CapCut new terms - privacy and ownership concerns

Hi,

The reported update to CapCut's Terms of Service, effective June 12, 2025, represents a significant shift in how content created or edited within the app can be used by ByteDance (CapCut's parent company, also behind TikTok). This has indeed raised serious concerns among users, creators, agencies, and even newsrooms.

Here's a breakdown of the reported impact and some thoughts going forward:

What the New Terms Reportedly Grant CapCut:

• Broad, Perpetual, Irrevocable License: By using the app, users grant CapCut a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to use, modify, reproduce, monetize, publish, distribute, and create derivative works from any content uploaded to or created within the app.

• Use of Likeness: This includes the right to use your name, face, voice, and likeness without further permission or compensation.

• Commercial Use & Sublicensing: CapCut can use your content for advertising, AI training, media, or other commercial purposes, and can even sublicense these rights to third parties. This applies even to unpublished drafts and client work.

• Waiver of Rights: Users reportedly waive moral and publicity rights, limiting their ability to object to how their content is used.

• No Compensation or Notification: CapCut is not obligated to notify you or compensate you for any use of your content.

• Retention After Deletion: The rights granted reportedly remain in effect even if you delete your account or the content from the platform.

• Liability Shift: Users are held solely responsible for any copyright infringement within their uploaded content, even if CapCut then uses that content.

• Limited Legal Recourse: The terms include clauses that reportedly limit users' ability to take legal action, often requiring individual arbitration and waiving class action lawsuits.

• CapCut now effectively claims a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use your content in any way they choose:

  • Personal moments (like family videos) could be used in ads or promotions.

  • Client work may be repurposed, risking breach of confidentiality or intellectual property disputes.

• Monetization Without Compensation
  • CapCut can sell, promote, or monetize your edited videos or photos—without notifying you or sharing any revenue. This is especially troubling for:
    • Influencers
    • Freelancers
    • Businesses using CapCut for branded content

Impact Going Forward:

1. Erosion of Content Ownership and Control: This is the most significant impact. While users technically retain copyright, the incredibly broad license granted to CapCut essentially gives CapCut co-ownership and extensive control. For professional creators, agencies, and brands, this poses a massive risk to intellectual property (IP) and client confidentiality.

2. Privacy Concerns Intensified: The ability to use a user's face, voice, and likeness in promotional content without permission or payment raises serious privacy red flags. This is particularly concerning given ByteDance's history of data collection and its ties to China, which has led to bans or scrutiny of its apps in various countries (e.g., CapCut is banned in India).

3. Risk for Professional Users:

   • Breach of Client Agreements: Agencies and freelancers working under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) or with specific IP clauses in their client contracts could find themselves in breach simply by using CapCut.

   • Brand Reputation: A brand's content could be used in ways that are misaligned with their values or for campaigns they haven't approved, potentially damaging their reputation.

   • Journalistic Ethics: For newsrooms, using CapCut could compromise sensitive editorial footage, source protection, and the integrity of their reporting.

4. Implications for AI Training: The broad license explicitly or implicitly allows CapCut to use user-generated content for AI training. This is a growing concern across many platforms, but CapCut's terms seem particularly sweeping in this regard, potentially without any opt-out.

5. Ethical Concerns: Many argue that these terms are exploitative, taking advantage of users who may not fully understand the implications of agreeing to such broad rights, especially given CapCut's popularity as a free and accessible editing tool.

6. Shift in User Behavior:

   • Migration to Alternatives: Many users, especially professionals and those highly concerned about privacy and ownership, will likely seek alternative video editing software with more creator-friendly terms (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, InShot, Filmora, VN Video Editor).

   • Offline Editing: Some users might opt to only use CapCut for local, offline editing, ensuring no content is uploaded to CapCut's servers, thereby (theoretically) avoiding the application of these broad terms. However, this negates many of CapCut's convenient cloud-based features.

   • Increased Scrutiny of TOS: This situation highlights the critical importance of reading and understanding the Terms of Service for any digital platform or app, a practice many users unfortunately skip.

What This Means for Users

• Casual users may unwittingly expose personal content to public or commercial use.

• Professional editors may face legal risk if they use CapCut for client work.

• Businesses should reconsider using CapCut for internal, ad, or branded content unless clients give clear consent.

Any Thoughts?

This move by CapCut reflects a broader trend among major tech companies to assert extensive rights over user-generated content, often citing the need to provide and improve services, including AI functionalities. However, CapCut's updated terms appear particularly aggressive due to their "perpetual" and "irrevocable" nature, and the inclusion of likeness without compensation.

Our thoughts are:

• Transparency is Key: While companies need legal protection, the language used in many Terms of Service is intentionally convoluted. There's a strong argument to be made for more accessible, plain-language summaries of critical rights grants. The "hidden cost" of convenience needs to be clearly communicated.

• User Empowerment through Awareness: This incident serves as a crucial reminder for users to be vigilant about the data and content rights they grant to free services. If a service is "free," the user is often the product.

• The Value of Content: Creators need to understand the true value of their intellectual property. Free tools can be powerful, but the trade-off in terms of content ownership and control might be too high for serious creators.

• Market Pressure: User backlash and a potential exodus to competitor platforms could force CapCut (or other companies with similar terms) to reconsider their policies or at least offer more nuanced options for users who want greater control over their content.

• Regulatory Scrutiny: As privacy and data ownership become increasingly important, it's possible that governments and regulatory bodies might increase scrutiny on such broad terms, particularly if they are deemed to be anti-consumer or anti-competitive.

Recommendations

1. Switch to Offline or Privacy-Focused Editors
   Tools like DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, or VN Video Editor (offline) don't claim rights over your content.

2. Avoid Editing Sensitive Content in CapCut
   Anything personal, unreleased, or proprietary should not be touched in the app.

3. Watch for Alternatives
   CapCut’s aggressive rights policy may push users to alternatives—possibly creating market space for ethical video editors with clear privacy protections.

4. Raise Awareness
   Creators, especially younger users and TikTok editors, should be warned. CapCut's terms are buried deep, and many users accept them without reading.

Ultimately, users must weigh the convenience and features of CapCut against the significant surrender of control over their creative work. For many, especially those for whom content is a livelihood, the risks associated with these new terms may simply be too high.