Depop, owned by Etsy since 2021, targets Gen-Z users with an Instagram-like social shopping experience. This social focus creates significant privacy exposure—profiles are public, activity is tracked extensively, and data is shared across the broader Etsy corporate family. The young user base raises concerns about data collection from potentially vulnerable populations who may not fully understand privacy implications.
| Data Type | Collected | Shared | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name, email, phone | Yes | Etsy Group | Unclear |
| Profile photos and bio | Yes | Public | No |
| Social activity (likes, follows) | Yes | Public | No |
| Payment information | Yes | Partners | No |
| Shipping addresses | Yes | Yes | No |
| Browsing and search history | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device fingerprinting | Yes | Yes | Unclear |
As an Etsy subsidiary, Depop shares data across the Etsy corporate family. Your Depop activity may inform Etsy's broader advertising and personalization systems.
Your likes, follows, recently viewed items, and shopping activity are visible to other users. The social feed exposes your interests and shopping patterns publicly.
Depop allows users as young as 13 with parental consent. Data collection from minors raises significant concerns, particularly for behavioral tracking and targeted advertising.
The social media-like interface comes with social media-like tracking. Scroll behavior, time on listings, and engagement patterns are monitored and used for algorithmic recommendations.
Depop works with numerous advertising partners including Facebook, Google, and various programmatic advertising networks that track users across the web.
As a UK-based company, Depop must comply with GDPR, providing European users stronger privacy rights including data portability and right to erasure.
Users can hide their "recently liked" items from their public profile, though other social activity remains visible.