[RileyJames]

Based on this, and the blog post, they clearly take issue with the term ‘sold’. Making the users data accessible via api to customers who’ve paid for access to said data does not constitute ‘being sold’, as far as their lawyers are concerned. The fact that 98 million users disagree is unfortunate...

The product was sold as infrastructure, and used as data collection, and 98 million users were not aware of that.

If you’re unable to reconcile why users of square cash would be confused when they hear their data is accessible through some service called ‘plaid’ for which they’ve never signed up, or given their data, then maybe you could start with defining terms as they would, rather than how you’d prefer they sound.

Having data in a database doesn’t make it yours, it’s the users. It was when it was in their bank, it is when you move it to your service and it remains when you provide it to someone else.

[jeandenis]

I replied in a few other threads on this. We don't make the user's data accessible via API outside of the app the user connected. Your personal data is not sold or rented or given away or bartered to parties that are not Plaid, your bank, or the connected app.

We talk about all of this in our privacy policy, including ways that data could be used — for example, with data processors/service providers (like AWS which hosts our services) for the purposes of running Plaid’s services or for a user’s connected app to provide their services.

Here's the policy if you want to look: https://plaid.com/legal/#consumers

[neolog]

I don't think the policy helps much. For example,

> We share your End User Information for a number of business purposes:

> - With the developer of the application you are using and as directed by that developer (such as with another third party if directed by you);

> - With our data processors and other service providers, partners, or contractors in connection with the services they perform for us or developers;

This is so vague that I don't know what it's even supposed to mean. What Plaid lawyers will argue it means when pressed is a further question.

[jjulius]

>What Plaid lawyers will argue it means when pressed is a further question.

And thanks to Plaid settling, their lawyers won't be pressed.