CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
PRIVACY NOTICE SUPPLEMENT
Last Updated : October 30, 2026
We are committed to your right to privacy and respecting your ability to control your information.
This supplement (“Supplement”) applies to visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California (“consumers” or “you”). It is designed to supplement the Malwarebytes Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (collectively, the “CCPA”) and other California privacy laws. Any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice.
I. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
| We collect and use your personal information for business purposes described in the Privacy Policy. In the past twelve (12) months, we’ve collected the categories of personal information as shown in the table below: | Simply In the past twelve (12) months, we’ve collected the types of personal information as shown in the table below: |
| Category | Examples | Categories of Sources | Business or Commercial Purposes |
| A. Identifiers. | Name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers. | From you, from someone authorized to act on your behalf, when you submit information to inquire about our products. From your mobile device (phone), computer, or internet browser when you license and use our software (“Software Collection”). From other users of our products who submit your information to use certain features. From data providers, such as public records, identity, and data breach monitoring services, when you use features that check your information. | To manage your account with us, verify that you have a valid license to use our products or services. To administer and manage our website. To provide features you request, such as free scans, and to verify requests and prevent fraud and misuse. To provide features requested by other users. To advertise and market our products, including on third-party platforms. |
| B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)). | Name, address, telephone number, education, employment, employment history. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories. | From you, from someone authorized to act on your behalf, or when you submit information to inquire about our products. From other users of our products who submit your information to use certain features. | To provide you services that you request of us. To provide features requested by other users. To advertise and market our products, including on third-party platforms. |
| C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law. | Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, disability (mental and physical including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and genetic characteristics), sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information). | From you when you complete an application for employment with us. | To comply with applicable employment laws or to fulfill our compliance obligations. |
| D. Commercial information. | Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. | From you when you use our products or services. | To provide products or services to you as you have requested. To advertise and market our products, including on third-party platforms. |
| E. Internet or other similar network activity. | Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement. | From your internet browser when you visit our website. From our Privacy VPN software when you use the free version of our Privacy VPN service. | For running our website. To enforce usage limits on the free version of our Privacy VPN service. To advertise and market our products, including on third-party platforms. |
| F. Geolocation data. | Continent, country, city, approximate latitude or longitude of your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. | From your internet browser when you visit our website. | So our malware intelligence team can track malware and potentially unwanted program (“PUP”) outbreaks and patterns. |
| G. Audio, electronic, visual or similar (sensory data). | Recordings of calls with us; images or screenshots you send us; screen content viewed during remote support sessions you authorize. | From you when you speak with us on the phone after we have provided notice that the call is recorded, or when you send us images or screenshots, such as in a support request, or when you allow us to view your screen during a remote support session. | To provide customer support, respond to your requests, and maintain service quality information. |
| H. Professional or employment-related information. | Current or past job history or performance evaluations. | From you when you apply for a job with us. | |
| I. Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)). | Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records. | ||
| J. Sensitive personal information | Text message contents and any ID numbers or credentials in files, photos, or diagnostics you choose to send us, or that appear on your screen during a remote support session. Partial government ID numbers, partially masked passwords, and other sensitive information shown in the results of scans you request. | From your device when you use our software or choose to send us files, photos, or diagnostics, or when you allow us to view your screen during a remote support session. From data providers when you run a scan. | To provide, secure, and improve our products. To show you the results of scans you request. We do not use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you. |
We retain each category of personal information described above for as long as needed for the purposes described in this Supplement and the Privacy Policy, including to provide our products and services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
II. DO WE SELL OR SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
| We do not sell your personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary consideration. Certain activities on our website, such as the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies, and sharing information with advertising partners may constitute “selling” or “sharing” of personal information as those terms are broadly defined under the CCPA. We use the word “cookies” as a catch-all term to include not only cookies, but also other technologies such as pixels, web beacons and page tags. You can manage your preferences at any time by clicking the “Your Privacy Choices” link in the footer of our website or by visiting https://privacy.malwarebytes.com. To opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information, disable “Targeting” cookies in our preference center and select “Save my choices.” You may also submit a request via our online form or enable Global Privacy Control in your browser. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16. | Simply We do not sell your personal information for money. You can opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information by disabling “Targeting” cookies through our consent banner or the “Your Privacy Choices” link on our website, submitting our online form, or enabling Global Privacy Control. |
III. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE SHARE?
| In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information for business purposes, as described in the Privacy Policy, to our affiliates, service providers, and third parties when you (or your authorized agent) direct us to, such as data providers that run checks you request: Category A: Identifiers. Category B: California Customer Records personal information categories. Category C: Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law. Category D: Commercial information. Category E: Internet or other similar network activity. Category F: Geolocation. Category G: Audio, electronic, visual or similar information (sensory data). Category H: Professional or employment-related information. Category J. Sensitive personal information. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we disclosed Categories A, B, D, and E to advertising networks and social media platforms for cross-context behavioral advertising, which may be considered “selling” or “sharing” under the CCPA. | Simply We share limited personal information to third parties where there is a business purpose, and with advertising partners as described in Section II. |
IV. WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST YOU FOR EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS
| We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not: * Deny you goods or services. * Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services. * Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services. * Suggest that any of the foregoing may occur. | Simply We won’t discriminate against (or punish) you for exercising your rights. |
| We may offer certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your personal information’s value and contain written terms that describe the program’s material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt-in consent, which you may revoke at any time. |
V. YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES
California residents have the following rights under the CCPA:
| 1. Right to Know | ||
| You have the right to request we tell you what personal information we’ve collected about you and how we’ve used it over the past 12 months. Once we receive and verify your request, we will provide you a report showing: – The categories and specific personal information we’ve collected. – The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you. – Our business purpose for collecting that personal information. – The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information. – If we sold, shared, or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, two separate lists disclosing: – Sales or sharing – identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased; and – Disclosures for a business purpose – identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained. | Simply If you submit a request, we will show you what personal information we have of yours. | |
| 2. Right to Delete | ||
| You have the right to request we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and verify your request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service providers to: – Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you. – Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities. – Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality. – Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law. – Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 seq.). – Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if you previously provided informed consent. – Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us. – Comply with a legal obligation. – Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it. | Simply We will delete your personal information where you tell us to. In very limited circumstances we may deny your request where continuing to process such personal information is necessary. | |
| 3. Right to Correct | ||
| You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and verify your request, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to correct the inaccurate personal information. | Simply You can ask us to fix any personal information we have about you that is inaccurate. | |
| 4. Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing | ||
| You have the right to direct us to not sell or share your personal information at any time (the “right to opt out”). You may exercise this right by disabling “Targeting” cookies in our preference center and selecting “Save my choices,” submitting a request via our online form, or enabling Global Privacy Control in your browser. | Simply You can opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information through our preference center or online. | |
| 5. How California Residents Can Submit Requests under the CCPA. | ||
| – Online form – via email to us at: privacy@malwarebytes.com Only you, or your authorized agent acting on your behalf, may make a request related to your personal information under the CCPA. Our services are not directed to children under 18 and we do not knowingly collect information about children under 13. That being said, you may also make a request on behalf of your minor child. You may only make a personal information request twice within a 12-month period. Your request must: – Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative. – Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. 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 relates to you. Making a request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in such a request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. | Simply Submit your requests online by either: 1. Completing a form online or 2. via email to privacy@malwarebytes.com | |
| 6. Response Timing and Format | ||
| We will do our best to fulfil your request within 45 days of submission using the methods described above in Section 5. If we need additional time to fulfil the request, we will let you know in writing why we need more time and how much more time is being requested. The disclosures we provide only cover the 12-month period preceding receipt of your request. Where we are unable to comply with your request, we will explain why we cannot comply. For personal information requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity. We will not charge you for responding to your request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or clearly inappropriate. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request. | Simply We will do our best to fulfil your request within 45 days of submission. If we need additional time, we will let you know. | |
| 7. Note about Malwarebytes Free | ||
| If you only use our free Malwarebytes product(s) and have not set up a MyAccount, then we have limited personal information about you, such as cookie and device information collected when you visit our websites. If you use the free version of our Privacy VPN service, you are required to create an account, and we collect limited usage data (aggregate bandwidth) to enforce the free tier usage limit, as described in our Privacy Policy. For other users without an account, we may be unable to associate this information with you to respond to a request. | ||
VI. CHANGES TO THIS CALIFORNIA SUPPLEMENT
| We reserve the right to amend this Supplement at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this Supplement, we will notify you by posting the updated version on our website or sending you an email or other notification. | Simply We’ll post any updates to this Supplement on our website. |
VII. DISABILITIES
We are committed to ensuring that our website, including this Supplement, is accessible to people with disabilities.
This Supplement is available as a searchable PDF by clicking the “print” link at the top of the page allowing you to either print the document or download it as a PDF. If you are disabled and need additional assistance with this policy, please contact us at: accessibility@malwarebytes.com
VIII. CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions? Please contact us at 2445 Augustine Drive, Suite 550, Santa Clara, CA 95054 or via email at privacy@malwarebytes.com if you have any questions about our Privacy Policy. To exercise your rights under California law, please visit privacy.malwarebytes.com.