--- title: "Perplexity | Ethical Stack" url: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/ catalog_version: f6baff2119d0e9158520da7fbe4232011dac79f25bd08757436d7a1dbd593db2 --- # Perplexity AI answer engine with web research, multi-source synthesis and links to source pages. Canonical profile: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/ Scope: Perplexity: cloud access. Free core search; Pro plan and other tiers available. Ratings describe the stated product, company or configuration in each finding. Published overall: 4; 5/6 dimensions rated. Round the equal-weight mean of available numerical ratings to one decimal; require at least four of six for an overall score. BDS status stays outside the mean; for eligible profiles, a boycott target caps the final score at 2/10 and a pressure target subtracts one point (minimum 1). Not listed and not checked do not adjust the score. ## Energy practices Finding: 4/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#energy Perplexity lets users choose models and switch between standard and deeper Pro Search modes; models can come from multiple upstream providers. Consumer-query energy, emissions, water, and power sourcing are not reported. Reason: 1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 2 controls = 4/10. This grade covers documented practices and transparency; it does not measure the energy or emissions of a request. Argument: Official help material shows Pro Search can use several upstream models and multiple web-search steps, while standard search is faster and less deep. This supports a variable host boundary and user workload controls, not a footprint. Since providers and regions vary, a provider’s company-wide renewable claim cannot be assigned to Perplexity queries. No actual impact is measured. Type: conditional; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Perplexity consumer service, where model selection and research/search modes can route requests to different upstream providers; no fixed facility or provider is assessed. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: 2026-07-21 Unknowns: Actual provider/model per query, serving region and facility; request energy/water/emissions; power sourcing at each upstream provider; physical effects of standard vs. Pro Search. ```json { "method": "practices-transparency-v1", "scope": "Perplexity consumer service, where model selection and research/search modes can route requests to different upstream providers; no fixed facility or provider is assessed.", "components": { "disclosure": { "score": 1, "reason": "Perplexity documents model choices and third-party providers, establishing a variable upstream route; no consumer-query energy/carbon/water quantities are published.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352903-what-is-pro-search", "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models" ] }, "electricity": { "score": 0, "reason": "No fixed provider/region route or Perplexity electricity mix is established; upstream models and providers vary by query and user setting.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352903-what-is-pro-search", "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models" ] }, "demand": { "score": 2, "reason": "Users can choose among models and standard vs. Pro Search/research modes. These modes provide workload-depth choices, but no energy reduction is measured.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352903-what-is-pro-search", "https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models" ] } }, "actualImpactMeasured": false, "meaning": "Documented environmental practices and transparency. Zero component points mean a reviewed evidence gap." } ``` - [What is Pro Search?](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352903-what-is-pro-search) (primary; checked not recorded) - [Which Perplexity Subscription Plan is right for you?](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you) (primary; checked not recorded) - [Third-Party Models & Terms](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Training data Finding: Depends on the model Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#training-rights Perplexity identifies a Sonar base model in its third-party-model disclosures, while the service also offers other model routes. One named component cannot establish rights for the full product. Reason: Fix the selected model (for example, a named Sonar release) and include its inherited base and fine-tuning data. This grades documented training-data safeguards, not a legal ruling. Argument: A service-wide grade would overgeneralize from one Sonar model to other available models and configurations. Assess Sonar or another exact model separately if the profile is narrowed. Type: conditional; confidence: low Scope (dimension): Perplexity consumer answer/search service, including first-party Sonar and third-party model routes. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The actual model route for a query and the training data for Perplexity’s fine-tuned components require separate model-specific evidence. ```json { "method": "training-rights-evidence-v1", "scope": "Perplexity consumer answer/search service, including first-party Sonar and third-party model routes.", "components": null, "routeDependency": "Fix the selected model (for example, a named Sonar release) and include its inherited base and fine-tuning data.", "modelReference": null, "meaning": "Documented training-data rights safeguards. Low points may reflect missing evidence; they do not establish infringement." } ``` - [Third-Party Models & Terms](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Your data & privacy Finding: 4/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#privacy For Free, Pro and Max consumer users, Perplexity says AI Data Retention (AI training data collection) is enabled by default. Users can opt out, but that only applies to future collection; previously collected training data cannot be removed. Data may still be processed for service operation, legal compliance and product improvement. Reason: The consumer default allows AI-training data collection, with a user-level opt-out that is prospective only. The policy also retains operational, legal and product-improvement processing after opt-out. This supports a limited score for published controls with material limits, not a strong privacy score. Argument: The consumer default allows AI-training data collection, with a user-level opt-out that is prospective only. The policy also retains operational, legal and product-improvement processing after opt-out. This supports a limited score for published controls with material limits, not a strong privacy score. Type: evidence; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Product Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The consumer default allows AI-training data collection, with a user-level opt-out that is prospective only. The policy also retains operational, legal and product-improvement processing after opt-out. This supports a limited score for published controls with material limits, not a strong privacy score. - [Data Collection at Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11564572-data-collection-at-perplexity) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Openness Finding: 3/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#openness Perplexity is a hosted search assistant that can use different third-party models depending on plan, query and settings. Its terms say Sonar is based on Meta Llama 3.1 70B but fine-tuned and operated by Perplexity; that does not make Perplexity’s search and serving stack locally reproducible. Reason: The documented open-weight base model is a limited public component, while fine-tuning, the product pipeline and other provider models remain distinct and hosted. Perplexity does not document a full self-hostable stack. Argument: The documented open-weight base model is a limited public component, while fine-tuning, the product pipeline and other provider models remain distinct and hosted. Perplexity does not document a full self-hostable stack. Type: conditional; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Selected configuration Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The documented open-weight base model is a limited public component, while fine-tuning, the product pipeline and other provider models remain distinct and hosted. Perplexity does not document a full self-hostable stack. - [Third-Party Models & Terms](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [What is Pro Search?](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352903-what-is-pro-search) (primary; checked not recorded) ## Worker protections Finding: 1/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#labour Perplexity lists third-party providers and says a request may use some, all, or none of them depending on plan and settings; it also says Sonar is fine-tuned and operated by Perplexity. Reason: 1 + 0 pay & conditions + 0 worker voice & remedy + 0 evidence & follow-through = 1/10. This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment. Argument: Perplexity lists third-party providers and says a request may use some, all, or none of them depending on plan and settings; it also says Sonar is fine-tuned and operated by Perplexity. These route disclosures do not report data-worker pay, safety protections, vendor conditions, or independent labor outcomes for Perplexity’s own or upstream work. Type: argument; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Perplexity's workforce and disclosed contractors. Coverage of individual product teams may be incomplete. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Worker pay, exposure and health protections, paid versus volunteer roles, vendor/subcontractor coverage, grievance routes, and independent outcome checks are not established by the reviewed third-party model terms and government product pages checked; per-query model routing and provider workforce conditions remain configuration-specific and undisclosed. ```json { "method": "worker-safeguards-evidence-v1", "entity": "perplexity", "company": "Perplexity", "scope": "Perplexity's workforce and disclosed contractors. Coverage of individual product teams may be incomplete.", "components": { "conditions": { "score": 0, "reason": "No opened source reports worker pay, hours, exposure protections, contractor coverage, or worker-level outcomes for Perplexity. The reviewed material is limited to Third-party model terms and government product pages checked; per-query model routing and provider workforce conditions remain configuration-specific and undisclosed.; its silence is an information gap, not evidence of poor conditions.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] }, "voice": { "score": 0, "reason": "The reviewed material for Perplexity does not establish worker representation, grievance access, bargaining voice, or documented remedies. Public code contributions, customer controls, or creator rights do not demonstrate worker voice across employees and suppliers.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] }, "assurance": { "score": 0, "reason": "No reviewed source provides an independent audit or corroborated worker-level outcomes for Perplexity’s relevant employees, contractors, and data-work suppliers. The available disclosures are company/project materials rather than independent labor verification.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] } }, "disclosureLimited": true, "meaning": "This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment." } ``` - [Third-Party Models & Terms](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Perplexity for government](https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [GSA Perplexity OneGov agreement](https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025) (government-contract; checked 2026-10-24) - [GSA Buy AI product listing](https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai) (government-procurement; checked 2026-10-24) - [Perplexity Terms of Service](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service) (terms; checked 2026-10-24) ## Military ties Finding: 8/10 Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#military-contracts Perplexity has a GSA OneGov agreement for federal agencies; consumer terms prohibit violent content but do not expressly bar military, intelligence or weapons uses. Reason: 7 base + 1 safeguard adjustment = 8/10 (4 of 9 safeguard points; every 3 adds 1). No military relationship was established in the cited sources. This ranks above known defense ties without claiming a verified clean record. Argument: GSA announced a direct OneGov agreement making Perplexity Enterprise Pro for Government available to federal agencies at a stated 18-month price, and Perplexity’s government offering emphasizes cited research/drafting and agency-system connections. Its consumer Terms prohibit excessively violent content and promoting/facilitating violence, but do not establish a blanket military, weapons or intelligence-use ban; no military deployment was established. Type: argument; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Perplexity's relationships and safeguards. A company relationship does not identify every product or release used. Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: The reviewed record does not establish all current contracts, subcontractors, deployment configurations, actual use by end users, or contract enforcement outcomes. For downloadable/open releases, company-hosted terms do not bind independent downstream deployments. ```json { "method": "military-ties-priority-v2", "entity": "perplexity", "company": "Perplexity", "scope": "Perplexity's relationships and safeguards. A company relationship does not identify every product or release used.", "components": { "restrictions": { "score": 1, "reason": "Consumer terms prohibit excessively violent content and using services to incite, organize, promote or facilitate violence; there is no explicit military/intelligence or weapons purpose ban and Enterprise/API scope may use separate terms.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] }, "oversight": { "score": 1, "reason": "Consumer terms permit ordinary account removal/termination and GSA enterprise acquisition uses security/procurement conditions, but no military-specific enforcement review or remedy is disclosed.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] }, "transparency": { "score": 2, "reason": "GSA publishes the named agreement, price and term and Perplexity names government research/drafting use; actual agency deployment and outcomes are not detailed.", "sourceUrls": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models", "https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government", "https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025", "https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai", "https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service" ] } }, "relationship": "civilian-government", "relationshipReason": "GSA announced a direct OneGov agreement making Perplexity Enterprise Pro for Government available to federal agencies at a stated 18-month price, and Perplexity’s government offering emphasizes cited research/drafting and agency-system connections. These establish civilian federal procurement availability; no military customer, intelligence mission or operational deployment was established in the reviewed sources.", "score": 8, "baseScore": 7, "safeguardPoints": 4, "safeguardAdjustment": 1, "rawScore": 8, "cap": null, "disclosureLimited": false, "meaning": "Known military relationships take priority over missing safeguards. The rating does not establish the probability of an undisclosed contract." } ``` - [Third-Party Models & Terms](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/third-party-models) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [Perplexity for government](https://www.perplexity.ai/enterprise/use-cases/government) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [GSA Perplexity OneGov agreement](https://origin-www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-perplexity-sign-first-direct-to-gov-deal-11192025) (government-contract; checked 2026-10-24) - [GSA Buy AI product listing](https://www.gsa.gov/artificial-intelligence/buy-ai) (government-procurement; checked 2026-10-24) - [Perplexity Terms of Service](https://www.perplexity.ai/en-GB/hub/legal/terms-of-service) (terms; checked 2026-10-24) ## BDS targets Finding: Not listed Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/perplexity/#israel-palestine No named target found in the two checked BNC campaign lists. Reason: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. Argument: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. Type: conditional; confidence: medium Scope (dimension): Company record Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded Unknowns: Company name checked against the BNC consumer boycott/pressure guide and official No Tech campaign list; no named target found. This limited list check is not BDS approval and does not cover every campaign, subsidiary, supplier, or product route. - [BNC consumer boycott and pressure guide](https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) - [BNC No Tech campaign](https://bdsmovement.net/no-tech-oppression-apartheid-or-genocide) (primary; checked 2026-10-24) ## Reading the evidence - Assessments are provisional editorial judgments. Cite the profile and the underlying sources, and retain confidence, scope and unknowns. - Unknown, not-applicable and model-dependent are different states. Missing evidence does not establish good or bad conduct. - Company-level evidence does not establish use of a particular product or model. Account plan, model, host and route can change an assessment. - Energy scores describe documented practices and transparency, not measured request emissions. Zero component points can mean an evidence gap. - Published overall scores require at least four of six numerical dimensions. Preserve coverage and BDS adjustments; BDS itself is categorical. - No named BDS target found is limited to the reviewed campaign sources and is not approval. Personalized priorities do not change the published overall score. - Review and source-check dates describe the research, not this deployment. Fetch current primary sources when the decision requires current verification. Methodology: https://ethicalstack.ai/methodology/