Costco Wholesale Corporation Your Privacy Rights
(United States and Puerto Rico)

Last Updated June 29, 2024

You can print a pdf of this Notice for your reference.

This Privacy Notice explains our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. This Privacy Notice applies to Costco Wholesale Corporation’s United States (US) and Puerto Rico subsidiaries ("Costco," "we," “our” or "us").

This Privacy Notice applies when you: access or use our websites or mobile applications (including the Costco App) that link to this Privacy Notice; become a Costco member; shop at our warehouses or services centers; or contact or otherwise interact with us (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Notice does not apply to content or sites operated by other companies that are linked to or from the Services, or to any products, mobile applications, or services provided by third parties.

Personal Information We Collect
Cookies, Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies
Our Use of Personal Information
Our Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Privacy Choices
State-Specific Privacy Rights
California Privacy Rights
Health Information
Automated License Plate Recognition Usage and Policy
Security of Personal Information
Changes to This Privacy Notice
How to Contact Us

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us, the Services you use, and the choices you make.

Information you provide directly. We collect personal information you provide to us. For example:

Contact information. We collect name, username, email address, postal address, and phone number.
Photograph or digital image. We collect a photograph of you when you become a member.
Identification information. If you are a member or sign up to be a member, we may collect membership card photo, date of birth, identity document information (e.g., driver’s license, passport, or tax information), employer name (if you sign up for membership via your employer), and your Costco membership number.
Demographic information. In some cases, we request that you provide age or gender. We may request information regarding veteran status, or membership in associations or organizations that offer discounted Costco memberships.
Payment information. If you make a purchase or other financial transaction, we collect payment card numbers, financial account information, billing address, and other payment details.
Feedback or response information. If you provide feedback through the Services, or if you respond to a survey or other communication from Costco or its vendors, we collect your response information, including the content of your feedback or response message.
Content and files. We collect the photos or other files you provide to us (e.g., Costco Photo Center or photos submitted to Costco Travel). We also collect travel documents in order to arrange travel through Costco Travel. If you send us email messages or other communications such as requests for customer support, fill out a form, or participate in a promotion, we will collect and retain those communications.
Chat Features. When you use the virtual assistant or chat features on our Services, you provide consent for us and our third party service providers to collect, monitor, and process the content of your chat (that is, the words you type into the chat feature and the responses you receive).

Information we collect automatically. When you access or use our Services, we collect some information automatically. For example:

Transaction and purchase information. When you make a purchase or return, or another financial transaction, we collect information about the transaction. This may include, among other things, product details, purchase price, date, tender type, location of the transaction, shipping/delivery details, and payment type and payment authorization. It may also include account notes about the transaction, including information that helps us prevent fraud, misuse of the Services, or illegal activity.
Identifiers and device information. When you visit our internet-based Services or use our apps, our web servers automatically log your Internet Protocol (IP) address and information about your device, including unique device identifiers (such as MAC address); device type; your device’s operating system and version; browser type and language; other software settings and configurations; and mobile network information. As further described in the Cookies, Mobile IDs, and Similar Technologies section below, our websites, apps, and other online services store and retrieve digital tracking information through cookies, mobile IDs, and other means .
Geolocation information. We may collect or infer information about your approximate or precise location when you access or use the Services, visit our warehouses or services centers, or turn on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other geolocation functionality on your device.
Guest Wireless Access. When you connect to guest wireless internet service provided at our locations, we automatically log your activity on that connection, including time, date, and duration of your connection and information that identifies your device. We use this information to protect our networks and to detect potential unauthorized activities.
Usage and session information. We automatically log your activity on our websites, apps and other Services, including the URL of the website from which you came to our sites, pages you viewed, how long you spent on a page, access times, and other details about your use of and actions on our Services. We capture the screen images that you view and collect information about how you interact with particular screens with your keyboard, mouse, or other input device. We also collect information about what products and services you browse, search for, or otherwise express an interest in, and we track your activity on our Services where our advertising is served.
Call recordings and chat transcripts. We record and store telephone calls and chat transcripts for a period of time when you interact with us by phone or chat, or if you provide us feedback about our Services.
Video and other images. We use cameras in and around our warehouses and facilities to capture video and images. These may include images of persons inside or around our facilities and parking lots, and photographs of your face taken when checking out or retrieving products from lockers or at member service locations. This also may include facial images and measurements captured when you use the virtual eyeglasses feature on our website.
Automated License Plate Readers. We may collect images of your license plate and other vehicle information if you drive or park on or near our facilities. For more information about our use and capture of license plate numbers, please see the Automated License Plate Recognition section of this Privacy Notice.

Information we obtain from other sources. We may collect information about you from other sources that we may combine or link with information we have about you. We may combine information that we have collected offline with information we collect online. Information also may be collected by vendors acting on our behalf. These other sources include, for example:

Primary member or account holder. When a primary Costco member or account holder adds additional members to the membership account (including household members and business affiliate members), we obtain contact, identification and demographic information for these members from the primary Costco member or account holder.
Commercial data brokers/sources. Commercial data brokers and aggregators provide us with information about you to supplement the information we collect. This includes marketing information and inferences, as well as information that assists us in preventing fraud or other illegal activities.
Other companies with which you engage. We obtain information from companies that offer their products and services to Costco members, including Costco co-branded and joint venture relationships, Costco Services suppliers, vendors, and product suppliers. These products and services may include auto services, insurance, installed home improvement products and services, wireless devices and services, travel services, and order and delivery services. These companies may disclose some information to us about your experience with them, such as the items or services you purchased and your contact information.
Content you post online. Any information you post or disclose on message boards, chat, profile pages, blogs, and other services, including through social media outlets, may be collected, used, and disclosed by Costco or its vendors as described in this Privacy Notice. Such information also is viewable by other users.
Service providers. We may use vendors and service providers to collect or provide information to Costco in connection with work they do on our behalf.

In some cases, California requires that we use different names to describe the categories of information that we collect. For more information about these categories, please see the California Privacy Rights section of this Privacy Notice.

Information we create or generate.We generate new information relating to you by analyzing data we collect, including using automated means and third-party sources, to create inferences about your likely preferences or other characteristics (“inferences”). For example, we may use information about your previous purchases to infer the types of products and services that may interest you in the future. We use such information to measure and improve our marketing efforts, including providing targeted advertising and other promotional materials to you.

Information concerning minors.We do not direct the Services to individuals under the age of sixteen (16). We do not knowingly process personal information from individuals under 16 except as provided to us by an adult to make travel reservations, fulfill a prescription in the pharmacy, provide services in the optical department or hearing aid department or as part of our legal or risk management inquiries.

Costco limits its processing of personal information relating to individuals we can identify as ages 16-17 to what is necessary to provide a product or service requested. Costco does not knowingly sell or share information relating to individuals under age 18.

COOKIES, MOBILE IDs AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Costco and our vendors, suppliers, and advertising providers use digital trackers. Digital trackers include cookies, pixels, and web beacons placed on your browser when you use the Services, advertising identifiers accessed on your mobile device, and collection of your IP addresses and device identifiers when you use our Services. We use these trackers to collect personal information about you and your online activities over time and across different websites or services.

Why we use digital trackers.

Digital trackers have different functions, including:

Strictly Necessary trackers are needed for our websites or applications to function. They enable core functions like carrying out network transmissions and enabling you to log in to our systems. They also enable us to maintain your privacy choices by preventing advertising-related or other optional digital trackers from being placed on your browser or device (if requested).
Functional trackers allow us to provide personalization and convenience features, such as remembering your login information or preferred warehouse location.
Performance trackers allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our Services. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.
Targeted advertising trackers may be set through our services by us or by third party service providers and advertisers. We use these trackers to collect information about how you use our Services, as well as how you interact with advertisements and content on other websites. This information is used to provide you with advertisements tailored to your interests. If you do not allow these trackers on our Services, you may still receive advertisements, but you may receive less relevant advertising or content.

How to Manage Digital Trackers.

You can opt out of digital trackers placed through our Services for targeted advertising by visiting our page. Your choice to opt out of targeted advertising trackers is specific to the device, website, and browser you are using, and is deleted when you clear your browser’s cookies.

Because our Services rely on strictly necessary, functional, and performance trackers, you cannot opt-out of those trackers through Cookie Settings on our Services. In most cases, you can disable such trackers through your browser or device settings. If you choose to disable these trackers, it will affect how our Services function and may prevent you from using certain features.

You also may opt out of placement of digital trackers used for targeted advertising by enabling Global Privacy Control on a supported website browser. Because Costco may not be able to associate a signal sent from your browser with your membership information, we recommend that you also submit an opt out request through Your Privacy Choices if you wish to opt out of the processing of other (offline) personal information for targeted advertising or other sales to third parties

You also may be able to opt out of use of your information for advertising by interacting directly with our advertising, marketing, or advertising providers or by utilizing association opt-out mechanisms, such as:

NAI ( http://optout.networkadvertising.org)
DAA ( http://optout.aboutads.info/)
Google Analytics (at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/)

OUR USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use the personal information we collect for purposes described in this Privacy Notice or otherwise disclosed to you. For example, we use personal information for the following purposes:

Product and service delivery. To provide our products and services, including: securing, troubleshooting, improving, and personalizing products and services, and processing, fulfilling, shipping, and delivering your orders.
Business operations. To operate our business, such as: creating, maintaining, and renewing your membership, billing, accounting, improving our internal operations, securing our networks and systems, detecting fraudulent, illegal, or unauthorized activity, and monitoring trends, usage and activities in connection with our Services and warehouses.
Product improvement, development and research. To improve our products, develop new products or features, and conduct research.
Personalization. To understand you and your preferences, to enhance your experience and enjoyment using our products and services and personalize your online experience and the advertisements you see when you use the Services or other platforms.
Customer support. To send you information and notices about your membership account such as updates, order confirmations, delivery and pick-up notices, security alerts, and support and administrative messages.
Marketing and advertising. To create marketing materials; to communicate with you about Costco and other companies’ products and services, offers, promotions, rewards, contests, upcoming events, and other information about our products and services and those of other selected companies; and to display advertising to you.
Legal, security and safety reasons. For legal, security and safety reasons, such as to protect our rights and the rights of our customers and members, protect the security of our systems, networks and facilities, enforce our policies, communicate product recalls or safety notices, or address legal and regulatory compliance obligations.
For any other purpose described to you at the time information is collected.

We combine information we collect from different sources to achieve these purposes and to give you a more seamless, consistent, and personalized experience.

OUR DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We disclose personal information we collect to complete your transactions, provide the Services, or fulfill orders or inquiries you have requested or authorized. For example, when you provide payment information to make a purchase, we will disclose that information with banks and other entities as necessary for payment processing, fraud prevention, credit risk reduction, or other related financial services. We may also disclose personal information for additional purposes, such as:

Primary member or account holder. Each Costco membership account has a primary member or account holder authorized to add and remove additional household or business affiliate members and make account management decisions. We may disclose household or business affiliate members’ contact and purchase information to the primary member or account holder.
Household or business affiliate members. In limited circumstances, we may disclose primary members’ or account holders’ contact and purchase information to household or business affiliate members associated with the account.
Account administrators. If you designate an administrator to manage your account, we disclose contact information for primary and household account members with that administrator.
Other companies with which you engage. When you request information about, or purchase products or services offered by other companies through your Costco membership, Costco discloses personal information to those companies. We do this so that they may provide you with products and services you request, customer service, complaint resolution, installation and warranty services, and recall or emergency notices.
Businesses offering co-branded products or services. Costco discloses information to businesses that offer products or services jointly with Costco or that use the Costco brand, for our and their marketing purposes. We may disclose contact information with these other companies so that we or they can notify you of product and service offerings, determine if you qualify for products or services, and evaluate new and existing products or services offerings
Our affiliates and entities that belong to Costco’s corporate group. We disclose personal information with our subsidiaries, corporate affiliates, and related companies under common control and ownership.
Vendors, service providers and consultants. We disclose personal information to vendors or service providers working on our behalf for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. For example, companies that help us:

Process, fulfill, ship and deliver your orders;
Provide customer service and resolve complaints;
Identify, investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions;
Provide installation and warranty services;
Communicate with you or provide recall or emergency notices;
Analyze data or member activity;
Design and execute our marketing campaigns, administer our promotions, or provide advertising services; or
Investigate and resolve claims.

Citi / Costco Anywhere Visa ^® Card by Citi applicants and cardholders. We disclose contact information, information regarding your membership number and status, and purchase information to Citi for purposes of administering the Costco Anywhere Visa ® Card program and for marketing the card to members and prospective members..
Suppliers. We disclose personal information to companies that supply the products and services sold by Costco for business and commercial purposes.
Marketing materials. We may use images taken in or around our facilities in Costco marketing materials and advertisements.
Advertising, marketing, and analytics providers. We disclose information with other companies that conduct marketing and advertising services to promote our and our suppliers’ products and services. This includes directing digital (online) targeted advertising and other marketing offers, promotions, rewards, contests, upcoming events, and notices to you. It also includes companies that aggregate personal information in order to provide analysis and statistics to Costco and its suppliers.
Tobacco rebates for business members. For business members who purchase tobacco products for resale, we provide member name, address, brand name, and the amount of tobacco products purchased to the tobacco manufacturers’ representative to process retail incentives. If you are a business member in California and you do not want us to provide this information, you can contact us using the methods described in the Your Privacy Choices section below.
Corporate transactions. We also may disclose personal information as part of a corporate transaction or proceeding such as a merger, financing, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, or a transfer, divestiture, or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets.
Employer-provided memberships. If your employer purchased your membership for you we may disclose your name, address, purchase history, and membership level or status with your employer.
Other uses and disclosures. We also will access, transfer, disclose, and preserve personal information when we believe that doing so is necessary to:

Comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including requests from law enforcement or other government agencies;
Protect our Costco companies, our shoppers, members, employees or the public; for example, to prevent attempts to commit fraud, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone;
Demonstrate our compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements:
Operate and maintain the security of our locations and systems, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks; or
Protect the rights or property of Costco or others, including detecting, investigating, and preventing illegal or unauthorized activities, reporting such activities to law enforcement, and enforcing our agreements, terms, and policies.

Some of these disclosures may be "sales" of personal information under certain state laws.

Deidentified Information. We may aggregate or deidentify personal information. Where we maintain deidentified information, we commit to maintaining and using such information in deidentified form, and will not attempt to reidentify such information except as necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of our deidentification policies and procedures.

YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES

We provide choices about the personal information we collect about you. The choices you make apply only to you and will not apply to household or business affiliate members associated with your membership account.

You can opt out of direct marketing communications from Costco. You can opt out of receiving promotional email and mail materials from Costco by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing communication that you receive, or by:

Accessing your online account on Costco.com. From the Account menu, choose “Preferences”
Visiting any Membership counter at any US or Puerto Rico Costco warehouse;
Calling Membership Services at 1-800-774-2678;
Using the chat feature on costco.com; or
Writing to us at: Customer Service, P. O. Box 34622, Seattle, WA 98124.

Costco Same Day Powered by Instacart. You can opt out of receiving promotional emails from the Costco Same Day Powered by Instacart program by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any marketing communication that you receive from the program.

You can opt out of processing and disclosure of your personal information. You may direct Costco to stop processing your personal information for targeted advertising or marketing profiles, and to stop disclosing your personal information to third-parties for their marketing or other commercial purposes by visiting our Your Privacy Choices webpage.

You can opt out of targeted advertising cookies and digital trackers by visiting the page.

You can stop text messages (SMS) and mobile notifications. We will send you SMS (text) communications if you consent to receive them, including, for example, order and delivery status. We will also send you SMS (text) messages in case of emergency, urgent product recalls and other limited (non-marketing) instances as permitted by law. You can reply “STOP” to any SMS (text) message to cancel. We also may send push notifications or alerts to your mobile device through our app. You can stop these notifications by changing the settings on your mobile device.

You can stop use of device precise location information. If you use our mobile apps, we will ask for your consent to use your device's precise location information, and to enable features such as the digital membership card notifications. If you decline to consent to our use of your device's precise location information, we will not collect that information, but some app features may not work. You can withdraw your consent for use of precise location at any time by turning off the precise location feature for the app in your device settings.

You can opt out of tobacco information disclosures. If you are a Business Member in California and do not want us to disclose information about your tobacco purchases, you can let us know via any of the contact methods above.

You can get information about your membership and the personal information we may have collected about you through any of the contact methods listed above. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right to decline requests that are unreasonable or excessive, where providing the information would be prohibited by law or could adversely affect the privacy or other rights of another person, or where we are unable to authenticate you as the person to whom the information relates.

STATE-SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS

You may have additional privacy rights under the law of the state in which you live. This section describes those rights for residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington,. If you are a resident of California, your privacy rights are described in the California Privacy Rights section below.

COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, MONTANA, OREGON, TEXAS, UTAH, AND VIRGINIA

You have the right to access, delete, and correct certain personal information we collect about you. When you request access to personal information, you have the right to receive that information in a portable and readily usable format. You also have the right to restrict (opt out of) the use of your personal information for targeted advertising or marketing profiles, restrict the sale or sharing of your personal information, and control our use of personal information considered sensitive. You also have a right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of your privacy rights.

Some states require Costco to provide you with specific information regarding the categories of personal information Costco collects and processes, the sources of that information, our purposes for processing personal information, and the third parties to whom we disclose personal information. Please review our Personal Information Categories and Purposes Notice for that information.

Making a Data Rights Request

You or your authorized agent may submit a request to exercise your access, deletion, and correction rights by submitting a Data Rights Request or calling 1-800-605-3364.

You or your authorized agent may submit a request to opt out of targeted advertising, development of marketing inferences or profiles, and the sale or sharing of personal information by visiting our Your Privacy Choices webpage.

If we deny your request, or you disagree with any action Costco takes or declines to take in relation to your data rights request, you may submit an appeal through our Data Rights Request webpage. You will need your case number to submit an appeal request. Costco will respond to you with the specific reasons why your appeal is granted or denied.

Authorized Agents

You have the right to have an authorized agent make a request on your behalf. Before accepting a request from an authorized agent, we will require the agent to provide proof you have authorized it to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us or confirm that you provided the authorized agent permission to submit the request. You must use the Third Party Authorization form to authorize third parties to make such requests on your behalf.

Verifying Your Data Rights Request

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information that relates to you. We will only use personal information provided in connection with the verification process to verify your identity or the authority of your authorized agent.

Sensitive Personal Information

Costco will request your consent for processing sensitive personal information for purposes other than providing you with a product or service you request, or as required by law. You may revoke your consent at any time. For example, you may revoke your consent to the use of device precise location information through our app by turning off the precise location feature in the app settings on your device.

Automated Decision Making

You have the right to request that Costco not engage in certain types of automated decision making about you. Costco does not use automated decision making that is subject to this right. For that reason, we do not accept requests to opt out of automated decision making.

NEVADA

Residents of Nevada have the right to opt out of the sale of certain types of their information to other companies who will sell or license their information to others. At this time, Costco does not engage in such sales. If you are a Nevada resident and would like more information about our privacy practices, please email US_privacy@costco.com.

Nevada residents also have the right to have the right to access and delete certain Consumer Health Data we collect about them. Visit our Data Rights Request webpage or call 1-800-605-3364 to submit a request. If your request to exercise your rights is denied, you may appeal that decision through the Data Rights Request portal. You will need your case number to submit your appeal.

WASHINGTON

Washington residents have the right to have the right to access and delete certain Consumer Health Data we collect about them. Visit our Data Rights Request webpage or call 1-800-605-3364 to submit a request. If your request to exercise your rights is denied, you may appeal that decision through the Data Rights Request portal. You will need your case number to submit your appeal.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

NOTICE AT COLLECTION FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

You have the right under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) to receive notice of the categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for which those categories of personal information will be used, and how we determine the length of time for which the personal information is maintained. You are also entitled to receive notice regarding your rights under the CCPA.

Collection, Use, and Retention of Personal Information

As a California resident, you have the right to receive notice of the categories of personal information we collect, the sources from which we receive personal information, and purposes for which we use personal information.

California law also requires us to provide information regarding the criteria we use to determine the length of time for which we retain personal information. We utilize the following criteria to determine the length of time for which we retain personal information:

The business purposes for which the information is used, and the length of time for which the information is required to achieve those purposes;
Whether we are required to retain the information, or the information is otherwise necessary, in order to: comply with legal obligations or contractual commitments: defend against potential legal claims: detect or prevent potential illegal activity or actions in violation of Costco’s policies and procedures; secure our systems and online environment; or protect health and safety;
The privacy impact on individuals of ongoing retention; and
The manner in which information is maintained and flows through our systems, and how best to manage the lifecycle of information in light of the volume and complexity of the systems in our infrastructure.

Individual pieces of personal information such as those listed above may exist in different systems that are used for different business or legal purposes. A different maximum retention period may apply to each use case of the information. Certain individual pieces of information may also be stored in combination with other individual pieces of information, and the maximum retention period may be determined by the purpose for which that information set is used.

The following chart provides information about what we collect, how we use it, and additional retention considerations that arise when we apply these criteria to such information. California law requires us to provide this information using the categories enumerated in the law. Some elements of personal information may fall into multiple categories.


Identifiers	Examples of information collected: Contact information (name, phone number, address, email address); social media handles and account information; unique identifiers (such as those assigned in cookies) and membership number Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Identifiers that are associated with a member account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above
Additional categories of information listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e))	Examples of information collected: Name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, driver's license or state identification card number, education, employment, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Information that is associated with your account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above. If you change information associated with your preferred payment method, we will dispose of the outdated information
Protected Classifications under CA or Federal Law	Examples of information collected: Age (including date of birth); gender; disability status; veteran status Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Information that is associated with your account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above
Commercial Information	Examples of information collected: Order history; billing and payment records; transaction and purchase information; feedback information (feedback you provide through the Services or responses to surveys); membership in organizations that offer discounts on Costco membership Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you make a purchase, return, or another financial transaction; service providers; third parties (other companies with which you engage) Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Commercial Information that is associated with your account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above
Biometric Information	Examples of information collected: Facial images and measurements used to fit virtual eyeglasses to your face, if you use the virtual eyeglasses tool. This information is not used to identify individuals Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us or use our Services Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Information that is associated with your account will be retained for a reasonable period not to exceed 6 months if you do not purchase glasses. Measurements used to create eyeglasses purchased are stored as part of that transaction for the period required by law
Sensitive Personal Information	Examples of information collected: Driver's license number, state identification number, passport number, or other government issued identifiers; payment information (payment card numbers and financial account information); precise geolocation; health information Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us or use our Services Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations Information that is associated with your account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above. If you use features that rely on precise geolocation information, that information is disposed immediately when no longer in use
Internet or Electronic Network Activity Information	Examples of information collected: Device identifiers (MAC address); device type and operating system; mobile network information; cookie or tracking pixel information; usage information (information about products or pages you browse and other interactions with our websites, apps, and advertisements); online session monitoring; chat transcripts Source(s) of information: Automatically when you interact with us online or connect with our systems (such as wireless internet provided at our locations); service providers; third parties Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: We dispose of this information on a regular basis, when no longer reasonably necessary for a business purpose
Geolocation Data	Examples of information collected: Precise geolocation information if location services are enabled on your device Source(s) of information: Automatically when you interact with us or use our Services Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: If you use features that rely on precise geolocation information, that information is disposed immediately when no longer in use
Audio, Electronic, Visual, Thermal, Olfactory, or Similar Information	Examples of information collected: Call recordings (such as customer service calls); photographs; video; license plate reader information Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us; Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: We dispose of this information on a regular basis when no longer reasonably necessary for a business purpose
Professional or Employment-Related Information	Examples of information collected: Current employer information Source(s) of information: Directly from you or your employer when you are listed on a business membership or on a membership provided to you by your employer Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: This information is typically retained for the length of time you are listed on the account
Inferences Drawn About You	Examples of information collected: Interests; preferences Source(s) of information: Directly from you; automatically when you interact with us; from third parties (such as commercial data brokers, other companies with which you engage) Purpose(s) of collection and use: All purposes listed in “Our Use of Personal Information” above Retention Considerations: Information that is associated with your account will be retained for the length of time for which you are a member, plus a reasonable period thereafter, as determined by the criteria listed above

We do not collect education information.

For more information regarding protected health information processed by our Health Care Centers and Pharmacies, please see our Notice of Privacy Practices: Health Care Centers.

Disclosure of Personal Information

State law also requires us to provide you with information regarding the parties to whom we “sell” or “share” your information for commercial purposes, and the parties to whom we disclose your information for a business purpose. A business “sells” personal information when it discloses personal information to a company for monetary or other benefit. A business “shares” personal information when it discloses personal information to a third party in order to engage in cross-context targeted advertising. A company may be considered a third party either because the purpose for its sharing of personal information is not for a business purpose under applicable law, or because its contract does not restrict it from using personal information for other purposes.

We sell or share your information as follows:

Identifiers: to advertising, marketing, and analytics providers; and to suppliers for marketing purposes
Commercial Information: to advertising, marketing, and analytics providers: and to suppliers for marketing purposes
Internet or Electronic Network Activity Information: to advertising, marketing, and analytics providers and to suppliers for marketing purposes.

Any category of personal information listed above also may be disclosed for a business purpose to service providers and contractors, which are companies or individuals that we engage to conduct activities on our behalf. Service providers and contractors are restricted from using personal information for any purpose not related to our engagement

We also may disclose personal information to the companies that provide products and services to our members in order to provide you with products or services you request. We may also disclose your personal information in additional, more limited circumstances, as described in the Our Disclosure of Personal Information section above. You also may save or print our Personal Information Categories and Purposes Notice.

Costco does not sell or share sensitive personal information.

Right to Know, Correct, and Request Deletion

As a California resident, you have the right to request that we disclose what personal information we collect, use, and sell, as well as the right to request that we delete certain personal information that we have collected from you. If we hold personal information that is not accurate, you have the right to request that we correct this information. You or your authorized agent may submit a request to exercise your rights by submitting a Data Rights Request form or by calling 1-800-605-3364.

For your security and to ensure unauthorized third parties do not access your personal information, we will require you to verify your identity before we can act on your request. If you are a current Costco member, you will be required to authenticate through your Costco account. If you are not an active Costco member, you will be required to provide an email address and mobile phone number to start the verification process. For requests to correct inaccurate information, we may ask you to provide documentation that demonstrates why or how the existing information is inaccurate.

Before accepting a request from an authorized agent, we will require the agent to provide proof you have authorized it to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us or confirm that you provided the authorized agent permission to submit the request. You must use the Third Party Authorization form to authorize third parties to make such requests on your behalf.

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information that relates to you. We will only use personal information provided in connection with the verification process to verify your identity or the authority of your authorized agent.

Right to Opt Out of “Sale” and "Sharing" of Personal Information

You have a right to opt out from future “sales” and "sharing" of personal information. You can exercise this right by visiting our Your Privacy Choices webpage. You also can prevent digital tracking information from being sold or shared by visiting our webpage. Any opt out choices you make will only apply to the specific member account or email address that you provide when making the request, and to the browser that you are using when you submit an opt out for digital trackers.

Note that although we will not “sell” or “share” your personal information after you opt out from the sale of personal information, we will continue to disclose some personal information with our vendors and suppliers (acting as our service providers or processors) for our business purposes. Submitting a request to opt out through Your Privacy Choices and/or opting out of digital trackers will not stop the use of previously disclosed personal information or stop all targeted advertising.

Right to Limit Processing of Sensitive Personal Information

California residents, and their authorized agents, have the right to request that a business limit its processing of sensitive personal information under certain circumstances. However, Costco processes sensitive personal information only as permitted by California law and only to:

Provide goods or services requested by you or as reasonably expected;
To prevent, detect, and investigate security incidents or otherwise protect our business or systems from fraud or other illegal activities; and to pursue legal action against parties involved in such activities;
For short term, transient use to personalize your experience with our Services; and
To ensure physical safety of our customers, guests, employees, and vendor personnel

Accordingly, Costco does not offer an option to limit further processing of Sensitive Personal Information.

Right to Non-Discrimination

You have a right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of your privacy rights.

Additional California Privacy Rights

California residents who have provided personal information to a business with which the individual has established a business relationship for personal, family, or household purposes (“California Members”) may request information about whether Costco has disclosed personal information to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. We comply with this law by offering California Members a choice about the disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes, and you can make or change your choice by following the instructions under Your Privacy Choices section of this Privacy Notice.

Additional Information for California Employees and Job Applicants

If you are a California resident and are a current or former Costco employee, or have applied for a job with Costco, you can find out about the personal information we collect about you, and your rights under California law, by accessing our California Employee Privacy Notice or California Applicant Privacy Notice.

INFORMATION REGARDING OUR HANDLING OF CONSUMER PRIVACY REQUESTS

During 2023, we received and responded to privacy requests as follows:

REQUEST TYPE	STATISTICS
Request to Know	Number received: 187 Number complied with: 162 Number denied:* 25 Average response time: 14 days
Request to Delete	Number received: 189 Number complied with: 130 Number denied:* 15 Number converted to opt-out:** 44 Average response time: 15 days
Request to Correct	Number received: 9 Number complied with: 2 Number denied:* 7 Average response time: 32 days
Request to Opt-Out of sale/sharing/processing for targeted advertising***	Number received: 25,587 Number complied with: 23,658 Number denied:* 1,929 Average response time: 1 day
Request to Appeal	Number received: 4 Number complied with: 0 Number denied:* 4 Average response time: 31 days

*Denied requests: Requests to know and to delete, or correct are denied when we are unable to verify the identity of the requestor. We are unable to process an opt-out request if the data provided by the requestor (for example, an email address) cannot be matched to data in our records.

**Delete requests converted to opt out: We process denied delete requests as opt-out requests, if possible.

*** Requests to opt out of personal information sale, sharing, or processing for targeted advertising are accepted from all Costco members in the United States, and not limited to the residents of particular states. These numbers represent all requests to opt out received.

As described in the Right to Limit Processing of Sensitive Personal Information section above, Costco does not process sensitive personal information in a manner that would be subject to that right. For this reason, we do not accept or process requests to limit SPI processing.

HEALTH INFORMATION

When you engage with our pharmacies, optical, or hearing aid departments ("Health Care Centers"), we may collect and process Protected Health Information relating to you. Please see our Notice of Privacy Practices: Health Care Centers for a description of how we use and protect Protected Health Information. To update prescription-related information, please visit the patient profile page at our online pharmacy site https://www.costco.com/Pharmacy/patient-profile.

Some state laws provide additional protections for personal information that identifies a past, present, or future physical or mental health status. This information is called Consumer Health Data. Please see our Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice for more information about how we collect and use Consumer Health Data, and your rights under applicable state laws.

AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION USAGE AND POLICY

We use Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology to collect information relating to vehicles present on or near some Costco warehouses and facilities. We use this information to detect, prevent, investigate, report and address incidents or illegal activities occurring in or around our warehouses and facilities, to maintain security for our employees, vendors, members and other visitors, and for loss prevention purposes.

Costco restricts access to ALPR technology and ALPR Information to only those Costco personnel with a need-to-know such information for their job requirements. Access is granted to senior management for the warehouse and region where the technology is in use, to our loss prevention and security personnel, and to specific individuals on our procurement team. These personnel receive training in data security and the sensitivity of ALPR Information. Costco’s use of ALPR technology is overseen by Costco Corporate Purchasing and the Director for Warehouse Operations.

ALPR Information is not accessible across warehouses and is stored locally on servers subject to Costco’s access control processes and procedures. ALPR Information is password protected, encrypted in transit and storage, and not used for purposes other than those disclosed in this Privacy Notice. Costco takes reasonable measures to ensure accuracy and integrity of the ALPR information it collects, including maintaining access controls and access logs. When using this information in connection with the investigation of an incident, Costco considers all available information, including information from other systems.

ALPR Information is stored for approximately 180 days before it is permanently deleted, unless we need to retain the information for compliance with applicable law, investigation of specific incidents, upon request of law enforcement or other valid legal processes.

Costco may disclose ALPR Information when we believe doing so is necessary to:

Protect the rights or property of ourselves or others, including detecting, investigating, and reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement;
Comply with applicable law or respond to legal process requests, including from law enforcement or other government agencies; or
Protect our Costco companies, our property and inventory, our shoppers, members, employees, or the public.

When ALPR Information is necessary for one of the above purposes, Costco uses reasonable safeguards, including encryption, to secure the transfer of ALPR information. Costco does not sell ALPR Information to third parties.

SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We take what we believe to be reasonable and appropriate steps to help protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, and therefore we are unable to guarantee the security of your personal information.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We will update this Privacy Notice when necessary to reflect changes in our Services, how we use personal information, or the applicable law. When we post changes to this Privacy Notice, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of the Privacy Notice. If we make material changes to the Privacy Notice, we will provide notice or obtain consent regarding such changes as may be required by law.

HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have a privacy concern, complaint, or a question, please contact us at US_privacy@costco.com or write us at PO Box 35128, Seattle, WA 98124.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Your Privacy Rights (United States and Puerto Rico)