI assistants and supporting fraud detection. While not all our AI tools involve processing personal data, our User Privacy Notice also explains the legal bases we rely on when they do.

Developing and training models

eBay, like many other businesses, has developed and used machine learning models to enhance and power its services. And, as we began experimenting with generative AI, we recognized the value in implementing additional controls and protections for individuals in that context. This included taking steps to remove personal data from the data we collect before use in developing and training generative AI.

As we work to develop and train the generative AI models that will power our AI tools and products of tomorrow, there may be circumstances where we think it is appropriate to use certain categories of personal data. For example, we may use browsing history data of users to train future shopping assistants.

We will only use personal data that is necessary and proportionate to the specific use. For example, we will not use any user special category data (e.g. data revealing religious beliefs or political opinions or race). We also have internal policies that place further limits on other sensitive categories, such as social security numbers, payment card information and identity documents collected by eBay.

Our Responsible AI Framework provides for the evaluation of AI models and use cases to ensure they are aligned with our RAI principles and comply with applicable laws, including privacy laws that limit personal data processing to what is necessary and proportionate. Where we use that data, our use will be consistent with the Responsible AI principles set out in our Responsible AI Policy, our Privacy Principles and our User Privacy Notice. Our User Privacy Notice contains further information about the sort of user data we may use for model training and development - to the extent, as noted earlier, that such data is necessary and proportionate for the specific use. We may combine such data with personal data we obtain from external sources (e.g. from publicly available sources).

Where personal data is sourced externally for such purposes, eBay Inc. is the responsible data controller, and eBay GmbH and eBay (UK) Ltd. serve as designated data protection representatives in the EU and UK respectively.

As part of our commitment to giving our users meaningful choices in privacy, we are also launching a new functionality that enables users to more easily exercise their right to opt-out of the use of personal data for model development and training. We don’t plan to change our approach to the use of user personal data to train and develop generative AI models for at least 30 days – to give users time to exercise their opt-out right. You can, of course, opt out at any time afterwards by using the link provided here.