Follow Up Boss’s Privacy Problem and How You Should Think About Your Privacy Policy
There's been a growing controversy around Zillow's recently announced changes to the Follow Up Boss (““FUB”) privacy policy, and it's easy to see why.
Zillow published a Privacy Notice Preview of an Addendum set to take effect on November 15, 2025. Real estate agents who rely on FUB as their primary CRM are concerned about how Zillow can now use the massive amount of data it receives.
What’s Changing in the Follow Up Boss Privacy Policy?
At first glance, the changes look like simple definitional tweaks. The problem is, those new definitions are broad.
"Customer Data" is now defined as any data provided or collected in connection with the Services, as well as Personal Information of Visitors. Essentially, it's everything a customer does in the system.
"Personal Information" is defined as any information that "identifies, relates to, or is reasonably linkable to a specific individual". This means FUB has "Personal Information" on its clients, and just as importantly, those clients' clients.
So why do these broad new definitions matter?
You have to look at the new "How We Use Information" section. Follow Up Boss now states it will use the Personal Information it collects to "Provide, create, operate, develop, personalize, maintain, and improve... (a) the Services, and (b) our other products and services" using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The Real Issue: Using Your Data to Train Zillow’s AI
There it is. All the Personal Information they have on anyone in the FUB ecosystem can be used to train their AI--an AI that can be used not just for Follow Up Boss, but for their "other products and services" as well. This is the change that has most agents worried.
From “AI Suggestion” to “TCPA Liability”: Here’s the Legal Trap
I'm not sure I have a strong opinion on the data-use part itself. On one hand, good for Follow Up Boss for being transparent about it. Disclosing changes in data processing early is absolutely the right move.
However, the language around the use of AI is vague, and this raises some very interesting questions for anyone in the consumer contact space.
What happens when this AI--which FUB trained on your data--starts "suggesting texting campaigns"? What happens when it "suggests communication strategies for agents to use with the clients"?
This is where it gets risky.
Those "suggestions" could quickly bleed over into the type of activity that could be considered "initiating" calls or texts under the TCPA. If the platform's AI is actively suggesting what to send, when to send it, and who to send it to, is FUB still "just the platform"?
This sounds dangerously close to the "intimate support" arguments we've seen in platform liability cases. It's a direct path to liability, and it highlights a key risk for anyone relying on third-party platforms.
The Takeaway: A Warning to All Lead Buyers and Platforms
The key takeaway here is simple, whether you're a real estate agent or an insurance agency buying leads: You have to understand what your vendor contracts actually say and what they are really going to do with your data.
Are your vendor contracts exposing you to risk? This Zillow issue highlights a danger that exist in almost ever SaaS or lead-gen agreement. If you are concerned about your own platform agreements, let’s schedule some time to talk through a full TCPA and data privacy review.
