Effective Date: December 15, 2023
This Applicant and Personnel Privacy Notice (this "Privacy Notice") explains how Maplebear Inc. d/b/a Instacart and its subsidiaries and corporate affiliates (collectively, "Instacart," "we," "our," or "us") collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information collected from and about: (i) applicants for employment with Instacart ("Applicants"); and (ii) current and former Instacart employees ("Employees"), in-store Shoppers ("Employee Shoppers"), and independent contractors who provide professional services to Instacart and are not independent contractor Full-Service Shoppers ("Contractors"). Employees, Employee Shoppers, and Contractors are collectively referred to in this Privacy Notice as "Personnel."
When we use the term "personal information" in this Privacy Notice, we mean information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to you, and it includes "personal data" or similar terms as defined in applicable law.
Table of Contents:
- Notice at Collection of Personal Information
- Information We Collect
- How We Use Personal Information
- How We Disclose Personal Information
- Transfers of Personal Information
- How We Protect Personal Information
- Your Rights and How to Exercise Them
- Canada Residents
- Australia Residents
- EEA/UK Residents
- Revisions to this Privacy Notice
- Contact Information
1. Notice at Collection of Personal Information
a. Categories We Collect
The table below lists the categories of personal information we collect, the sources from which we collect it and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose this information. Additional details on each of these activities is provided below. We do not sell or share your personal information as such terms are understood under the California Privacy Protection Act.
| Categories of personal information we collect: | Source(s) from whom we collect it | Categories of parties to whom we have disclosed personal information: |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers and contact information, including names, addresses, email addresses, social media account handles, IP addresses, and other similar identifiers. |
Directly from you Through automated means |
|
| Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute, such as your bank account number. | Directly from you |
|
| Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law, including age (over 40), sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, and disability status. | Directly from individuals |
|
| Internet or other electronic network activity information, including information about the access and use of our IT systems and networks, such as internet browsing history, search history, and interaction with web-based tools. |
Through automated means Directly from you |
|
| Geolocation data, such as IP location. | Through automated means |
|
| Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information, including call recordings, audio/video recordings of meetings or events, and CCTV video footage. |
Directly from you Through automated means |
|
| Professional or employment-related information, including job roles/titles and information included in job applications or resumes and performance evaluations. |
Directly from you Third-party sources |
|
| Education information, including education history. |
Directly from you Third-party sources |
|
| Inferences drawn from any of the information in the categories listed above. |
Through automated means Third-party sources
|
|
| Sensitive personal information, including Social Security, driver's license, state identification card, or passport numbers; log-in information for accounts in combination with passwords allowing access to the accounts; precise geolocation information; and information revealing or concerning racial or ethnic origin, health, and sexual orientation. |
Directly from individuals
Through automated means |
|
b. Purposes for Which We Collect and Use Your Personal Information
We use your personal information in connection with our recruitment activities and management of our relationship with you as an Employee, Employee Shopper, or Contractor, as applicable. We also use your personal information to fulfill other legitimate business purposes. In particular, we use your personal information to:
- Facilitate the recruiting and interview process, including identifying you as a potential candidate, reviewing your application for a position with us, verifying the information provided to us in connection with your application or received from other sources, determining your eligibility and suitability for the potential position or other opportunities with us, and communicating with you about the status of your application or other opportunities with us that may be of interest to you;
- Administer onboarding, staffing, leaves of absence, personnel evaluations, promotions, performance management, training, discipline, participation in available activities or programs and any other processing in connection with work-related purposes;
- Authorize, grant, administer, monitor (including by video surveillance), and terminate access to or use of our systems, facilities, records, property, and infrastructure;
- Communicate with and between Personnel as well as with designated emergency contacts, dependents, and beneficiaries;
- Support and manage Personnel, including providing resources needed for Personnel to perform their roles with us and providing resources for Personnel to attend company-sponsored or informational/educational events;
- Facilitate compensation, Contractor payments, payroll, claims, and benefit planning and administration (e.g., salary, tax withholding, insurance, etc.);
- Conduct performance reviews and evaluations and make decisions about promotions and job mobility;
- Manage business travel (e.g., car service/rentals, flights, hotels, etc.) and Personnel expenses (e.g., reimbursements, corporate credit card expenses, etc.);
- Conduct organizational planning and development, including budget planning and administration;
- Operate our business, including marketing Personnel to our customers and partners, facilitating the work of Personnel, and providing the products and services made available to our customers and partners;
- Operate our IT systems and maintain network and information security;
- Investigate, respond to, document, and report work-related injuries, illnesses, or grievances;
- Detect and investigate fraud and other types of wrongdoing;
- Analyze and monitor compliance with our policies and procedures (and for any other purpose included in such policies and procedures);
- Conduct internal investigations and audits and carry out compliance, risk management, problem resolution, and security operations;
- Conduct litigation and obtain legal and professional advice;
- Fulfill contractual obligations to you and other third parties;
- Comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations, legal proceedings, and government investigations, including those relating to tax reporting and immigration; and
- Protect our rights, safety, property, or operations and/or those of our subsidiaries and affiliates or others.
c. Retention
We will retain and use your personal information as long as reasonably necessary to manage your candidacy or employment, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. What this means in practice will vary between different types of information, and when we consider our approach we take into account ongoing business or legal needs for the information, for example in relation to tax, health and safety, and potential or actual disputes or investigations.
2. Information We Collect
a. Information we collect from and about Applicants
We (and our service providers) collect a variety of information from and about Applicants during the job application and recruitment process. This information may include:
- Contact information, such as your full name, email addresses (personal and business), postal addresses (home and business), and telephone number(s).
- Application and onboarding information, such as your resume, cover letter, and other supporting documentation.
- Education and training information, such as your highest level of education; the schools you attended and your dates of attendance; the degrees, certificates, or other educational qualifications you earned; and your transcripts or training records.
- Professional history and qualifications, such as your previous employers, positions, and work experience; your professional licenses, certifications, and/or other qualifications; and your professional references (and information that your references provide about you).
- Technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, language, and other device information that is collected automatically when you visit instacart.careers (the "Site") or any other website where this Privacy Notice is posted or linked. This also includes usage information, such as how you interact with the Site, the pages that you navigate to, and links that you click.
- Other information you provide to us, such as your social media account handle(s), employment preferences, current salary, desired salary, and responses to equal employment opportunity surveys.
b. Information we collect from and about Personnel
If you are offered and accept employment with Instacart, the personal information collected during the recruitment and onboarding process may become part of your employment record. If you are a Contractor, we collect personal information from you when we engage you for your services.
Depending on your role and our relationship with you, we (and our service providers) collect a variety of information from and about you, which may include:
- Identification information, such as your photo, passport, immigration status and documentation, visa, Social Security number, government-issued identification number, driver's license number, vehicle license plate number, and other information needed to establish your eligibility to work for us.
- Employment details, such as your hire or engagement date, employment location, business unit, department, supervisor, job title, position/grade, hours and days worked, working arrangement, nature of the services provided, work restrictions or accommodations, professional licenses and certifications, attendance records, completed trainings, career goals, performance reviews, and disciplinary records.
- Financial information, such as your tax elections, salary, bonus, benefits, expenses, stock or equity grants, bank account number and routing number, and corporate credit card number.
- Benefits information, such as your eligibility for benefits; information about your marital status and any spouse, children, or other eligible dependents and beneficiaries; and claims relating to your benefits.
- Protected characteristics, such as your age, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability status (note that we will not use this information in employment-related decisions unless specifically permitted by law).
- Health and medical information, such as information about disabilities or illnesses that you voluntarily share with us and proof of vaccine status and/or other screening information that we may collect (if permitted in the country or jurisdiction in which you reside or are otherwise located) to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases and ensure the safety of Personnel.
- IT and security information, such as your work-related account names and passwords; information about your access to and use of Instacart's systems and networks and Instacart-managed devices (e.g., internet browsing history, search history, and interaction with web-based tools); information about your personal devices (to the extent that such devices are used in connection with your employment or engagement and/or access Instacart's systems and networks); information about your access to Instacart's physical offices and facilities; audio/video recordings of meetings or events you attend; and CCTV video footage and other visual images of you captured during your time at Instacart's physical offices and facilities.
- Other information we request or receive, such as information you choose to share with us (e.g., when you complete an employee survey, raise a grievance, etc.) or information we receive from a third party in connection with your role, an agreement you enter into with us, or additional roles you take on at Instacart. This includes information collected in connection with background checks and other pre-engagement activities.
c. Information we collect from and about Employee Shoppers
In addition to the categories of information described above, we (and our service providers) collect the following information from and about Employee Shoppers ("Shopper Data"):
- Information collected by the Shopper Application, such as device information and information about your interactions with and use of the Shopper Application;
- Information about training sessions that you have completed;
- Alcohol order eligibility; and
- Other information collected when you use the Shopper Application to perform your job, or otherwise such as through surveys that you complete.
d. Special (Sensitive) Categories of Personal Information
We only use or disclose sensitive personal information such as data concerning your health, racial or ethnic origin and biometrics as necessary to manage your candidacy or our employment relationship; resist malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal actions directed at our business; ensure the physical safety of natural persons; and verify, maintain and improve the quality of our business.
e. Sources from which We Collect Personal Information
Directly from Applicants and Personnel
We collect most of the above-listed categories of personal information directly from Applicants (when they apply for employment with Instacart and throughout the recruitment process) and Personnel (during their time as an Employee, Employee Shopper, or Contractor).
Through Automated Means
We may also collect personal information by automated means when Applicants and Personnel: (i) access any website or mobile application where this Privacy Notice is posted or linked; or (ii) interact with Instacart's systems and networks and/or Instacart-managed devices (including the Shopper App for Employee Shoppers).
From Third Parties
Additionally, we may collect personal information from other sources. For example, during the job application and recruitment process, we may collect information about Applicants from employment agencies and recruiters, prior employers and educational institutions, professional references, pre-employment screening service providers, Personnel, and publicly-available sources (e.g., social media sites/platforms).
f. Information About Other Individuals
Some of the personal information that we receive from Applicants and Personnel (e.g., a reference's contact information; an emergency contact's information; spouse, dependent, and beneficiary information; etc.) relates to other individuals ("Other Persons"). Applicants and Personnel are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions to share the personal information of Other Persons with us. We will use and protect the personal information of Other Persons that we receive as described in this Privacy Notice.
3. How We Use Personal Information
We use your personal information in connection with our recruitment activities and management of our relationship with you as an Employee, Employee Shopper, or Contractor, where applicable. We also use your personal information to fulfill other legitimate business purposes. In particular, we use your personal information to:
- Facilitate the recruiting and interview process, including identifying you as a potential candidate, reviewing your application for a position with us, verifying the information provided to us in connection with your application or received from other sources, determining your eligibility and suitability for the potential position or other opportunities with us, and communicating with you about the status of your application or other opportunities with us that may be of interest to you;
- Administer onboarding, staffing, leaves of absence, personnel evaluations, promotions, performance management, training, discipline, participation in available activities or programs and any other processing in connection with work-related purposes;
- Authorize, grant, administer, monitor (including by video surveillance), and terminate access to or use of our systems, facilities, records, property, and infrastructure;
- Communicate with and between Personnel as well as with designated emergency contacts, dependents, and beneficiaries;
- Support and manage Personnel, including providing resources needed for Personnel to perform their roles with us and providing resources for Personnel to attend company-sponsored or informational/educational events;
- Facilitate compensation, Contractor payments, payroll, claims, and benefit planning and administration (e.g., salary, tax withholding, insurance, etc.);
- Conduct performance reviews and evaluations and make decisions about promotions and job mobility;
- Manage business travel (e.g., car service/rentals, flights, hotels, etc.) and Personnel expenses (e.g., reimbursements, corporate credit card expenses, etc.);
- Conduct organizational planning and development, including budget planning and administration;
- Operate our business, including facilitating the work of Personnel, and providing the products and services made available to our customers and partners;
- Operate our IT systems and maintain network and information security;
- Investigate, respond to, document, and report work-related injuries, illnesses, or grievances;
- Detect and investigate fraud and other types of wrongdoing;
- Analyze and monitor compliance with our policies and procedures (and for any other purpose included in such policies and procedures);
- Conduct internal investigations and audits and carry out compliance, risk management, problem resolution, and security operations;
- Conduct litigation and obtain legal and professional advice;
- Fulfill contractual obligations to you and other third parties;
- Comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations, legal proceedings, and government investigations, including those relating to tax reporting and immigration; and
- Protect our rights, safety, property, or operations and/or those of our subsidiaries and affiliates or others.
We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is incompatible with the purposes outlined in this section, unless such use is required or authorized by law; authorized by you; or necessary to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or those of others.
In most cases, we process your personal information to assess your application for employment or to fulfill your employment contract (for example, processing your bank account details in order to pay you).
We also will process your personal information to comply with our legal obligations as your employer or where we are required to by law (for example, to comply with record keeping, auditing or tax obligations), or when it is in our legitimate interests (such as to protect the security of networks or facilities) and when these interests are not overridden by privacy and data protection rights. In rare cases, we may need to use your personal data to protect your (or someone else's) best interests or if it is in the public interest for us to do so.
Where appropriate or where required by law, we also may seek your consent to process specific personal information (for example, when asking permission to use a photograph of you in promotional material). Where we plan to rely on consent, we will request your consent in writing, and explain the purpose for doing so. You have the right not to provide consent, or to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting our privacy team via the email in Section 12 below.
We may from time to time request your consent for additional uses of your personal information during your engagement.
4. How We Disclose Personal Information
In connection with one or more of the purposes outlined above, we may disclose your personal information to the following categories of recipients:
- Our subsidiaries and affiliates: We will share personal information with our subsidiaries and corporate affiliates for purposes consistent with this Privacy Notice and/or other business and operational purposes.
- Our service providers: We will share personal information with third-party service providers that help us operate our business by providing business or technical support functions for us (e.g., recruitment, data hosting, analytics, etc.) or administer services on our behalf (e.g., identity verification, background checks, employee benefits, payroll, claims, etc.). Our service providers may also include professional advisors (e.g., lawyers, accountants, auditors, etc.) that provide services to us. Our service providers are subject to restrictions on the use of the information we share with them.
- Our Personnel: We will share personal information with Personnel who need it to perform their tasks and duties and as otherwise necessary or appropriate.
- Our customers and partners: We will share personal information with our customers and other partners with whom we do business or are exploring a business relationship, including event sponsors.
- Government and public authorities: We will share personal information with government authorities, law enforcement, courts, and others, in each case to comply with legal or regulatory obligations or requests.
- Third parties in connection with a sale or business transaction: We may sell or purchase assets during the normal course of business. If another entity acquires us or any of our assets, information that we have collected may be transferred to such entity and its advisors leading up to and/or following the transaction. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, information that we hold may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties.
- Other third parties: We will share personal information with other parties with consent or as we believe necessary or appropriate either: (a) under applicable law; (b) to protect our operations and those of any of our affiliates; (c) to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or those of our affiliates, you, or others; or (d) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit damages that we may sustain.
5. Transfers of Personal Information
Instacart operates a global business, and we use service providers located around the world to help us run our business. Accordingly, your personal information may be transferred outside of the country or region in which you reside. For example, the personal information of Applicants and Personnel collected by Instacart subsidiaries and affiliates operating outside of the United States will be transferred to the United States, where it will be maintained in a central database and/or accessed by Personnel based in the United States.
Where we transfer your personal information outside of your country of residence, we do so in accordance with applicable law and take appropriate steps to ensure your information is protected.
If you would like to learn more about the international transfer of your personal information, please contact us using the contact details in the "Contact Information" section below.
6. How We Protect Personal Information
We employ and maintain appropriate administrative, physical, and technical measures designed to safeguard and protect personal information under our control from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure.
Additionally, we keep personal information in a form which permits your identification only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we have collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information; the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of the personal information; the purposes for which we use the personal information; whether we can achieve those purposes through other means; and the applicable legal requirements.
7. Your Rights and How to Exercise Them
You may be entitled to request access to your personal information, request to correct, or request to delete your personal information.
We will honor any such rights and/or additional rights you may have under applicable data protection law. These rights may be limited in some circumstances, for example if fulfilling your request would reveal personal information about another employee or person, if we have compelling legitimate interests, or if you ask to delete information which we are required by law to keep.
Identity Verification
To protect your privacy, we will require you to provide personal information with your request that we can match with information we maintain in order to verify that it is you making the request. Where applicable, we will use the requested information for verification purposes only.
Right to Correct
You may correct inaccurate personal information that we may maintain about you, subject to appropriate verification. If you would like to correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you, please follow the instructions below:
- If you are an Employee or Employee Shopper (current or inactive), please log in to your internal employee portal, where you will be able to make changes to your information.
- If you are an Applicant, you may update your profile in Greenhouse.
- If you are a Contractor, please contact your Instacart point of contact.
Note that not all types of personal information we maintain about you may be corrected.
Right to Know
In some jurisdictions, including in California, you have the right to know what personal information we have collected about you. All current Employees and Employee Shoppers may log in to their internal employee portals to download their personal information via the self-service instructions provided within the portals.
Applicants and Personnel (including Contractors who are directly engaged by Instacart) may also submit a request for information here.
If you are an active Employee Shopper, you may also separately request your Shopper Data here. If you are not an active Employee Shopper or do not have access to your Shopper account, please email shopperprivacy@instacart.com.
Right to Delete
In some jurisdictions, including in California, you may request that we delete the personal information that we have collected from or about you. Note that there are some reasons when we will not be able to fully address your request, such as to perform a contract, to detect and protect against fraudulent and illegal activity, to maintain for internal purposes, to comply with a legal obligation or to exercise our rights. If you wish to delete your personal information, please submit your deletion request here. Please note that for so long as you are a current Employee or Employee Shopper, Instacart cannot delete employment-related information.
Authorized Agents
If you authorize a natural person or business entity to submit a request on your behalf (an "Authorized Agent"), the Authorized Agent may use the relevant submission method noted above. As part of our verification process, we will require proof concerning their status as an Authorized Agent, which may include proof of their registration with the California Secretary of State to conduct business in California and/or proof that they have power of attorney in accordance with California probate law. We will also require you to directly confirm with us that you provided the agent with permission to submit the request.
8. Canada Residents
If you reside in Canada and would like more information about where your information is stored and processed, please see the section Transfers of Personal Information above.
If you reside in Alberta, British Columbia, or Quebec, you may submit an access or deletion request as explained above.
9. Australia Residents
If you reside in Australia, you can correct or request access to your personal information as explained here.
You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001,
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Tel: 1300 363 992
www.oaic.gov.au.
10. EEA/UK Residents
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to make a complaint to the data protection authority in the jurisdiction where you live or work, or in the place where you think an issue in relation to your data has arisen.
The contact details of each European Union's Data Protection Authority can be found at the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm. The UK residents can find the contacts of the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk which also describes the complaint process.
11. Revisions to this Privacy Notice
We may update or modify this Privacy Notice from time to time. The "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Notice indicates when it was last revised. Any changes will become effective when we post a revised version of this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice periodically to remain informed about our information handling and privacy practices.
12. Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice or the handling of your personal information or wish to complain about our use of your personal information, please contact us at our email address privacy@instacart.com or at:
Instacart
50 Beale St. Suite 600
San Francisco, California 94105
We will endeavor to respond to you as soon as is practicable.