4 minute read
Zillow Group is making changes to Follow Up Boss’s privacy policy and many in the real estate industry are taking issue with the changes.
Earlier this month, Zillow informed users of Follow Up Boss, which it acquired in 2023, that a new privacy policy is set to go into effect on November 15, 2025. The privacy policy the CRM had been operating under was Follow Up Boss’s own policy, that was put in place in 2020, prior to the acquisition.
What’s the rub?
Much of the online indignation and speculation is stemming from some new data categories including “mutual customer data” and “agent-only customer data.” According to the new policy, a consumer’s data is agent-only data if the consumer is not a Zillow Group user and if the data was only uploaded into the Zillow Group system by an agent using Follow Up Boss. However, if the consumer has an account with Zillow Group and the account information matches information in an agent’s Follow Up Boss account, then that consumer’s data is “mutual customer data.”
Critics of the new privacy policy claim that this means that if a client is a mutual customer, Zillow may contact them directly to facilitate communications and engagement, assist them in their homebuying journey, or help ensure they are gaining access to appropriate services.
In the past, Jared James, a real estate coach said that the understanding was that Zillow would not contact any of your clients from your Follow Up Boss account directly, but he feels the new policy changes that understanding.
“As long as those customers of yours have a Zillow account, it is considered shared data, which is pretty much anybody looking for a house in the U.S. because just about everybody has a Zillow account,” James said in an Instagram Reel. “They’ve gone as far to say that they are able to follow up with your leads. If they are in your system, they can follow up with your leads if they don’t feel that you are doing it in the appropriate manner.”
If agents are uncomfortable with this change, James is suggesting agents switch CRMs and he is not the only one feeling this way.
On an episode of Growth Mode Podcast, real estate coach Tom Ferry called the changes one of Zillow’s “most aggressive moves to date.”
Jason Pantana, a real estate coach and a speaker for Ferry’s firm Tom Ferry International, added that his interpretation of this change is that it gives Zillow the right to use an agent’s data to better market to their customers that also have a Zillow account.
“You are effectively boots on the ground helping them optimize their own marketing plan,” Pantana said.
The potential upside
While he acknowledged that this is concerning for many agents, he noted that the change could also potentially lead to agents gaining more business. Despite this potential upside, like James, Pantana is advocating for agents to move their database to another CRM.
“I would take all my past clients, all of my contacts and manage them from a different CRM, but I would maintain my relationship with Zillow if I am a Zillow Premier or Flex agent,” Patana said. “I would be strategic. I want to use all the tools they give me to better convert leads, but when it comes to the other stuff, that’s not really my cup of tea.”
Zillow explains the update
For its part, Zillow told HousingWire that the updates to Follow Up Boss’s privacy policy are due to Follow Up Boss being formally moved under the Zillow Inc. umbrella. The firm added that the creation of the mutual customer data category was necessary to help facilitate its new Zillow Pro offering, which unites Follow Up Boss, My Agent and Agent Profiles as a suite of products for agents.
The integration of these products enables agents to do things like invite any contact from Follow Up Boss to form a My Agent relationship. If the contact accepts the invitation and creates a Zillow account, if they don’t already have one, they’ll see the agent’s branding across Zillow.
Additionally, agents are able to track a consumer’s behavior within Zillow and will receive alerts if a past client with a Zillow account, who agrees to share their data with their past agent, re-engages or shows interest in embarking on a homebuying or selling journey.
In an FAQ about the new privacy policy, Zillow reassured Follow Up Boss clients that it will not take an agent’s contacts and share them with other Zillow Premier or Flex agents.
“The only time shared data comes into play is when that contact independently has their own relationship with Zillow — like if they create their own Zillow account or reach out to Zillow asking for agent help. In those cases, we will use their data with their permission and only as explained in Zillow’s Privacy Notice and the Follow Up Boss Addendum,” the FAQ page states. “We may use anonymized or aggregated information to improve our products and services, but it has nothing to do with contacting your individual leads and won’t be specific to any individual person.”
Zillow’s Data Grab Puts Agent Relationships—and Industry Trust—at Risk
Zillow’s acquisition of FollowUpBoss and its recent user-agreement changes represent a profound shift in how agent data may be controlled and commercialized. The company’s new stance—that any consumer who has ever registered to view a home in a Zillow for a home search and appears in an agent’s FollowUpBoss database constitutes a mutual customer—raises serious questions about ownership, privacy, and fair competition in real estate technology.
For many agents and teams, client data isn’t merely a list of names. It is the lifeblood of their business—the accumulated relationships, insights, and transaction history that drive future growth. By asserting a shared claim to that information, Zillow risks undermining the very professionals who generate and sustain its marketplace content.
The move also underscores the broader risks of proptech consolidation. When one company controls multiple points of the agent–consumer relationship—search portals, CRMs, transaction management tools, lead-generation platforms, and media channels—it gains disproportionate leverage over the practitioners who depend on those systems. What was once framed as a partnership can quickly evolve into dependency.
Zillow’s approach echoes a familiar pattern: extracting value from the same agents who create it. From lead reselling and escalating referral fees to premium placement products, the company has long treated agent data as a commodity they claim as their own. This latest policy extends that philosophy into the private domain of client management systems—a line many consider sacrosanct.
As a longtime FollowUpBoss user, I anticipated this risk, though assurances were made that agent data would remain separate and protected. The new policy invalidates those assurances. Across the industry, brokers are already evaluating alternatives, from emerging CRM competitors such as BoldTrail to established transaction-management providers. Even large offices are reconsidering their reliance on Dotloop, another Zillow-owned platform.
Beyond the competitive ramifications, there is a legal and ethical dimension. Agents collect and store client information under strict privacy obligations and state laws governing agency relationships. If a third party begins using that information for its own commercial purposes, it invites regulatory scrutiny—and potentially, class-action litigation.
Real estate professionals have long adapted to evolving technology, often at great cost. But data ownership is a red line. Trust, once lost, is hard to rebuild. Zillow’s decision may ultimately accelerate the very exodus of customers and partners it seeks to control.