HubSpot announced a policy on July 1, 2026, to use customer data for AI training. The plan automatically enrolled users by default to enrich a shared dataset for new features.
Customers feared the policy would expose proprietary business contact details to competitors. Critics described the opt-out approach as a violation of the company's permission-based marketing ethos.
HubSpot reversed the decision entirely by July 5 following a significant customer revolt. The Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer issued public apologies and admitted the rollout was a mistake.
The company withdrew the terms of service changes immediately. HubSpot committed to a transparent opt-in model for all future data-sharing features.