Using FactsFigs Visuals

In short. You can use most FactsFigs visuals for free — including for commercial things like newsletters, reports, and presentations — as long as you follow three simple rules: (1) link back to the FactsFigs page, (2) credit the creator and FactsFigs, and (3) don't edit the visual. Want to resize, recolour, translate, or remove branding? That needs a paid subscription, which also gives you the source file and the underlying data. Some visuals are marked "view only" by their creator and can't be downloaded. The license badge on each visual always wins.

This page explains, in plain language, what you may and may not do with a visual you find on FactsFigs. It is written for readers — including journalists, bloggers, students, newsletter writers, and small businesses. For the full legal terms, see our Terms of Service, the Creator Terms, and the Content Policy.

The three rules (free use)

Unless a visual's license badge says otherwise, you may use it for free — including for commercial purposes — if you follow all three rules:

1. Link back. Include a link to the original FactsFigs page for that visual.
2. Attribute. Credit both the creator (by the byline shown) and FactsFigs, plus the data source named in the visual's attribution block.
3. Don't edit. Use the visual as published — do not resize, crop, recolour, re-typeset, translate, or remove any branding or attribution baked into it.

Sharing on social media is always free under these same three rules and needs no separate license. If you want to do any of the things rule 3 forbids, you need edit rights — see paid use below.

Who the free tier is for

The free tier is intended for individuals and small organisations — a small newsletter, blog, classroom, community group, or independent business is squarely within it. "Small" refers to organisation size, not whether the use is commercial. We deliberately do not restrict the free tier to "non-commercial" use: small commercial use — newsletters, reports, videos, presentations, and websites — is welcome and free. Larger organisations, or anyone who needs to modify a visual, should use paid edit rights.

The tier table

Viewing and social sharing are free forever. What a paid subscription sells is the right to modify a visual and the source files that make modifying practical — not access to the picture itself.

How downloads and attribution work

Every downloadable visual carries its attribution baked into the file itself — not just on the surrounding web page. The baked-in credit includes the creator's name (byline), FactsFigs, the data source(s), and the license that applies. Because the attribution lives in the file, it travels with the visual wherever it is re-posted. Please do not remove or obscure it — doing so ends your permission to use the visual.

Where available, prefer the embed option: embedding keeps the attribution, the link back, and the license intact automatically, and always shows the current version.

The license menu (set by the creator)

Each creator chooses a license for their visual at publish time from a fixed menu. The badge shown on the visual tells you which one applies. FactsFigs uses its own branded licenses, modelled on familiar Creative-Commons-style ideas but defined by FactsFigs:

1. Share with attribution, no edits (default; ≈ CC BY-ND) — use and share freely with credit; no modifications.
2. Share and adapt with attribution (≈ CC BY) — use, share, and modify with credit. (Requires paid edit rights to obtain the source files.)
3. View only, no download — read on FactsFigs; no download or redistribution. Typically used when a creator's data is proprietary or separately licensed.

The license badge on the visual is authoritative. If a badge conflicts with anything on this page, follow the badge. Unlike official Creative Commons licenses (which are irrevocable once granted), FactsFigs-branded licenses may change for future use; rights you have already exercised — for example, a visual you have already downloaded — continue under the terms that applied at the time.

Paid use: editing, source files, and data

A paid subscription unlocks the right to modify eligible visuals and download the SVG source files, the underlying data table, and edit rights: resize, translate, recolour, and (where permitted) adjust branding. Edit rights are only available for visuals licensed "Share and adapt with attribution". "No edits" and "view only" visuals cannot be modified regardless of subscription. Attribution to the creator, FactsFigs, and the data source is still required after editing.

Data sources and maps

Every visual names its data source in the attribution block. When you reuse a visual, keep that data-source credit intact — some sources carry their own attribution requirements, and in the EU/UK a separate database right can apply to datasets independently of copyright. Maps published for download on FactsFigs are based on OpenStreetMap (under the ODbL, with attribution) or public-domain sources such as Natural Earth, which permit offline reuse.

Important: we don't verify facts

FactsFigs is a platform and creation tool, and a curator of design quality — not a fact-checker. For content created by creators, we do not verify, certify, or fact-check the data or claims; creators are solely responsible for the accuracy of their data. We show the data sources so you can judge for yourself. Content produced by FactsFigs itself is our own editorial responsibility. See the "as-is" disclaimer in our Terms of Service and the FAQ.

Reporting a problem

To report copyright infringement, illegal content, or a visual that misuses someone's rights, use our Notice & Takedown procedure or email ai@factsfigs.com.