Yahoo Washington Consumer Health Data Policy

Last Updated: March 28, 2024

This Yahoo Washington Consumer Health Data Policy supplements the Yahoo Privacy Policy and applies to personal information defined as “consumer health data” under the Washington State My Health My Data Act (MHMDA).

Consumer Health Data Yahoo May Collect

Depending upon which Yahoo Services you use and how you use them, Yahoo may collect certain personal information that may be deemed “consumer health data” under the MHMDA. For example, in order to provide search results we collect your Yahoo Search queries, including any queries you submit about medical conditions, or other health-related topics, which may be deemed consumer health data under the MHMDA. Also, when you use Yahoo Mail, you may send and receive emails about health-related topics.

Sources of Consumer Health Data

Yahoo may collect consumer health data from you as a result of your interaction with or use of our services.

How Yahoo Uses Consumer Health Data

We use the consumer health data we receive for the purpose of providing you the Yahoo Services you request.

Yahoo may also use consumer health data as reasonably necessary to: prevent, detect, protect against, or respond to security incidents, identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive activities, or any activity that is illegal under Washington state law or federal law; preserve the integrity or security of systems; investigate, report, or prosecute those responsible for any such action that is illegal under Washington state law or federal law.

Disclosures of Consumer Health Data

We disclose the consumer health data we receive for the purposes of providing you the Yahoo Services you request.

Certain of our services also allow you to disclose personal information, including consumer health data, if you choose, such as by posting information in your public profile.

Yahoo may also disclose data to investigate, prevent, or take action in connection with: (i) legal processes and legal requests; (ii) enforcement of Yahoo’s Terms; (iii) claims that any content violates the rights of third-parties; (iv) requests for customer service; (v) technical issues; (vi) protecting the rights, property or personal safety of Yahoo, its users or the public; (vii) establishing or exercising our legal rights or defending against legal claims; or (viii) as otherwise required by law. You can learn more about how we evaluate and respond to governmental requests here.

We may also work with vendors that access consumer health data as necessary to perform the services they provide to us. Some of these vendors may be affiliates of Yahoo. Certain affiliate entities among Yahoo may handle consumer health data for the purposes described in the use section above.

Yahoo does not otherwise disclose and does not in any circumstance sell consumer health data.

Rights Related to Consumer Health Data

The MHMDA provides Washington consumers with the following privacy rights related to consumer health data:

  • The right to confirm whether or not a company is collecting, sharing, or selling your consumer health data and access to such consumer health data;
  • The right to a list of all third parties and affiliates with whom a company has shared or sold your consumer health data;
  • The right to withdraw consent to a company’s collection and sharing of your consumer health data, except in certain circumstances; and
  • The right to delete consumer health data.

As mentioned above, Yahoo does not sell your consumer health data. You may exercise the rights available to you under the MHMDA using your Yahoo Privacy Dashboard. For search queries, click on “Manage Search History” under the “Manage your Yahoo search history” section. If you have more than one registered account with Yahoo (for example, a Yahoo and an AOL account), you will need to exercise your rights within each registered account.

If you do not have a registered account with Yahoo, please refer to this help article about clearing your cookies.

You may request additional information by contacting us via email at Washington_Privacy@yahooinc.com. Please note that we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity in connection with your request. If we refuse to take action on your request, you may appeal such a decision by following the instructions we provide in the response.

Under the MHMDA, you also have the right to obtain a list of third parties and affiliates to which a company has shared or sold your consumer health data. Yahoo does not sell consumer health data.

Updates to This Consumer Health Data Policy

We may change this Consumer Health Data Policy from time to time. We always indicate the date the last changes were published. If changes are significant, we’ll provide a more prominent notice (including, for certain services, email notification of the changes).

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Consumer Health Data Policy, please contact us via email at Washington_Privacy@yahooinc.com.