GIPHY (Shutterstock)

Meta acquired GIPHY in 2020 and was ordered to divest it by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (ruling Nov 2021, re-issued Oct 2022 after appeal), completing the sale to Shutterstock in June 2023 - a rare case of a completed big-tech acquisition being unwound. The privacy angle most people miss is what a GIF search engine actually sees: GIPHY's content is embedded across messaging apps, so the service observes search terms and delivery context from inside conversations on platforms it does not own. Users searching for a reaction GIF inside a private chat are querying a third party, and nothing in the messaging app's interface says so.

• Severity
• Evidence tierUnassigned
• Claims confirmed
• Last verified2026-08-04

Primary source. None recorded — Unverified - heuristic first draft.

Arbitration

Not independently confirmed this pass — standard binding arbitration + class action waiver expected.

Data sharing

Meta ACQUIRED GIPHY in 2020, then was FORCED TO DIVEST it (CMA order 2021, re-issued 2022; sale closed June 2023) following a UK Competition and Markets Authority antitrust ruling — GIPHY was sold to Shutterstock — meaning GIPHY is no longer part of the Meta corporate family despite widespread integration into Instagram/Facebook/Messenger's GIF-search features. No independently confirmed separate privacy lawsuit this pass.

Contacts

Privacy contact. No published privacy email; Meta routes all requests through in-product privacy forms

Legal notice. Not verified this pass. If publicly traded: SEC Form 10-K cover page gives the official corporate address; the Secretary of State business-entity search in the state of incorporation gives the registered agent, which must accept service. If private: the state registered agent is usually the only reliable route.

Mailing address. Giphy, Inc., 350 Fifth Ave, FL 20, New York, NY 10118 (contact address in GIPHY Privacy Policy; Giphy, Inc. is named controller). EU representative DP-Dock GmbH; UK representative DP Data Protection Services UK Ltd.