Tips to quickly read terms of service and privacy agreements: keywords, definitions and dangers of blindly clicking ‘I agree’
- Few people read online terms of service agreements or privacy policies before clicking ‘I agree’, but you could be signing away more than you think
- Here are tips on keywords to look out for, legal definitions and the surprising personal data that companies could be trying to take from you
We’ve all done it. We’re updating the operating system on our mobile phone or installing an app, and we lazily skim through the privacy policy – or don’t bother reading it at all – before blindly clicking “I agree”.
ProPrivacy.com says the figure is even higher. The digital privacy group recently asked internet users to take a survey as part of a market research study for a US$1 reward. The survey asked participants to agree to the terms and conditions, then tracked how many users clicked through to read them.
Those who clicked through were met with a lengthy user agreement. Buried in that agreement were mischievous clauses such as one that gives your mother permission to review your internet browsing history and another that hands over naming rights to your firstborn child.
Out of 100 people, 19 clicked through to the terms and conditions page, but only one person read it thoroughly enough to realise they’d be agreeing to grant drones access to the airspace over their home.