Target provides meaningful privacy rights, opt-outs, GPC recognition, and clear cancellation/request channels, but these benefits are outweighed by extensive data collection and ad tracking, mandatory arbitration with class/jury waivers, unilateral changes, and broad company discretion over accounts, rewards, and user content.
Target’s legal terms are mixed from a user perspective: it offers useful privacy controls and some clear account/deletion flows, but also permits broad data collection, targeted advertising, cross-device tracking, and state-law-defined sale/sharing of personal data. The terms include mandatory individual arbitration, broad discretion to suspend accounts or change programs, and a sweeping license over user-submitted content.
Points of interest
Most disputes must be handled through individual JAMS arbitration, and you waive both class actions and jury trials. This makes it harder to sue in court or join with other users over small-value claims.
"most disputes and claims... be resolved in individual arbitration instead of in court... class action waiver, and jury trial waiver"
Target says it may collect a very broad range of personal data, including purchase history, browsing activity, geolocation, biometrics, sensory data, and inferences. That gives the company a detailed view of your shopping behavior online and in stores.
"Identifiers... Commercial information... Geolocation data... Health data... Biometric information... Sensory information... Inferences"
Target and its partners use cookies, tags, and identifiers to track activity across devices and browsers for advertising and analytics. Your interactions may also be governed by third-party companies’ own privacy practices.
"We may share these identifiers with third parties (e.g., Google and Meta) to coordinate advertising and reporting across devices and browsers."
Depending on your state, Target offers rights to access, correct, and delete personal information, plus opt-outs for targeted advertising, sale, and cross-context sharing. It also provides request methods by web form and phone.
"Access... Correction... Deletion... Do Not Use for Targeted Advertising, Do Not Share... and Do Not Sell"
Although Target ignores standard browser Do Not Track signals, it says it treats Global Privacy Control as an opt-out of sale and targeted/cross-context behavioral advertising where required. That is a meaningful modern privacy control.
"Target treats Global Privacy Control browser signals as opt outs of sale and targeted/cross-context behavioral advertising requests."
Target reserves the right to change the terms immediately by posting updates, and continued use means acceptance. That puts the burden on you to keep checking for new rules.
"Target reserves the right to make changes to these Terms & Conditions at any time, and such changes will be effective immediately upon being posted"
Target can terminate accounts, refuse service, or cancel orders in its sole discretion, including for no reason. This gives users limited contractual protection if access or purchases are interrupted.
"Target reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your account, refuse service to you, or cancel orders."
If you submit reviews, photos, videos, or other content, you grant Target a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use, modify, sell, and distribute it without compensation. You also waive moral rights in that content.
"you grant to Target a... perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free... right and license to use... modify... sell and distribute such User Content"
The policy gives concrete ways to unsubscribe from emails, stop texts, disable push notifications and location sharing, unlink accounts, opt out of Target Circle, and cancel Circle 360 in account settings. This makes privacy and membership choices more actionable.
"To cancel your Target Circle 360 membership, please go to the Membership section of your Target account page."
Target Circle 360 is described as an automatic renewal program with nonrefundable fees. Users should watch for recurring charges and separate cancellation steps.
"Target Circle and Target Circle 360 are optional programs with separate rules, automatic renewal for Circle 360, nonrefundable fees"
Target uses automated license plate recognition near stores for fraud prevention and security, which is a surveillance concern, but says access is restricted and the data is stored only briefly. The summary indicates ALPR data is kept about 30 days and not sold.
"We may use Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology... for fraud prevention, security, and assets protection."
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Documents
Terms of Service
source ↗- •Using Target’s site means you accept these terms, including additional terms for some services and a broad ban on unlawful or commercial use.
- •Target gives only a limited, noncommercial license to use site content, and you may not scrape, copy, resell, or reverse engineer it.
- •You must keep your account credentials private, are responsible for activity on your account, and Target may suspend, terminate, or cancel orders at its discretion.
- •User content you submit must be lawful and noninfringing, and you give Target a broad, royalty-free license to use, modify, and distribute it.
- •Target Circle and Target Circle 360 are optional programs with separate rules, automatic renewal for Circle 360, nonrefundable fees, and account or benefit loss if you opt out or violate terms.
- •Rewards, deals, coupons, and votes have eligibility limits, expiration rules, and item exclusions, and Target may change or cancel them at any time.
- •Purchases, pickup, delivery, and Wallet use have specific rules, including payment authorization, quantity limits, product availability, and risk of loss passing at delivery or carrier handoff.
- •Items sold by Target Plus Partners are sold by those partners, and Target disclaims liability for their products, warranties, fulfillment, and related disputes.
- •Target disclaims warranties, limits liability for damages to the fullest extent allowed, and requires you to indemnify Target for claims arising from your breach or content.
- •Most disputes must go through informal notice first and then individual JAMS arbitration, with class actions and jury trials waived except for limited exceptions.
Privacy Policy
source ↗- •Target collects identifiers, purchase history, browsing activity, location data, biometric and sensory information, and inferences from those categories.
- •Target uses information to process purchases, provide services, personalize shopping, send marketing, run loyalty programs, and improve operations and security.
- •Target collects data directly, automatically through cookies and similar tools, from cameras and devices, and from third parties such as advertisers and data brokers.
- •Target may share information within Target and with service providers, banking partners, delivery partners, advertising partners, and others when required or with consent.
- •Target uses interest-based advertising, cross-device tracking, analytics tools, and social media features; third-party trackers are governed by those companies’ own policies.
- •You can opt out of promotional emails, texts, push notifications, location sharing, Target Circle, targeted advertising, and some account linking through provided settings and tools.
- •State privacy rights may include access, correction, deletion, and opt-outs for targeted advertising, sale, or cross-context sharing, subject to verification and exceptions.
- •Target says it does not knowingly collect data from children under 13 and does not respond to browser 'do not track' signals, but honors Global Privacy Control.
- •Target retains personal information as long as needed for business, legal, and security purposes, and says biometric data is generally deleted within three years of last interaction.
- •Target uses ALPR license plate technology for fraud prevention and security, stores that data about 30 days, and says it is not sold.
