I Read The Policies So You Don’t Have To; Bambu Lab (3D Printing Software & Equipment)
Bambu Lab designs and manufactures cloud-connected desktop 3D printers, along with the filament, accessories, software and online services which let users create, share and print 3D models.
A company registered in China with operations globally, surpassing an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue through 2025, and a total of more than 1.2 million units shipped globally since their debut printer drop in May 2022.
By accessing, visiting or using their Products and Services users confirm they have read and understood the practices at play. “If you are not comfortable with any part of this Privacy Notice, please immediately discontinue access or use of our Products and Services”.
This article consists of a review of Bambu Lab’s;
- Privacy Notice
- Supplemental Privacy Information
- Jurisdiction Specific Notes
- Terms of Use
- Cookie Notice
- Terms of Sales
Bambu Lab state that their privacy policy applies to all personal data collected through; interactions with their website, make a purchase from their store, use their software or applications, interact with MakerWorld, or engage with their products or services — whether engaging with such in a personal or professional capacity, with Bambu Lab acting as data controller.
WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED BY BAMBU LAB
Bambu Lab state that they may collect the following information;
- Account and profile details
- Name
- Username
- Display name
- Email address
- Postal Address
- Contact information
- Shipping and billing details
- Country, region, city, state, ZIP code
- Payment and transaction information
- Creator verification
- Tax and payout information
- Support materials
- Diagnostic logs
- User generated content (UGC) (which may include print model files, details, photos, videos, posts, comments and other content or written materials the user submits or makes available through their services.
- Drivers licence or ID number
- Credit/Debit card number
- Chat messages
- Products purchased
- Order history
- Payment and tax information (for creators)
- Browsing and search activity on Bambu Lab sites
- App and software usage
- Search history
- Interactions with websites, apps, ads and services
- Model views
- Downloads
- Favourites
- Print history
- Where supported and enabled, printer camera features may capture images, videos or time laps recordings.
- Account ID
Additionally, Bambu Lab automatically collect “Information about your device, network and activity” which may include;
- Technical identifiers
- Device and browser details
- App and firmware information
- Usage data
- Interactions with Bambu Lab platforms
- Diagnostic or performance information from connected Bambu Lab devices.
- Inferred location
- IP Address
- Device system settings
- SIM Card region
- Device ID
There is an additional “Printing Task-Specific Privacy Notice” buried in the privacy policy, under which they explain what data is processed when sending a print task to the printer under either LAN-only mode or cloud-connected mode.
Under that supplementary notice they state they they may collect;
- Process printing task-related data
- Printing history records
- G-Code files
- Device operation logs
When LAN Only mode is enabled, the printer works within the local area network and communicates with the slicer for sending files and monitoring, in that mode all printing task-related data stays within the local network.
Device operation logs are stored locally on the device by default.
For printing related tasks where there is concern for privacy, including printing history records and G-code files, the user can enable “Private Printing Mode”. In that mode the users printing history records and G-code files are removed from the Bambu Lab cloud in 72 hours.
Under the “MakerLab-Specific Supplemental Notice” they state they may collect;
- Content the user submits
- Content generated in response to user input
- Text prompts
- Uploaded images
- Reference files
- Parameter selections
- Generated 2D images
- Generated 3D model files
- Associated metadata
Bambu Lab may receive information from third party sources and combine it with information collected directly from the user or their user of Bambu Lab products and/or services.
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Third parties are described as;
- Single sign-on providers
- Social login providers
- Marketplaces and retailers
- Payment and logistics partners
- Advertising and analytics partners
- Publicly available sources
DATA RETENTION
Bambu Lab’s retains personal data “for as long as necessary to provide our Products and Services” — they do not provide any specific retention periods, which strongly suggests data is retained indefinitely.
WHAT IS DISCLOSED & WITH WHO
Visual data collected through a supported and enabled printer camera is processed locally on the device unless the user enables cloud based features, requests support or chooses to upload or share the content.
Personal data collected by Bambu Lab may be disclosed with;
- Bambu Lab corporate group
- Service providers and processors
- MakerWorld marketplace and related transaction participants
- Business partners, sponsors and other third parties
- Analytics and interest-based advertising partners
- General public (profiles, ratings, reviews etc are public)
- Authorities, Courts, Regulators and other third parties for legal or safety reasons
Bambu Lab is a globally operating country with servers and service providers located in various counties, thus personal data may be stored, accessed or processed in countries or regions other than where the user resides.
TERMS OF SERVICE
“You acknowledge that we may use your personal data and any user content, input, uploads, or feedback that you provide to us to analyze your interactions with us and develop, improve, and enhance machine learning models that power such AI technology”
Bambu Lab does not knowingly collect the data of individuals under the age of 13.
Users must be at least 18 years of age (or have reached the age of majority as per the laws of their local jurisdiction) to use the Store and Services.
Users are required to create an account to place an order with Bambu Lab.
Users agree to not, and not allow any other person to misappropriate, intrude or make other inappropriate use of Bambu Lab products, including use of such products being limited to the reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials the user owns the copyright of, or materials the user is legally permitted to reproduce.
Bambu Lab guarantees a five-year provision of software updates following the launch of a product including updates to further enhance the user experience and solving bugs which may be present, following which they may bring less frequent updates if at all.
Bambu Lab commits to a minimum of seven years of security updates.
Breach of obligations with any terms of conditions may result in the deactivation of the users account and loss or restriction of access to the content associated wit the product (including software).
COOKIES
Bambu Lab deploys 115 cookies, which can be viewed here
These include their own cookies, in addition to cookies from;
- Stripe
- Paypal
- TrustArc
- GeeTest
- Cloudflare
- Airwallex
- Google Analytics
- Microsoft Clarity
- Hotjar
- Microsoft Ads
- Meta Pixel
- Reddit Pixel
- Google Ads
Any questions? Reach out! https://x.com/Alph4betSoup
Read other articles in this ‘I Read The Policies So You Don’t Have To’ series;
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- Simplici (Verification & Fraud Detection Solutions)
- Open AI (ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence)
- Anthropic (Claude, Artificial Intelligence)
- Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads etc)
- Duolingo (Language Learning, AI)
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- Flock (Surveillance Technology)
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- FaceWatch (UK Retail Facial Recognition Technology)
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