Are companies like Strike really Bitcoin companies, or are they just surveillance companies for Bitcoiners? Here is a Claude analysis from the latest Strike Privacy Policy
https://strike.me/legal/privacy/ and Terms of Service
https://strike.me/legal/tos/ :
⚡ Strike (strike.me) Privacy & ToS Breakdown — What You're Actually Agreeing To
Before you use Strike, here's what the fine print actually says:
📋 Data They Collect
Full legal name, DOB, address, email, phone, SSN/gov ID, bank account & routing numbers
Photos of your government ID + facial geometry scans (biometric data) via their KYC partner (Persona)
Your IP address, device identifiers, MAC address, location (inferred from IP), and full behavioral usage data
Transaction history pulled from your linked bank account via third-party financial data providers
Advertising partner data about your interests and behavior across other websites
🔗 Where Your Data Goes
Persona (KYC/biometric partner) — scans your face, stores it up to 3 years
Checkout.com — processes card transactions under their own privacy policy
Advertising networks — Strike explicitly shares your data for targeted ads across other platforms. You can opt out, but only for mobile, and only via a separate form
Financial institution partners — vary by region, not named
Business partners, professional advisors, analytics providers, and marketing companies
Any acquirer in a merger or asset sale
🏛 Government & Law Enforcement Access
Strike is a regulated Money Services Business (MSB) licensed with the NY DFS and registered with FinCEN. This means:
They file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with FinCEN, shared with the FBI, DEA, IRS, and ICE — and are legally prohibited from telling you this happened
They comply with subpoenas, court orders, and government requests and will hand over your data
The Travel Rule applies: if you send bitcoin to another exchange (especially in EU/UK), your name, address, and ID details go to the receiving institution
OFAC sanctions screening of every user
They explicitly reserve the right to "disclose any information necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, Sanctions programs, legal process, governmental request, or law enforcement request"
⚠ Key Rights You're Giving Up
No class action. The international TOS routes disputes to English courts (or El Salvador arbitration for El Salvador customers) — no US class action recourse for international users
$100 liability cap. If Strike causes you losses of any amount, their maximum liability to you is $100
No consequential damages. Lost profits, trading losses, lost funds — all waived
All transactions are final and irreversible — wrong address, lost funds, Strike bears zero responsibility
They can freeze or terminate your account at any time, for any reason, including at a third party's request (e.g., a subpoena), and your funds may remain frozen indefinitely during an investigation
They can change the TOS at any time — continued use = acceptance, even without direct notice to you
You grant Strike a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use any content you upload to improve and market their services
They can block you by IP or device ID at their sole discretion
🍪 Tracking
Uses cookies, web beacons, and pixel tags
Does not honor Do Not Track (DNT) signals
Shares data with advertisers for targeted advertising — you must opt out manually
💡 Bottom Line
Strike is a legitimate, licensed fintech. But it is a fully KYC'd, AML-compliant, data-sharing, ad-supported, regulated financial surveillance platform. It collects biometric data, shares your info with advertisers and law enforcement, can freeze your funds without notice, caps its own liability at $100, and collects behavioral data across the web. That is not a criticism — it is what regulated financial services look like. But it is the opposite of financial privacy.
If privacy is your priority, self-custody your bitcoin. ⚡🟠
