Legal agreement governing the submission and licensing of user-generated content to Canva's library
Overall Score
Risk by Category
The Canva Contributor Agreement outlines the terms under which users (Contributors) may submit Content (images, videos, designs, etc.) to Canva's content library. Contributors grant Canva a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and sublicense the Content. Ownership remains with the Contributor, but the license is irrevocable and survives termination. Key risks include broad sublicensing rights to third parties, no right to remove Content post-approval, indemnity obligations, and limited user controls. The policy emphasizes compliance with laws, no infringing content, and references Canva's general Terms and Privacy Policy for additional rules. It is designed for professional creators but poses high risk for those concerned about content control or commercial exploitation.
Once approved, the license to Canva is perpetual and cannot be revoked, even if account is terminated.
Canva can sublicense Content to third parties, including for commercial purposes, without further approval.
Approved Content cannot be removed from Canva's library at Contributor's request.
Contributor must indemnify Canva for any claims arising from Content infringement.
Contributors retain copyright ownership of their Content.
Content gains visibility to millions of Canva users worldwide.
Detailed requirements for eligible Content and review process.
Spotify collects the following categories of personal data. High Risk categories are used for advertising profiling or involve sensitive personal information.
Email, username, profile info linked to submissions.
Uploaded images, videos, designs, and associated metadata.
Download and usage stats of contributed Content.
Your data serves the following purposes. Mandatory purposes cannot be disabled without canceling the service. Opt-out available purposes allow some user control.
Data associated with your Canva account (email, name) and metadata from submissions used for content management.
Automatically collected metadata (e.g., tags, descriptions) used for search and analytics.
Spotify shares data with several categories of third parties. Sharing with advertising partners is extensive and represents the primary commercial use of your behavioral data.
Canva users can license and use Content commercially.
Shared with affiliates, vendors for hosting and distribution.
Aggregated usage data shared for improvement.
The following rights may be available to you depending on your region. EU/EEA users have the broadest protections under GDPR. Non-EU users have more limited guarantees.
Limited control; license is non-exclusive but perpetual.
Can terminate participation, but existing licenses survive.
No explicit right to export or access contributed Content data.
Data is retained for different periods depending on category, and security disclosures vary in depth. The policy highlights the following retention and transparency points.
Retention Periods
Approved Content retained indefinitely under perpetual license.
Deleted upon rejection, but may be retained for review.
Retained as per Canva Privacy Policy, typically until deletion request.
Security & Transparency
References Canva's general security practices; no specific measures detailed.
Manual and automated review for compliance and safety.
Source Text
Contributor grants Canva a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use Content.
Interpretation
Extremely broad rights; Contributor loses practical control over distribution.
Source Text
Canva may sublicense to third parties without approval.
Interpretation
Content can end up in hands of unknown commercial entities.
Source Text
Contributor warrants full ownership and no infringement.
Interpretation
High liability if claims arise.
Source Text
Licenses survive termination; no Content removal.
Interpretation
No recourse to claw back rights.
Yes, you retain copyright ownership, but grant Canva a broad license.