Rakuten
Rakuten requires mandatory arbitration for all disputes and waives your right to class action lawsuits. They claim broad rights to your feedback and can terminate your account at any time for any reason. The company also tracks your browsing behavior through their browser extension and mobile app to collect detailed shopping data.
They're renaming "Cash Back" to "Rewards" and mixing in partner points like airline miles alongside your cash earnings. You can now convert your cash rewards into these partner points, but once you do, you can't change it back and those points follow the partner's rules (including expiration dates and fees). Different people might earn different reward rates shopping at the same store based on their account history and spending habits, and you're capped at redeeming $2,000 a day in gift cards (though you can keep redeeming more the next day).
See the full change →The Bottom Line
AI-generated summary of the terms as we read them. Opinion, not legal advice.
Rakuten requires mandatory arbitration for all disputes and waives your right to class action lawsuits. They claim broad rights to your feedback and can terminate your account at any time for any reason. The company also tracks your browsing behavior through their browser extension and mobile app to collect detailed shopping data.
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Notable Clauses
“You hereby grant to Rakuten and its affiliates and agents a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, perform, translate, create derivative works from, distribute and display the Feedback in any media and for any legal...”
“Neither you nor Rakuten may act as a class representative or private attorney general, nor participate as a member of a class of claimants, with respect to any Claim. You may not bring Claims in arbitration on a class or representative basis.”
“Except where prohibited by applicable law, if you have not shopped or started a shopping trip via the Services for more than twelve (12) consecutive months, Rakuten reserves the right to debit your Account balance five dollars ($5.00) per month ("Maintenance Fee") to recover the cost of account main...”
“We may terminate this Agreement, your Account, and your use of or access to the Services at any time, for any reason or no reason, including if your Account remains inactive per Section 11.2.”
“TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AGREE THAT THE COMPANY'S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50) OR THE MAXIMUM CASH BACK AMOUNT YOU RECEIVED IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS FROM THE DATE OF ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS, WHICHEVER...”
“The Browser Extension also has some functionality that does not depend upon your interaction with it. By installing the Browser Extension, you enable Rakuten to automatically collect information on the pages you visit on your browser so that we can surface relevant offers, such as when coupons are a...”
“The Rakuten Applications will also collect and use data, such as the order contents and order total, from order confirmation pages so we may confirm your Cash Back faster and more reliably ("Instant Cash Back"). Instant Cash Back may not be available at all Affiliate Stores. We do not intentionally ...”
“This arbitration provision is optional. You may decline or opt out of this agreement to arbitrate by sending written and signed notice to Ebates Performance Marketing, Inc. dba Rakuten Rewards, 800 Concar Drive, Suite 175, San Mateo, CA 94402, Attn: Legal within thirty (30) calendar days of enrollin...”
Protect Yourself
ACTIONABLESettings and actions you can take to limit your exposure
Opt Out of Arbitration
Mail them a signed letter within 30 days to keep your right to sue in court instead of private arbitration
- Write and sign a letter stating you opt out of the arbitration agreement
- Mail it to: Ebates Performance Marketing, Inc. dba Rakuten Rewards, 800 Concar Drive, Suite 175, San Mateo, CA 94402, Attn: Legal
- Send within 30 calendar days of creating your account
Turn Off Browser Extension Tracking
Disable automatic page tracking in their browser extension settings to limit data collection
- Click the Rakuten browser extension icon
- Go to Settings or Preferences
- Turn off automatic offer detection or page tracking features
Configure Push Notification Settings
Control what mobile alerts and notifications Rakuten can send you
- Open your phone's Settings app
- Find Notifications or Apps & notifications
- Select Rakuten app
- Turn off unwanted notification types
Review Communication Preferences
Opt out of promotional emails while keeping account-related notifications
- Log into your Rakuten account
- Go to Account Settings
- Find Email Preferences or Communication Settings
- Uncheck promotional and marketing emails
Better Alternatives in Shopping
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Disclaimer: The clauses shown above are excerpts from publicly available Terms of Service documents. Ratings and severity levels reflect community and AI assessment, not legal advice, factual claims, or determinations about a company's legality or intent. Clauses marked “VERIFIED” have been confirmed as exact quotes from the source document. Clauses marked “AI-extracted” were identified by AI and may contain errors. Always verify against the original TOS.
Get notified when Rakuten updates their TOS
We'll email you what changed and what it means
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.