The Big Privacy Audit: 50 Platforms You Can't Escape, Graded
Every search, scroll, message and purchase you make feeds a profile somewhere. We audited the 50 most-used services on the planet, gave each one an honest privacy grade, and linked you straight to the settings to lock it down, export your data, and delete your account. No fluff — just the controls they bury.
Last reviewed: May 2026.
How we graded each platform
A grade isn't about whether a service is "good" — it's about how much of you it takes, what it does with it, and how easily you can claw it back. We weighed five things:
Data collection — how much it harvests: content, behaviour, location, device, contacts.
Business model — paid product vs. surveillance advertising. If it's free, you're usually the product.
Sharing & selling — third-party trackers, data brokers, "partners," cross-service profiling.
Encryption & security — end-to-end encryption, zero-access storage, breach history.
Control & jurisdiction — real opt-outs, export/delete tools, transparency, and home-country laws.
The scale:
A — Privacy-first. Minimal data, no ad-tracking, you stay in control.
B — Solid. Reasonable collection, strong controls, paid model.
C — Mixed. Notable tracking, but workable opt-outs exist.
D — Hungry. Heavy profiling baked into the business model.
F — Avoid. Aggressive collection and/or a hostile jurisdiction.
Each entry links to three things where they exist: Privacy settings, Get your data (download/export), and Delete account. Where a link tends to move, we've noted the menu path to follow instead.
Search Engines
Google Search — Grade D · Alphabet Cross-service tracking funds the ad machine. Excellent export tools exist — defaults still favour collection. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Microsoft Bing — Grade D · Microsoft Ties searches to your Microsoft account and ad ecosystem by default. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Yahoo! — Grade D · Yahoo! Inc. Ad-driven with a long history of breaches and broad data sharing. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Yandex — Grade F · Yandex Extensive tracking under Russian jurisdiction with limited meaningful controls. Privacy & account · Delete: Yandex ID → Profile → Delete account
Baidu — Grade F · Baidu Heavy collection, opaque policy, Chinese data-localization laws. Account · Delete: Account settings → Cancel account
DuckDuckGo — Grade A · DuckDuckGo No search history, no profiling, no account required — privacy is the product. Settings · No account or stored data to export or delete.
Naver — Grade D · Naver Corp. Ad-supported super-app that links activity across many services. Privacy & account · Delete: Account → Withdraw membership
Social Media & Messaging
Facebook — Grade F · Meta The blueprint for surveillance advertising — tracks you across the web via pixels. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Instagram — Grade F · Meta Same Meta ad engine; deep behavioural profiling of everything you tap. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Reddit — Grade C · Reddit Less identity-bound, but ads and third-party data sharing have grown sharply. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete: Account settings → Delete account
X (Twitter) — Grade D · X Corp. Broad collection; recent terms widened data use, including for AI training. Privacy settings · Get your data · Deactivate / delete
WhatsApp — Grade C · Meta Messages are end-to-end encrypted, but metadata still flows to Meta. Privacy: in-app Settings → Privacy · Request account info · Delete account
TikTok — Grade F · ByteDance Aggressive collection of device, behavioural and biometric-adjacent data. Privacy: in-app Settings → Privacy · Get your data: Settings → Account → Download your data · Delete: Settings → Account → Deactivate or delete
LinkedIn — Grade D · Microsoft Your professional graph monetised for ads and "insights"; heavy tracking. Privacy settings · Get your data · Close account
Pinterest — Grade C · Pinterest Ad-funded behavioural tracking, but a narrower data footprint than the giants. Privacy settings · Get your data: Privacy → Request your data · Delete: Account settings → Delete account
Telegram — Grade C · Telegram Privacy-forward marketing, but only "Secret Chats" are end-to-end encrypted. Privacy: in-app Settings → Privacy & Security · Deactivate / delete account
Twitch — Grade D · Amazon Amazon ad and recommendation data, tied to your Amazon identity. Privacy settings · Privacy / data portal · Delete account
VK — Grade F · VK Russian network with documented state access to user data. Privacy settings · Delete account
Bilibili — Grade F · Bilibili Chinese platform with extensive tracking and data-localization rules. Account · Delete: Account settings → Cancel account
Snapchat — Grade C · Snap Ephemeral by design, but collects location and behavioural data for ads. Privacy / account · Get your data · Delete account
Video & Entertainment
YouTube — Grade D · Alphabet Watch-history profiling powers the recommendation and ad engine. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account/service
Netflix — Grade C · Netflix Subscription-funded, but viewing data is collected — and an ad tier now exists. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete: Cancel plan, then request deletion
AI & Productivity
ChatGPT — Grade C · OpenAI Chats may train models unless you opt out; controls have steadily improved. Privacy portal · Get your data: Settings → Data controls → Export · Delete: Settings → Data controls → Delete account
Gemini — Grade D · Alphabet Tied to your Google account and its broader data profile. Gemini Apps Activity · Get your data · Delete account/service
Claude — Grade B · Anthropic Consumer chats aren't used for training by default; a privacy-forward posture. Privacy portal · Get your data: privacy portal data request · Delete: claude.ai → Settings → Account → Delete
Microsoft 365 — Grade C · Microsoft Cloud productivity with telemetry — strong enterprise controls, weaker consumer ones. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Canva — Grade C · Canva Pty Ltd Collects design and usage data; reasonable controls and a light ad model. Account / privacy · Data request · Delete account
GitHub — Grade C · Microsoft Good account controls, but code/usage data and Copilot training raise questions. Privacy settings · Export: Account admin → migrations · Delete: Account admin → Delete account
Email & Office
Gmail — Grade D · Alphabet No longer scans mail for ads, but deeply woven into your Google profile. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account/service
Outlook / Live — Grade C · Microsoft Microsoft account integration and telemetry, with some ad personalisation. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Yahoo Mail — Grade D · Yahoo! History of mail scanning and broad data sharing for advertising. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Mail.ru — Grade F · VK Russian jurisdiction, broad collection and limited transparency. Account · Delete account
Zoho Mail — Grade B · Zoho No ads, no mail scanning — privacy is a stated selling point. Privacy settings · Get your data: Privacy → Data · Close account
ProtonMail — Grade A · Proton AG End-to-end encrypted, zero-access, Swiss-based — built for privacy, not ads. Account · Export tool · Delete: Settings → Delete account
Shopping & Payments
Amazon — Grade D · Amazon Vast purchase, device and browsing data feeding a huge ad business. Privacy Central · Request your data · Close your account
Temu — Grade F · Temu / PDD Aggressive data collection and permissions; repeated security scrutiny. Privacy: Account → Settings → Privacy · Delete: Settings → Account → Delete account
eBay — Grade C · eBay Transactional tracking and ad partnerships, but a narrower profile. Privacy / data request · Close account
PayPal — Grade C · PayPal Financial data with extensive "partner" sharing in its policy history. Privacy hub · Get your data: Privacy hub → Manage data · Close account: Settings → Close your account
Shopify — Grade C · Shopify Collects buyer data across merchants; protections vary store to store. Privacy policy · Privacy portal · Delete: Settings → Close store / account
Reference & News
Wikipedia — Grade A · Wikimedia Foundation No ads, minimal tracking, doesn't sell data — a genuine privacy bright spot. Privacy policy · Account removal: Courtesy vanishing
Yahoo Japan — Grade D · LY Corporation Ad-driven super-app (LY Corp) with broad cross-service data. Privacy · Delete: Yahoo! JAPAN ID → Delete
Fandom — Grade D · Fandom Inc. Ad-tech-heavy wikis loaded with third-party trackers. Privacy policy / rights · Close my account
The New York Times — Grade C · NYT Subscription model, but ad and analytics tracking remains substantial. Privacy policy · Privacy rights request · Delete: Help → Cancel & delete account
Weather.com — Grade F · The Weather Channel Location data has been sold/shared; weather apps are notorious trackers. Privacy policy / opt out of sale · Privacy settings
Cloud & Developer Tools
Microsoft.com — Grade C · Microsoft Account-linked telemetry across Windows and services. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account
Samsung — Grade D · Samsung Device, usage and (in some regions) ad data across its ecosystem. Account / privacy · Get your data: Account → Download my data · Delete: Account → Delete account
Google Drive — Grade D · Alphabet Files live inside your Google account graph and are scanned for policy/abuse. Privacy settings · Get your data · Delete account/service
Dropbox — Grade C · Dropbox Decent controls and security, but not zero-knowledge by default. Account settings · Get your data: Help → Export your data · Delete account
Zoom — Grade C · Zoom Cleaned up after its 2020 issues; still collects meeting metadata and usage. Profile settings · Data request · Delete: Account → Terminate account
Spotify — Grade C · Spotify Listening data fuels recommendations and an ad-supported tier. Privacy settings · Download your data · Close account
The verdict: who respects you, and who doesn't
Privacy bright spots — built so they can't profile you, or simply choose not to: ProtonMail (A), DuckDuckGo (A), Wikipedia (A), Claude (B), Zoho Mail (B).
Treat with caution — aggressive collection, opaque policies, or jurisdictions with broad state access: Facebook (F), TikTok (F), Temu (F), Baidu (F), Yandex (F), VK (F), Weather.com (F).
The pattern is hard to miss: the services that charge you money tend to treat you better than the ones that hand you something "free." When you're not paying, your attention and your data are the price — and the cheapest way to protect both is to stop spreading them around in the first place.
You just locked down 50 accounts. Now stop leaking the keys.
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A note on the links and grades: settings menus, deep links and account-deletion flows change constantly — we last reviewed every link in May 2026. If a link has moved, head to the service's official account or privacy settings and look for "Privacy," "Your data / Download your data," or "Delete / Close account." Grades reflect our editorial assessment of each platform's privacy posture based on its business model, public privacy policies and track record; they are opinions, not legal advice. Always confirm you're on the official domain before signing in or submitting a deletion request.