Risk Score
0 = very fair · 100 = very risky
Summary
This is Amazon's Conditions of Use (last updated May 30, 2025), governing use of all Amazon Services including the website, apps, and software. The document is largely standard for a major e-commerce platform but contains several notable provisions that favor Amazon, including very broad content licensing, unilateral right to change terms at any time, broad account termination rights, and a jury trial waiver with mandatory venue in Washington state courts. Users who post reviews or other content grant Amazon an extremely broad, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use that content. Overall, the document is moderately one-sided but not unusually aggressive compared to other large platform agreements.
Flagged Clauses
When you post reviews, photos, videos, or any other content on Amazon, you give Amazon a permanent, irrevocable, worldwide license to use that content however they want, in any format, forever — even if you later delete your account. Amazon can modify your content, create works based on it, and pass these rights on to others.
“If you do post content or submit material...you grant Amazon a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, perform, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media.”
You do not own access to Amazon Services — you receive a limited license that can be revoked. For digital content (like Kindle books or Prime Video), this same licensing model applies, meaning you are renting access rather than owning what you 'purchase.' The license is non-transferable, so you cannot give or sell your digital purchases to anyone else.
“Amazon or its content providers grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and make personal and non-commercial use of the Amazon Services.”
Amazon can terminate your account at any time, for any reason, without explanation. The document does not specify what happens to digital purchases or account balances if your account is terminated.
“Amazon reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, terminate your rights to use Amazon Services, remove or edit content, or cancel orders in its sole discretion.”
Amazon can change these terms at any time without advance notice. Continued use of Amazon Services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the new terms. There is no requirement to notify you before changes take effect.
“We reserve the right to make changes to our site, policies, Service Terms, and these Conditions of Use at any time.”
If you have a legal dispute with Amazon, you agree it must be heard in courts in King County (Seattle), Washington — not in your local courts. Both you and Amazon give up the right to a jury trial. This can make it expensive and impractical for individual consumers outside Washington to pursue legal claims against Amazon.
“Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of any Amazon Service will be adjudicated in the state or Federal courts in King County, Washington, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in these courts. We each waive any right to a jury trial.”
Amazon disclaims virtually all financial liability for any harm you suffer from using their services. If something goes wrong — including security breaches, service outages, or defective products — Amazon's exposure is extremely limited under these terms.
“TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, AMAZON WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF ANY AMAZON SERVICE...INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.”
If your posted content (reviews, photos, etc.) causes any legal claims against Amazon, you are responsible for covering Amazon's legal costs and damages. This is a broad indemnification clause that could expose users to financial liability.
“You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post...and that you will indemnify Amazon for all claims resulting from content you supply.”
Amazon makes no guarantee that product descriptions are accurate, and if a product isn't as described, your only recourse is to return it in unused condition. You cannot seek other compensation for receiving a misdescribed product.
“Amazon does not warrant that product descriptions or other content of any Amazon Service is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free. If a product offered by Amazon itself is not as described, your sole remedy is to return it in unused condition.”
If your primary payment method fails, Amazon may automatically charge any other payment card or method you have stored on your account without asking you first.
“If there is a problem charging your selected payment method, we may charge any other valid payment method associated with your account.”
You are prohibited from using any AI-generated content from Amazon's services to train or improve AI/ML models. This is an emerging restriction that limits how you can use content you receive from Amazon's AI tools.
“You will not, and will not allow any third party to, use AI-generated content from the Amazon Services to, directly or indirectly, develop or improve large language or multimodal models, machine learning models or related technology.”
The actual data collection, sharing, and selling practices are contained in a separate Privacy Notice document that is not included here. Users need to review that separate document to understand how their data is used — this Conditions of Use provides almost no detail on data practices.
“Please review our Privacy Notice, which also governs your use of Amazon Services, to understand our practices.”
For physical goods, once Amazon hands a package to a shipping carrier, the risk of loss transfers to you. If the package is lost or damaged in transit, Amazon's position is that they fulfilled their obligation at the point of carrier pickup.
“All purchases of physical items from Amazon are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the risk of loss and title for such items pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier.”
You cannot attempt to reverse-engineer Amazon's software or AI models. This is standard for commercial software but explicitly extends to AI model weights and parameters.
“You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble, tamper with, apply any other process or procedure to derive the source code or other underlying components (such as a model, model parameters, or model weights), or bypass any security associated with the Amazon Software.”
Missing Protections
- No explicit notice requirement before terms are changed — users are not guaranteed any advance warning before new terms take effect
- No description of what happens to digital purchases or account balance/credits if Amazon terminates an account
- No class action waiver language — but the venue restriction to King County, WA effectively creates a similar barrier for most consumers
- No data deletion or account closure rights described in this document (deferred entirely to separate Privacy Notice)
- No explicit refund policy for digital content purchases (e.g., Kindle books, Prime Video purchases)
- No defined cure period or warning process before account termination — termination appears to be at Amazon's sole discretion without prior notice
- No cap on liability or defined minimum consumer protections in the event of service failure
- Children's privacy protections are minimal in this document — deferred to separate policies with only basic age restriction noted
- No transparency about what data is collected via app permissions beyond a link to another page
Fair Terms
- Amazon states it 'generally does not charge your credit card until after your order has entered the shipping process' — providing some protection against being charged for unshipped orders
- For mispriced items, Amazon commits to either contacting the customer for instructions or canceling the order rather than silently charging the higher price
- The document acknowledges that purchases from third-party sellers on Amazon are separate transactions, clearly disclaiming responsibility and directing users to review those sellers' terms
- Refunds may be issued at Amazon's discretion without requiring a return, which can benefit consumers in low-value dispute situations
- Amazon explicitly states products for children are sold to adults, and that users under 18 require parental involvement — a basic but meaningful acknowledgment
Document information only — not legal advice.