Esri Updates Terms of Use on (Free) Personal

 Accounts for ArcGIS Online

 Notice: ESRI Terms of Use Update

What's changing?

We are changing the name from ArcGIS Online Personal Account to ArcGIS Online Public Account. The ArcGIS Online Public Account will continue to be available at no cost and, as such, is licensed for personal, noncommercial use only.

 

Under the updated Terms of Use, ArcGIS Online Public Account holders can:

• no longer share items privately or create private groups
• continue creating public groups and sharing items publicly, or keep all items private for their own viewing
• keep private groups and private items if a personal account was created before November 30

(Note: We will not make any existing private groups and associated items public.)

 

If you want to continue to create private groups so you can share items privately, you can purchase an annual ArcGIS Online subscription, which also gives you access to all ArcGIS Online features and services.

So, in short:

• a name change to the account type to Public Account 
• no private items or private groups from here on
• existing private items and groups will stay that way if created before November 30

Why?

• The name change of the account to Public Account makes it clear all new additions are public or for the account owner's use. 
• The private groups and items are now only available in the subscription version of ArcGIS Online. Esri is tweaking the "free" part of the "freemium" part of the service. 
• Esri is respecting its users by not turning items and groups that were private to public.