{"id":680194,"date":"2025-07-16T16:45:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T13:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T16:45:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T13:45:14","slug":"how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How WeTransfer reignited fears about training AI on user data"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f82a835634\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2f82a835634\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\/#What_did_WeTransfer_change\" >What did WeTransfer change?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\/#How_did_WeTransfer_respond\" >How did WeTransfer respond?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\/#Why_are_users_so_concerned\" >Why are users so concerned?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p>Dutch file-sharing service WeTransfer is under fire after users spotted sweeping updates to its terms of service that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to let the company train AI models on their uploaded files.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company has now removed the controversial language, but users remain outraged. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on \u2014 and why it matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_did_WeTransfer_change\"><\/span>What did WeTransfer change?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WeTransfer users discovered this week that the service had updated its policy with a clause granting it a perpetual, royalty\u2011free license to use user\u2011uploaded content, including for \u201cimproving machine learning models that enhance content moderation.\u201d<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The changes were due to come into effect on August 8.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That language was vague enough that many users \u2014 including children\u2019s book writer <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sarah McIntyre<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and co<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>n Matt Lieb \u2014 felt it opened the door for WeTransfer to use or even sell their files to train AI without permission or compensation. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">How is this acceptable, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WeTransfer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@WeTransfer<\/a>? You\u2019re not a free service, I *pay* you to shift my big artwork files.<\/p>\n<p>I DON\u2019T pay you to have the right to use them to train AI or print, sell and distribute my artwork and set yourself up as a commercial rival to me, using my own work.\ud83d\ude21 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OHPIjRGGOM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/OHPIjRGGOM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sarah McIntyre (@jabberworks) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jabberworks\/status\/1945032307812782500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The \ud83d\udc9c of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_did_WeTransfer_respond\"><\/span>How did WeTransfer respond?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Tuesday afternoon, WeTransfer scrambled to douse the flames, saying in a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wetransfer.com\/blog\/story\/wetransfer-terms-of-service-changes-july-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">press release<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that it doesn\u2019t use user content to train AI, nor does it sell or share files with third parties. The company says it considered using AI to \u201cimprove content moderation\u201d in the future, but that such a feature \u201chasn\u2019t been built or deployed in practice.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WeTransfer has also now amended its terms of service, removing any mentions of machine learning. The <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wetransfer.com\/explore\/legal\/terms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">updated version<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> states that users grant the company \u201ca royalty-free license\u201d to use their content for \u201coperating, developing, and improving the service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the damage to user trust may already be done.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_users_so_concerned\"><\/span>Why are users so concerned?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WeChat joins a growing list of companies that have attracted criticism for training machine learning systems on user data. <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/6\/10\/24175416\/adobe-overhauls-terms-of-service-update-firefly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adobe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-66430429\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zoom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/technews\/comments\/1cuxdt1\/slack_has_been_siphoning_user_data_to_train_ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Slack<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2023\/12\/15\/dropbox_ai_training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dropbox<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and others have also recently walked back or clarified similar AI-related policies after public outcry. All these incidents tap into wider frustrations around <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">copyright<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">consent<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the AI age \u2014 and point to trust issues between users and tech firms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WeTransfer has long marketed itself as a creative-friendly, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wetransfer.com\/explore\/data-security\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">privacy-conscious<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> file-sharing service. So it\u2019s perhaps unsurprising that the vague wording around AI and sweeping license rights felt like a betrayal to its users, particularly for artists and freelancers worried their work could be quietly fed into machine learning models without consent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While WeTransder did clarify its terms, for many users of the service, the damage was already done. In replies to WeTransfer\u2019s official <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WeTransfer\/status\/1945181161849794925\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announcement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on X, some said that it looked like the service had tested the waters with broader AI permissions, got swift public backlash, and then quickly walked it back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WeTransfer is unlikely to be the last tech firm caught up in this kind of controversy. As AI fever spreads, user data is becoming the new fuel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/how-wetransfer-reignited-fears-about-training-ai-on-user-data\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dutch file-sharing service WeTransfer is under fire after users spotted sweeping updates to its terms of service that appeared to let the company train AI models on their uploaded files. The company has now removed the controversial language, but users remain outraged. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on \u2014 and why it matters. What did WeTransfer change?&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":680195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F07%2FaD7yz7h8WN-LVhtU_wetransfer-logo-featured.avif&signature=d0160f6bedb8c6f7705be0c8b9e3befd","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-680194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}