Yahoo! Developer Network Guidelines

GENERAL GUIDELINES APPLICABLE TO YAHOO! APIS

Yahoo! makes many of its APIs available to developers for use off the Yahoo! network. These guidelines address a number of the overarching issues that Developers should be aware of as they use these resources to build applications and web services using Yahoo! APIs covered by the Yahoo! API TOU.

These guidelines do not apply to all Yahoo! APIs. Some Yahoo! APIs, such as those for Yahoo! Maps, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Music, and Yahoo! BOSS (search) are governed by API-specific terms and guidelines. For API-specific implementation guidelines and information such as rate limits, please visit the individual API and Web Services information page, a list of which can be found here.

Commercial Usage Allowances and Restrictions

The Yahoo! Developer Network is opening up to allow broader access to our Web Services and APIs, including for many commercial applications. Our commercial usage policies differ depending on the API or Web Service you are using. Such policies are explained in the documentation of each API or Web Service and/or in these Guidelines, so please read all of the documentation carefully.

Some of our APIs and Web Services are made available only for non-commercial use. For such APIs and Web Services, it's NOT PERMITTED to:

• Use these services in high traffic, established commercial-oriented or business web sites or applications;
• Incorporate these services into applications or web sites monetized indirectly (by advertising, affiliate links) or directly - including subscriber-only content (subscriptions, software-as-a-service, hosted applications where your users pay for access) and for-pay applications, products or services; and
• Access these services through productivity tools for businesses created to bring value to a business function, typically only accessible to select users

Please see our FAQ for more information about these non-commercial use only services. If you use these services in your application, we encourage you to register your application to confirm that your usage is acceptable. We typically do not grant additional queries for these non-commercial use only services.

Yahoo! Updates API and Yahoo! Updates Firehose API

The Yahoo! Updates API and Yahoo! Updates Firehose API are available for use in commercial applications, subject to the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use, these Guidelines, and all associated documentation, including the rate limits contained on the documentation pages for these APIs.

Section 1.g.vi of the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use (concerning competitive products or services) will not apply to your use of the Yahoo! Updates API and Yahoo! Updates Firehose API, as long as all other requirements in the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use, these Guidelines, and all associated documentation are followed.

Provided that you comply with all requirements in the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use, these Guidelines, and all associated documentation, user data obtained from the Yahoo! Updates API and Yahoo! Updates Firehose API may be stored indefinitely, unless a user or Yahoo! requests deletion of the user data. If you store user data obtained from the Yahoo! Updates API or the Yahoo! Firehose API for more than 24 hours, you will post a privacy policy that explains what user data you collect and all uses of that data. This privacy policy must be directly accessible via a link in your Application that uses the API or APIs, and it must provide a mechanism for a user to request deletion of all user data concerning that user, and all copies thereof, in all forms and instances, and may also allow a user to request deletion of some subset of data concerning that user. If you receive a request from a user to delete data concerning that user, you will delete all user data concerning that user (or you will delete, at minimum, whatever subset of data that user requests), within 24 hours of the request.

Upon request by Yahoo! for any reason, or upon termination of your license to use the Yahoo! Updates API or Yahoo! Updates Firehose API, you will promptly cease accessing and using those APIs and will delete all data received or derived therefrom and all copies thereof, in all forms and instances, within 24 hours.

You will not sell any user data you obtained from the Updates API or Updates Firehose API to a third party. As required by the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use, you may not disclose any Yahoo! user data or store any Yahoo! user data in any data repository which enables any third party (other than the Yahoo! user) access unless such disclosure or third party access is expressly permitted by the Yahoo! user and disclosed in your privacy policy, which must be directly accessible through a link in your Application using Yahoo! APIs. Also pursuant to the Yahoo! APIs Terms of Use, you may not share Yahoo! GUIDs (Global Unique Identifiers) with any third party.

User data may not be displayed offline and may not be used in any advertising creative, unless prior, express user consent is obtained.

Yahoo! reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to serve advertising via its APIs (“Yahoo! Ads”). If Yahoo! decides to serve Yahoo! Ads, such decision and additional terms and conditions will be disclosed to you prior to the effective date when such requirements would be imposed.

Advertising Around Yahoo! Content – 

1. In this section, “Yahoo Content” means any and all data obtained via the Yahoo! Updates API and/or Yahoo! Updates Firehose API. 
2. You may advertise around and on applications or sites that display Yahoo! Content, but you may not place advertisements within, overlaying, or otherwise obstructing the Yahoo! Content on your service, other than Yahoo! Ads. 
3. Your advertisements may not resemble or reasonably be confused by users as Yahoo! Content. 
4. You may advertise in close proximity to Yahoo! Content, but there must be clear separation between Yahoo! Content and your advertisements. 
5. Your advertisements may not be presented in a manner, or otherwise contain content, which can in any way be construed as an endorsement or sponsorship of the Yahoo! Content or the user.

Yahoo! Maps

Implementation details for the Yahoo! Maps APIs not covered by the Yahoo! Developer Network TOU are available at the Yahoo! Maps API documentation page. Please refer to that page for complete information. Here is a summary intended for your assistance as an introduction. This summary is not a complete set of terms and should not be relied upon as a substitute for reading the full terms and API documentation.

With the Yahoo! Maps APIs, you may:

• Build Internet or intranet applications or web sites that use Yahoo! Maps APIs for personal or business use as long as the applications are free of charge and do not exceed the daily rate limit; or
• Use our documentation and examples as starting points to create your application;
• Provide professional services that include implementation to create work-for-hire; or,
• Include advertising on the same page or site where you display Yahoo! Maps.

With the Yahoo! Maps APIs, you may NOT:

• Use the API to produce paper maps for sale, advertising or promotions
• Create Yahoo! Maps with location information that is less than 6 hours old and derived from a GPS device or any other location sensing device;
• Include Yahoo! Maps in applications for which you charge users, even though the Yahoo! Map might be a small part of the service; this includes subscription, software-as-as-service applications and packaged applications;
• Build fleet management, navigation, routing, asset tracking or other applications that use real-time data;
• Re-use Yahoo! Maps imagery without the API, such as storing a saved Map Image and serving it from your own site;
• Batch encode geocodes, store or otherwise redisplay within your application the geocode obtained from Yahoo! Maps APIs; or
• Circumvent our rate limiting or application tracking in any way.

To confirm that your application meets these guidelines, connect with us for updates and notifications or to request additional queries, register with us as described below. Because this program is free, not all requests for additional queries will be granted.

Yahoo! Search (except Yahoo! BOSS APIs)

The Yahoo! Search APIs are covered under the Yahoo! Developer Network Terms of Use. Yahoo! Search APIs are subject to usage guidelines rather than commercial restrictions - except for Local Search which is available only for non-commercial use at this time.

With the Yahoo! Search APIs (except for Local Search), you are free to build applications that make up to the standard rate limit volume of queries as long as they do NOT:

• Include non-Yahoo! sponsored search elements;
• Include meta-search functionality; integrating results from a variety of Search providers; or
• Circumvent our rate limiting or application tracking in any way.

To confirm that your application meets these guidelines, connect with us for updates and notifications or to request additional queries, register with us as described below. Because this program is free, not all requests for additional queries will be granted.

Collection and Storage of User Data

Access to Yahoo! user data is only permissible using approved authentication methods, such as Browser Based Authenticationand OAuth.

Per the Yahoo! API TOU and the YAP Developer Terms of Use, you may not store any user data collected through the Yahoo! APIs for more than 24 hours, with the exception of information that is explicitly permitted to be indefinitely stored. Only the parameters listed below are storable indefinitely; all other information must be requested from Yahoo! each time.

Yahoo! user data that is storable indefinitely:

• GUID (Global Unique Identifier)
• Authenticated Token Value.
• User data obtained through the Yahoo! Updates API or Yahoo! Updates Firehose API, for which no request for deletion has been made.