If you’re printing something on actual paper, there’s a good chance it’s important, like a tax form or a job contract.
But popular printing products and services won’t promise not to read it. In fact, they won’t even promise not to share it with outside marketing firms.
The spread of digital file-sharing — along with obnoxious business practices by printing manufacturers — has pushed many U.S. households to give up at-home printers and rely on nearby printing services instead. At the same time, major printer manufacturers have adopted mobile apps and cloud-based storage, creating new opportunities to collect personal data from customers. Whether you’re walking to the corner store or sending your files to the cloud, it’s tough to figure out whether you’re printing in private.
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Why are printers so annoying?
Printers are so hostile to users, some people pay money to smash them — while others just can’t escape them at work. We’ve got advice on how to save money on ink and avoid privacy problems. We’ve found two less-annoying printers, have some advice on how to never have to own your own printer and even a modest proposal to end the tyranny of printers in American life. Read the whole Printer Week series here.
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Ideally, printing services should avoid storing the content of your files, or at least delete daily. Print services should also communicate clearly upfront what information they’re collecting and why. Some services, like the New York Public Library and PrintWithMe, do both.
Others dodged our questions about what data they collect, how long they store it and whom they share it with. Some — including Canon, FedEx and Staples — declined to answer basic questions about their privacy practices.
Wondering whether your printer app or printing service stores the content of your documents? Here’s The Washington Post Help Desk’s at-a-glance guide to printer privacy.
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HP
HP says in its privacy policy it doesn’t store the content of your files when you use its printers or its HP Smart app. While the policy contains a few eyebrow-raising moments (HP wouldn’t share a list of the so-called “sensitive data” it collects, for instance) it’s nice that this company doesn’t appear to be snooping into your print jobs.
“We do not see or store any content printed using our devices or the HP Smart App,” spokeswoman Katie Derkits said in a statement.
Canon
Canon’s privacy policy lists “files and other content” among the personal data it can collect. That includes images, it says, along with their descriptions and metadata which may include information about your location. Its policy leaves room to use your files for marketing.
Canon declined to say whether it stores, uses or shares the content of documents you print. It also declined to say how long it stores your content and whether it shares any data between its printing business and its security camera system business.
Canon “respects the privacy concerns of its customers and complies with federal and state laws applicable to its operations, including applicable privacy laws,” spokeswoman Eloise Pisano said in a statement.
FedEx
FedEx says in its privacy policy that it collects “user uploaded information,” which includes the contents of documents you upload for printing services. The policy leaves room for FedEx to use that information for advertising, or to share it with unnamed third parties. It doesn’t disclose how long the data is stored.
“FedEx Office workstations and self-copy equipment are encrypted during use and wiped in accordance with federal guidelines before disposal,” Isabel Rollison, manager of global public affairs and advocacy communication at FedEx, said in a statement. “At FedEx, customer privacy is a top priority.”
She declined to say what precisely is encrypted and whether that includes the content of documents.
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UPS
While UPS is a collection of franchises, the parent company UPS Store says in its privacy policy it can store the contents of your printed documents. It doesn’t use that information for marketing or advertising without user permission, said company spokeswoman Casey Sorrell. But if you check a box giving your consent, that information could be up for grabs.
Sorrell declined to say directly how long UPS stores its customers’ personal information, but she noted the company honors data deletion requests from customers in any U.S. state, even if that state doesn’t have a privacy law that grants the right to data deletion.
As for the franchises, their privacy policy doesn’t directly say whether they store the contents of your documents. Sorrell declined to say whether the parent company provides rules or guidelines on this matter for franchisees.
Staples
The Staples privacy policy says it can store personal data including “copy/print materials, driver’s license number, passport number and contents of mail.” It also leaves room to use copy/print materials for advertising. It doesn’t disclose how long the data is stored.
The company couldn’t be reached for further elaboration.
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PrintWithMe
PrintWithMe is a company that puts printers inside shared spaces like cafes and markets. Customers email their files to a particular printer location, then pay online and collect their documents in person.
The PrintWithMe privacy policy says it temporarily stores printed documents with a third-party cloud provider, but only for 24 hours. Founder and CEO Jonathan Treble declined to name PrintWithMe’s third-party partner, but said the data is never used for advertising.
Your local library
Each library can make its own decisions about printer privacy, so call and ask before you print anything sensitive. But New York Public Library, one of the nation’s biggest library systems, says it doesn’t store the contents of printed documents. Its computers store only the file names of printed documents and delete them at the end of the day, a spokeswoman said.
