Best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures

Real-world examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures

If you want to improve your own policy, start by studying how real companies talk about third parties. Below are examples from different sectors that show how to explain who you share data with and why, without burying people in legalese.

1. Google: layered explanations and clear third‑party categories

Google’s Privacy Policy is one of the best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures at scale. They serve billions of users, operate dozens of products, and still manage to explain third-party sharing in plain English.

A few things they do well:

Categorized third parties. Instead of listing every vendor, they group partners into buckets like advertising partners, measurement partners, and security partners. That keeps the policy readable while still giving users a real sense of who sees their data.
Purpose-based language. They explain that information may be shared “with advertisers” to measure ad performance or “with service providers” who process data on Google’s behalf.
Regulator-facing clarity. Their explanations track concepts regulators care about, like processors vs. independent controllers, without throwing those terms at users.

If you’re drafting your own policy, this is a strong example of how to be specific about third-party disclosures without creating a phonebook-length vendor list.

Meta’s privacy materials are controversial, but they offer some of the clearest examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures around targeted advertising.

Key moves worth copying (minus the surveillance capitalism):

Explicit mention of ad partners and measurement partners. Meta doesn’t pretend ads are a side note; they’re front and center in the explanation of third-party sharing.
Control language. They pair disclosures with links to settings where users can limit some categories of sharing. You should do the same if your service relies heavily on ad tech.
Cross‑service sharing. Meta shows how to explain data flowing between related products (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) and to external partners.

If you’re using any advertising network, retargeting pixel, or social login, your privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures should be at least this frank about how those tools see user data.

Apple positions itself as the privacy‑friendly alternative, and its policy reflects that. It’s a compelling example of a privacy policy with third-party disclosures that emphasizes limits on sharing.

Patterns you can borrow:

Default minimization. Apple repeatedly says it shares data with third parties “only when necessary” to provide services or comply with law.
Security and fraud vendors. They explicitly mention sharing information with payment processors and fraud-prevention partners, which nearly every online business uses but many forget to name.
Plain-language safeguards. They explain that when they do share data with service providers, those providers are bound by contract and can’t use the data for their own marketing.

If your brand values trust, this is one of the best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures that lead with restraint rather than a laundry list.

4. Shopify: ecommerce‑focused third‑party disclosures

Shopify is a goldmine if you run an online store. Its privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures are tailored to ecommerce realities: payment gateways, shipping carriers, fraud tools, email marketing services, and analytics.

What stands out:

Concrete vendor types. They talk about “payment processors,” “fulfillment and shipping partners,” and “marketing and advertising partners.” Even if you don’t name specific companies, you should at least match this level of detail.
Order-related sharing. Shopify explains that order information will be shared with carriers to deliver goods, and with payment providers to process transactions. That’s exactly the kind of everyday sharing your customers expect—but it still needs to be spelled out.
Merchant vs. platform roles. Shopify also clarifies how it shares data with the actual stores using its platform, which is a good pattern if you operate a marketplace or platform business.

For small and mid‑size ecommerce brands, this is one of the most practical examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures you can adapt.

With remote work still widespread in 2024–2025, Zoom’s policy is a timely example of how to handle sensitive content and AI‑related third-party tools.

Notable features:

Content vs. metadata. Zoom separates explanations of what happens to meeting content (video, audio, chat) from what happens to metadata (who joined, when, from where). Your policy should do the same if you host user content.
AI and analytics vendors. As Zoom and similar platforms roll out AI features, they must explain when third-party models or processors see user data. That’s a pattern any company using external AI APIs should copy.
Enterprise vs. individual accounts. Zoom explains when data is shared with the customer’s employer or account owner. If you serve business customers, you likely need similar language.

This is a strong example of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures that keep up with AI, remote work, and enterprise requirements.

6. Health‑related apps and HIPAA considerations

Health data is a regulatory minefield in the US, especially under HIPAA. While many consumer health apps are not covered entities, regulators have made it clear that misleading third‑party disclosures are a fast track to enforcement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have both warned health apps about sharing data with analytics and ad networks without clear consent. You can see guidance from HHS here: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html and FTC health privacy guidance here: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/privacy-security.

If you run a health, fitness, or telehealth app, your privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures should:

Explain exactly when data is shared with analytics tools (for example, crash reporting, performance monitoring, or user behavior tracking).
Make it clear whether health-related data is used for advertising, and if so, how users can opt out.
Address whether any third parties qualify as business associates under HIPAA or are simply service providers under general privacy law.

This is an area where regulators are actively looking for misleading or incomplete disclosures.

7. EdTech and university platforms: student data and third parties

Education technology tools and university platforms provide another set of real examples. Universities often publish detailed privacy notices that explain how student information is shared with:

Learning management systems
Proctoring services
Cloud hosting providers
Analytics and plagiarism detection tools

For instance, many universities in the US link their privacy statements to guidance on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which you can read about at the U.S. Department of Education: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.

If you operate an EdTech product, your policy should mirror these examples by explaining how student identifiers, coursework, and behavioral data flow to third-party providers—and what contractual safeguards are in place.

How to structure your own third‑party disclosures

Studying examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures is only useful if you translate what you see into your own structure. The good news: you don’t need to copy anyone’s legalese. You need a clear, repeatable pattern.

A practical structure looks like this:

Intro sentence: A short statement that your service uses third‑party providers and sometimes shares information with them.
Grouped categories: Instead of naming every vendor, group them by function: hosting, payment, analytics, advertising, communications, security, customer support, and professional advisors.
Purpose and legal basis: For each category, explain why you share data (for example, to process payments or deliver emails) and, if you’re subject to GDPR, the legal basis (such as contract performance or legitimate interests).
Types of data shared: Keep this concrete: contact details, transaction data, usage data, or limited health information, rather than vague references to “your information.”
Controls and choices: If users can opt out of certain third‑party uses (like marketing emails or targeted ads), say so right in the third‑party section.

This approach mirrors the best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures from big platforms, while staying manageable for smaller teams.

Example wording you can adapt

Here’s a sample paragraph you can tune to your own service:

We share your personal information with third‑party service providers who help us operate our website, process payments, deliver emails, provide customer support, analyze how our services are used, and show you relevant ads. These providers may have access to your contact details, transaction information, and limited usage data only to perform services on our behalf and are not allowed to use this information for their own purposes.

You’d then follow this with short subsections for each category: hosting, payments, analytics, advertising, and so on.

Trends shaping third‑party disclosures in 2024–2025

The best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures in 2025 look different from what companies published even three years ago. Three big shifts are driving that change:

1. AI vendors and model training

If you send user data to AI tools—whether for chat, summarization, image generation, or code assistance—you need to explain that in the same way you explain analytics or cloud hosting.

Regulators and courts are still working out the boundaries here, but from a transparency perspective, your policy should cover:

Whether user content is sent to external AI APIs
Whether those providers can use that content to train their models
How you minimize or anonymize data before sending it

Some of the most honest examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures now have a dedicated “AI and automated decision‑making” or “Machine learning tools” subsection.

2. Cross‑border data transfers

If you operate in the US but use European or Asian vendors—or vice versa—you’re almost certainly transferring data across borders. After the invalidation and replacement of earlier EU–US data transfer frameworks, many companies now explicitly mention:

The countries where key third‑party providers are located
The legal mechanisms they rely on (such as standard contractual clauses)
Additional safeguards like encryption in transit and at rest

Your users don’t need a law-school lecture, but they do deserve a straightforward explanation that some third parties may be located in other countries and that you use legal tools to protect their data.

3. Regulator expectations and enforcement

The FTC, state attorneys general, and EU data protection authorities are all paying close attention to third‑party disclosures. Several enforcement actions have focused on companies that quietly shared data with ad networks or analytics tools while promising users that data would remain “private.”

Authoritative resources worth reviewing include:

FTC privacy and security guidance: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/privacy-security
HHS HIPAA privacy materials: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html
U.S. Department of Education FERPA guidance: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

When you look at real examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures that have survived regulatory scrutiny, you’ll notice a pattern: no hidden surprises. If a partner sees data, the policy says so.

Common mistakes to avoid in third‑party disclosures

Even companies that have read all the best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures still fall into predictable traps.

Being vague about ad tech

Saying you “may share certain information with marketing partners” is not enough if you’re running a full ad‑tech stack with retargeting, look‑alike audiences, and cross‑device tracking. If ad tech is central to your business model, your disclosures should be specific enough that a reasonable person understands what’s happening.

Forgetting infrastructure providers

Many teams forget to mention cloud hosting, content delivery networks, logging tools, and security platforms. Those vendors often see IP addresses, device identifiers, and sometimes content. They’re part of your third-party ecosystem and should be reflected in your policy.

Copy‑pasting without editing

Lifting language from someone else’s policy without tailoring it to your stack is risky. If you say you share data only with processors, but you actually send it to an ad network that decides how to use it, your policy is misleading. Use these examples as inspiration, not as a shortcut around thinking.

FAQ: examples and practical questions about third‑party disclosures

Q1: Can you give a simple example of third‑party disclosure in a privacy policy?
A common example of third‑party disclosure is an online store explaining that it shares customer name, shipping address, and order details with a shipping carrier to deliver purchases, and with a payment processor to complete transactions.

Q2: What are some examples of third parties most businesses forget to mention?
Examples include infrastructure providers (cloud hosting, content delivery networks), error‑logging tools, A/B testing platforms, customer survey tools, and outsourced customer support services. All of these typically see at least some user data.

Q3: Do I have to list every vendor by name in my policy?
Most companies follow the pattern you see in real examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures: they describe categories of vendors and the types of data shared, rather than naming every provider. Some go further and publish a separate, regularly updated vendor list.

Q4: How often should I update my third‑party disclosures?
At minimum, review them annually. In practice, you should update your policy whenever you add a major new category of third party—like a new ad network, analytics platform, AI vendor, or payment provider—and whenever you change how much data you share.

Q5: Are there examples of third‑party sharing that don’t need consent?
Depending on your jurisdiction, many service‑related third‑party disclosures—for example, to process payments, ship orders, or maintain security—can be based on contract performance or legitimate interests rather than consent. That said, using data for targeted advertising or selling data to data brokers often does require consent or at least clear opt‑out options, especially under state laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA).

If you use these real‑world patterns and examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures as your template, you’ll end up with a policy that’s both more honest and more defensible than the usual copy‑paste boilerplate.

Best examples of privacy policy examples with third-party disclosures for 2025