Intel
Information Technology
50
out of 100. Number 211 of 512, counting from the worst.
Where Intel does well
- Arbitration 3 of 20. Few problems found.
- Renewals 3 of 20. Few problems found.
- No forced arbitration or class-action waiver in the main Terms of Use — disputes go to Delaware courts, preserving users' court rights (a rarity in Big Tech terms).
- Intel honors browser privacy signals: with a US IP address and Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control enabled, it will not collect device information for ad targeting.
- 'Intel does not share your personal information with non-affiliated third parties for their own advertising or marketing use without your permission.'
- Signing a document via Intel's e-signature tool does not opt you into marketing communications (explicitly carved out).
- When personal information is removed, Intel commits to deletion or destruction 'using appropriate security protocols so that it cannot be reconstructed or read.'
Intel can rewrite the rules at any time and doesn't have to tell you — just visiting the site again afterwards counts as agreeing to the new terms.
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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Intel can rewrite the rules at any time and doesn't have to tell you — just visiting the site again afterwards counts as agreeing to the new terms. The burden is on you to re-read the terms 'at least once a year.'
Intel may, but is not required to, substitute, add to, change, or remove any part of the Terms at any time without notice to you ('Modified Terms'). Modified Terms will be effective when posted by Intel, and your use of the Websites or the Materials after the posting of the Modified Terms will be deemed your acceptance of and agreement to be bound by the Modified Terms.
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Anything you post on Intel's forums, support boards, or community sites — code samples included — becomes Intel's to use forever, for any commercial purpose, handed to unlimited sub-licensees, and you can never take that permission back.
By posting, displaying, uploading, inputting, providing, or submitting User Content, you grant Intel, its sublicensees, and any users of the Websites or the Materials, a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, unlimited, irrevocable, nonterminable, freely transferrable, and freely sublicensable (through multiple tiers of sublicensees) license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display the User Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such User Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes throughout the world.
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Simply browsing intel.com product pages grants Intel a royalty-free license to any of YOUR patents covering the same subject matter, and you give up the right to sue Intel for patent infringement on those claims. A developer researching Intel specs hands Intel patent rights just by reading the site.
You may not use or facilitate the use of the Websites or any Materials in connection with any patent or other intellectual property infringement analysis concerning Intel products. By your use of the Websites or Materials, you agree to grant to Intel (and do hereby grant to Intel) a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to any patent claims which include subject matter disclosed in the Websites or the Materials, and agree not to assert against Intel any claims for patent infringement based on any such patent claims.
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Your Intel account — the one holding your support tickets, forum history, and downloads — can be deleted for any reason or no reason, with zero warning.
Intel has the right to disable or suspend any account at any time in Intel's sole and absolute discretion, no matter the reason, without notice to you.
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If Intel's software download bricks your machine, they owe you nothing — not even direct, provable damages (most companies cap indirect damages only). And you must sue within 12 months, much shorter than most statutes of limitation.
INTEL, ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR: ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES... ANY CAUSE OF ACTION YOU MAY HAVE WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITES OR THE MATERIALS MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES.
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Intel buys your data from advertising companies, data brokers, and public databases, then stitches it together with what it collects about you directly — building a fuller profile than you ever handed them.
We obtain information through partners, vendors, suppliers and other third parties... These enterprises largely fall into the following categories: Advertising and marketing companies, data set and information vendors, public database providers, social media platforms... In some cases we combine personal information about individuals that we receive from multiple sources, including directly collected from you or through your use of the Intel®Services.
How these were found
Documents relied on: (1) Intel.com Terms of Use, version dated June 21, 2024, read in full directly from intel.com on Oct 1, 2026 (no forced-arbitration or class-action-waiver clause was found in it). (2) Intel Privacy Notice (current; the intel.com page is JS-gated with expandable sections, so a full-text render via r.jina.ai was used to read the complete notice; the 'Last Revised' date was not visible in the render). (3) Intel Cookie Notice content as embedded in the privacy-notice render. One additional clause observed on Intel's official retail-rewards sub-site (retailedge.intel.com): 'Any and all changes to the conditions of membership, including rules regarding the number of Credits needed for merchandise in the Reward programs, are retroactive and apply to all previously accumulated Credits' — i.e., Intel Retail Edge can retroactively devalue credits you already earned. Separate software EULAs (e.g., Intel Driver & Support Assistant, driver downloads) were not fully reviewed and may contain additional terms. All URLs below are the official intel.com documents.
These notes come from the original draft and are not independent verification.