Hershey Company (The)
Consumer Staples
52
out of 100. Number 193 of 512, counting from the worst.
Where Hershey Company (The) does well
- Renewals 2 of 20. Few problems found.
- No forced arbitration — disputes stay in federal court, which is fairer than peers that funnel everything to private arbitration.
- Honors Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signals as valid opt-outs of data sale/sharing across linked browsers and profiles.
- Clear do-not-sell/share opt-out form, non-discrimination pledge, and interest-based advertising limited to users who accept targeting cookies.
- CARU Safe Harbor certified; does not knowingly collect data from under-16s and promises additional notice for material privacy policy changes.
You cannot join a class-action lawsuit over disputes about the site — every claim must be pursued one by one.
The fine print
6 clauses and findings from the draft archive, dated 1 October 2026. The plain English comes first; the small print is the company's own words. None of these has been checked yet.
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You cannot join a class-action lawsuit over disputes about the site — every claim must be pursued one by one. There is no forced arbitration, though; disputes go to federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
You agree that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Sites and/or these Terms, will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action.
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Hershey and its partners (including Microsoft Clarity for session replay) can record your keystrokes, mouse movements, and clicks, and track you across other websites and apps over time.
We (and our partners) may use various tracking technologies (e.g., cookies, pixel tags (or web beacons), session replay tools, etc.) to collect information automatically. The information collected may include details about your behavior on the Website, including how you move and scroll through the Website, your keystrokes, the links you choose to click, and how you interact with forms. ... These technologies may also be used to collect information about you over time and across different websites, mobile applications, and devices.
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Hershey openly admits it 'sells' or 'shares' your data: its own disclosure chart shows identifiers (name, email, IP), commercial info (purchase history), browsing history, and geolocation going to analytics and advertising partners, including social media platforms.
As detailed in the chart above, we may 'sell' and 'share' (as such terms are defined in applicable US state consumer privacy laws) certain categories of Personal Data to and with third parties.
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Any idea, suggestion, or personal data you email or send Hershey is treated as non-confidential — they can freely use it to develop and market products, with no obligation to you.
If you choose to forward or transmit to Hershey's Sites by electronic mail or otherwise any suggestion type communication or material, including any personal data, questions or answers, comments, suggestions, or the like, will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary. Furthermore, Hershey is free to use any ideas or concepts contained in any communication you send to Hershey's Sites for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products using such information.
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You own nothing about your account. Hershey can delete your account and everything you posted at any time, without notice, 'for any other reason' — no explanation required.
You further understand and agree that you have no ownership rights in any account you may have with us or other access to the Sites or features therein. Hershey may cancel your account and delete all User Content associated with your account at any time, and without notice, if Hershey deems that you have violated these Terms, the law, or for any other reason.
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If Hershey is merged, sold, or goes through bankruptcy, your personal data is treated as a business asset that can be handed over or sold to the new owner.
In connection with the evaluation, negotiation, and/or completion of a business transaction (e.g., a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets)... Personal Data held by us is among the assets transferred or is otherwise relevant to the evaluation, negotiation, or completion of the transaction.
How these were found
Documents relied on: Terms & Conditions (Effective Date / last updated 11/21/2025), Privacy Policy (Effective Date / last updated 02/25/2026), and Hershey Cookie & Ads Policy (Last Updated 09/11/2025) — all read in full via browser_open directly from the official domain thehersheycompany.com on Oct 1, 2026; no mirrors needed. The Privacy Policy explicitly excludes Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company sites (hersheypa.com, The Hotel Hershey, Hersheypark, Hersheypark app), which have their own policies. The Terms page links its Privacy Policy, Terms of Use naming, SMS section, and Chocolate World ticket purchase terms. Quotes below are verbatim from the fetched text.
These notes come from the original draft and are not independent verification.