ADVERTISEMENT

If you expected that the biggest secret you’d keep in life was who actually ate the last chocolate-chip cookie at home, then, unfortunately, you’re very wrong. Odds are that you had to sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement (NDA) at some point in your life. Corporate wants its employees to protect its secrets and needs to guard its profits, and they use legally binding contracts to do so. NDAs are also useful tools to protect the interests of private citizens, as well as businesses that are negotiating with one another.

Once you sign the NDA, you’re legally obligated to fulfill the conditions until the terms expire and you can get sued if you talk about what you promised not to. Some NDAs can last for a year or even half a decade. Others, however, are in effect indefinitely. It really makes you wonder what secrets lie behind all of those documents. Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore. Bored Panda took a trip all around r/AskReddit and has collected the most interesting stories from people whose NDAs have finally expired. Check out what they disclosed to the internet and upvote the posts that you found the most interesting.

Pssst, Pandas, over here. If you’re in the mood for some more saucy and secretive stories after you’re done enjoying this list, check out Bored Panda’s recent lists about expired NDAs here and here. If you’d like to spill the tea about your own expired NDAs, feel free to do so in the comments, too.

Bored Panda wanted to learn more about NDAs, so we reached out to Susan Carle, a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, who was kind enough to answer our questions.

#1

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I work for a moving company and we work with a women’s shelter often enough. Typically women escaping abuse will have the shelter hire us to go in and get their belongings (sometimes with police company) and all the movers sign NDA’s to protect the women from letting their new addresses slip. I can’t disclose anything that interesting but I want to take the opportunity to say, those people who jump at the slightest sound, the littlest surprise, be nice to them because you don’t know whether they are just jumpy naturally or if there’s a reason they are like that now.

squachmon , Robinson Greig Report

Professor Carle, from the American University Washington College of Law, told Bored Panda during a phone interview that more and more employees in the United States are using non-disclosure agreements. The main purpose of NDAs is to protect the companies by preventing employees from leaking sensitive information and to avoid embarrassment for the business as a whole.

However, just because someone breaks an NDA doesn't mean that they've committed a crime. Breaking NDAs doesn't lead to criminal penalties, as they are civil contracts between two (or more) parties. Not following the terms of the agreement can, however, mean that the company may seek damages to pay for the breach of contract.

It can get a bit overwhelming when your employer keeps pushing you document after document to sign, and sometimes, you simply don't have the time to read the fine print everywhere. However, according to the professor, the employees themselves would have very little leverage to renegotiate their contract after signing it if they happen to realize that their NDA might have terms unacceptable to them. That means that it's imperative that you take the time to read the documents in full if it's an issue that matters to you.

ADVERTISEMENT
#2

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Amazon is probably here but I'm saying it anyway.

The reason why people p**s in bottles is that they are fighting against TOT(time off task). If in a week you accumulate a combined total of 15 minutes of non working, not break away from your station you a reprimanded or more likely fired. So walking away to pee, TOT. Slightly late to station due to high foot traffic, ToT. Stop at you station for a breather because it's hot, your tired or sick, TOT.

The above plus the strict metrics and constant oversight of the lead staff makes working there feel like you are a machine.

It reminds me of film representations from the twenties about the the sadness of the futures poor.

SIrchopher , CHUTTERSNAP Report

#3

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I worked for a mall pretzel stand about 25 years ago and had to sign an NDA about the secret pretzel ingredient. It was baking soda.

Thatsnotatrashcan , David Todd McCarty Report

Seeking legal counsel before signing a document can be a good way for a worker to figure out the finer details of what they're signing if they feel that this is what matters to them. At the same time, the reality is that many workers simply sign the NDAs without digging too deeply. Professor Carle noted that employees always have the option of speaking openly and honestly with their superiors about why a non-disclosure agreement might be needed at all. Frank communication can help in these instances.

ADVERTISEMENT

There can be plenty of good reasons for businesses to have NDAs and why they'd prefer their employees not to disclose certain information. Signing an NDA doesn't mean that a company is necessarily up to something nefarious. But they are primarily there to protect the companies from as many legal angles as possible (which is why employers consult lawyers to help make the contracts as airtight as possible), not necessarily for the benefit of the employee.

However, the professor told Bored Panda that "employers can do a lot of harm via non-compete agreements" if they, for example, force their employees to sign a contract that prohibits them from working in a specific line of work in the entire US.

#4

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) There are powerline transformers that predate ww1 still up and running in the US and the utility companies aren't a 100% sure where most of them are. They only find out when one finally dies.

Someone over 100 years ago put up a transform that powered telegrams all the way to Twitter.

n_eats_n , Abigail Clarke Report

Add photo comments
POST
mitaghosh049 avatar
Cat Momma
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only shows how the quality of products have become like s**t. Old things up and running since God's Birthday and new things breaking down days after purchase...

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#5

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Used to be an au pair for a famous couples children. NDA was there to protect the family - I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the kids on any of my devices, the photos i did take were not allowed to include their faces and the rest were just general rules about not sharing their private information. Even to this day i won't sell that information even though the NDA has expired, probably some of the nicest people i have ever worked for.

Republic_of_Hazard , Lina Kivaka Report

Add photo comments
POST
dutchmancallypso avatar
Dutchman Callypso
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's very reasonable. Probably one of the famous couples that didn't turn their socials into a 24/7 baby feed...

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Used to work in a warehouse where we made feminine hygiene products. The pads came out of one machine into several different branded boxes. Both the nickel gas station pads and the 10 dollar a box pads.

Also we had one product of pads where we imported them from china, then repackaged them into our own boxes. I didn't have a problem with that. The problem I had was the box had an emblem saying "made in America"

Would've been ok if it said assembled in America. But no.

GGATHELMIL , Karolina Grabowska Report

Add photo comments
POST
isabella avatar
Isabella
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I live in Europe, there are significant differences between hygiene feminine products of different brands.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

At their core, NDAs establish a confidential relationship between two or more parties. It’s a legally binding contract that helps guard highly sensitive information. In short, it’s a way to make sure that someone actually follows through on their promises not to spill any secrets.

Non-disclosure agreements are neither good nor bad: they’re simply a tool to protect someone’s interests. They make it very clear what kind of information can’t be shared with others and they also explain, in detail, what will happen if someone blabs.

However, that’s not to say that NDAs are perfect. They can potentially create an atmosphere of mistrust in the workplace. After all, nobody wants to feel like their employer doesn’t trust them. What’s more, confidentiality agreements can even prevent some of the best and brightest workers in the industry from joining the company if they feel that the NDA is too constricting.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before signing any agreement, remember to read the fine print. You can always consult with a workplace expert or an attorney if the contract is highly sensitive. You should also do your best to clarify any wibbly-wobbly ambiguousness you might stumble across in the clauses. Make sure you know when exactly the NDA will expire.

#7

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Tesla has failed six attempts to get their cars licensed for racing by the FIA. I can't say anything past that, but if you feel like checking the registry you'll find they're still not licensed.

I didn't enjoy the battery melting under me when we pushed the car to the limits. Not did I enjoy the threat of a lawsuit if I didn't change my report. f**k Tesla

It's a real shame though because I love electric cars. They're 100% the future of motorsports and I really wish there were more batteries capable of emptying at the rate needed without breaking.

Celestial_Dildo , Carter Baran Report

Add photo comments
POST
raymartin avatar
Ray Martin
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: for a long time, autopilot accidents in Teslas, even the fatal ones, were able to be argued in the company's favour because investigations showed the autopilot to be not switched on at the time of the accident. After many repeats it was found that the autopilot was deliberately programmed to switch off one second before a crash, leaving no time for the human occupant to react. Elon Musk is scum. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/15/tesla-autopilot-crashes/

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I walked in on my boss having sex with another employee on the table in his office. He was married and it was a family owned business so his boss was also his mom. After he offered to promote me and give me a few raises to be quiet, his mom ended up offering me money to leave and not say anything. I took it and left. All my friends think I just found a better job.

wildescrawl , energepic.com Report

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) My NDA is still in effect, but I've covered my liability. A few years, with a previous insurance company I worked for, we fired an employee who had a nasty personality (imagine a toxic gamer working in a call center and that would be this guy).

He had been the son (or grandson) of one of the board members so he was untouchable. When his relative on the board got voted out, it was finally time for this little troll to be fired.

His supervisor took him to a conference room to let him know he was fired and he was escorted from the building by security. As the HR manager, I was tasked with clearing his desk and separating his property from company property.

That was when I found a heavily used 5" X 8" notepad on his desk that had a list of names. Next to each name was a mailing addresses and details about how this ex-employee planned to harm these people. I did some digging and found they were all current or former clients of the company and that they all had filed complaints against this monster.

It was a hit list.

I notified the board **AFTER** I notified the police. The s**t was arrested on unrelated drug and assault charges. The prosecutor now had to consider charging this guy for his hit list. Since she couldn't convince a judge there was a strong enough case, the prosecutor decided to empanel a grand jury.

Since I was the individual who found the notepad, I was subpoenaed to confirm its provenance. Considering any other employee could have walked by and deposited this list on this a*****e's desk, the grand jury decided to not move ahead to a trial. For the drug and assault charges, the former employee was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

As a witness, I wasn't issued a gag order regarding the grand jury investigation. However, my work did order me to sign an NDA to "protect the clients who were on that hit list" (it was really just to cover up that they were in any danger). I signed and then quit as soon as I got a job offer with another company. Those bastards on the board cared more about their profit margin and public image than they did about people's lives.

If they figure out I'm violating that NDA, there's not much they can do. They know antagonizing me with a lawsuit would only lead to me telling the media, naming the company and ruining their public image.

WatchingInSilence , Kelly Sikkema Report

Whether negotiating about your NDA, a better wage, or better working conditions, preparation is absolutely vital. Financial expert Sam Dogen, the founder of Financial Samurai and the author of ‘Buy This, Not That,’ explained to Bored Panda during an earlier interview that employees should do a lot of research before heading into any career negotiations with their superiors.

Some of the things to check for are to see if the industry is growing or shrinking, what the trends in the job market are like, and how the company itself is doing.

“Is your company's stock price doing well? If it's a private company, is it raising funding at higher valuations? Is company morale good? Are there more benefits?” the expert told us what questions we should consider before talking to our bosses and managers.

#10

I worked security for a gated neighborhood of extremely wealthy people. Like, fortune 500 CEO, Senator(s) (sometimes both), etc.

We got to know which cars were "authorized" without being authorized. Because we weren't allowed to stop them, question them, or log them in in any way.

Because they were coke dealers selling to the elite.

Emperor_Cartagia Report

#11

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) 1) YouTube is the most unethical platform on earth.
If you are a high value account, most of the policies of YouTube won't touch you. For example, there was a Brazilian kid twerking, with his small sister that was dressed very provocatively. Normally YouTube would take down this video for "minor sexualisation" but because the account had some millions of followers, not only it remained live on the platform, but also had a safety net, in case a "stupid" agent tried to take it down.

2) everyday there are thousands upon thousands of very horrible videos being uploaded on YouTube, and it's up to a human being to go through them and take an action.
As you can understand, a lot of agents develop depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental problems due to the nature of the videos they are watching

AstonishinKonstantin , Christian Wiediger Report

Add photo comments
POST
anna-r-mchugh avatar
CatGirl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YouTube also kept up the videos of wood burning with a microwave transformer - which has already killed over 100 people - and took down the video by an Australian YouTuber who explained how dangerous it was.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Not sure if I’m no longer bound or not or how common knowledge it is, but living in NYC I was paid to be a fan at a major red carpet movie premiere for a popular film franchise. 100% of the people there were paid to act excited as famous actors and a VERY famous director walked out and said hello and did interviews. We were under strict instructions not to let anyone know we were hired.

LearnedToUnicycle , Mick De Paola Report

Add photo comments
POST
santtu-sirkka avatar
Vani
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so crazy! But somehow I'm not even surprised ... :D

View more commentsArrow down menu

“Everything is relative in terms of performance. You should be paid based on how well you do and if you are outperforming your peers,” he said that job performance is relative and that we should evaluate where we stand in the company as objectively as possible, in comparison to our colleagues.

“The longer you are at the company, ironically, the less you get paid compared to the market. Therefore, you need to consistently speak up for yourself each year as new employees join with higher and higher pay packages,” he warned veteran employees to keep this in mind.

#13

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) A recently hired employee trapped a secretary in a bathroom at the company Christmas party and r@ped her. He was caught in the act, sentenced, and will serve a long jail term. All the employees who knew about the details were forced to sign strong NDA and ordered **not to talk** to any other employees. No one was told why the guy didn't show up for work ever again. The victim was offered a generous payout and never came back to work. HR put out a story that she was taking time off for personal reasons and her coworkers were never told why. Everything was hushed up as much as it could be. The company changed from open bar to drink tickets for all future company events.

hcn1mm , Tim Mossholder Report

Add photo comments
POST
emmascomet avatar
Lady Goldberry
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is incredibly short sighted. If they handled things correctly and this crime still became known to the wider public, the company would have shown they were able to do the right thing, meaning their reputation would be better...I expressed this a little clunkily, but you know what I mean?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

I used to work in a call center that had Bayer Advanced (yes, THAT Bayer) as a client. Bayer knew/knows full well that their neonicotinoid based pesticide/gardening products killed bees and were responsible for colony collapse. We were instructed to bold face deny and/or lie to the customer or caller if we were ever asked about it. We were also instructed to lie about the spray nozzles on the bottles. Bayer knew they sucked a*s and were almost always completely DOA defective, but they refused to admit it and decided it was cheaper to just keep mailing replacement nozzles.

wizardswrath00 Report

Add photo comments
POST
sheilamcenany avatar
Thee8thsense
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had a friend who worked for Bayer for quite some time until she and others were fired because of their age, and high salaries. Bayer wanted younger people to whom they didn't have to offer as many benefits, etc. My husband, an attorney, filed a lawsuit against them, and Bayer settled for quite a hefty sum.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) From a secondary source, but trustworthy

John travolta is gay. His partner was sick in the hospital, he came to visit him many times, whole floor was emptied and everyone in the floor had to sign an nda

But yeah, those rumors are true. Weird how they started way back then

jerk_commenting , wikimedia.commons Report

Add photo comments
POST
tracysellars avatar
Tracy Sellars
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If true, what a vile person you must be to try and out somebody and using a very emotional time for them. Don't do this, it is none of our business what their sexuality is.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I signed an NDA for a prominent American show where they take a certain type of business on the brink of failure and "transform it" to save the business. When the producers of the show found out my wife and I both worked there, they tried to fish through our relationship for tv drama. When they found out we have a solid relationship, they tried to convince us to fake our drama with scripted conflict.

Long story short, we got fed up and quit during shooting. We were cut from the show. Oh well.

unholyXwater , Samantha Borges Report

Add photo comments
POST
jnegraham avatar
Janet Graham
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are so many stories that reveal 'reality' shows have much more fiction than reality. It made me quit watching several shows when I found out that the main guy had done his research and was ready to talk to a client about a piece in a knowledgeable manner. I don't mind 're-enactments but some of this stuff is all fiction presented like fact.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#17

I was part of the beta testing for DC universe online. I remember a few missions that were voiced probably just by developers, before they hired the voice actors to do it. I wish I had saved footage of it but there was one where Supergirl was clearly voiced by a man doing a high-pitched falsetto voice. One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

DrumBxyThing Report

#18

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Not my own but from a family friend.

Coca Cola and Pepsi regularily settle disputes behind closed doors on things like employees trying to quit and join the competitor. Their employment contracts have entire clauses stating you cannot be employed by the competing companies even after you quit so to protect company intel and confidentiality.

For example, a Coca Cola employee feels like he is being mistreated by the company so he quits and tries to work for Pepsi. So Pepsis legal team will inform Coca Cola as soon as they find out and Coca Cola will sue the guy for breach of contract and in return Pepsi will pay them. This is done so Pepsi and Coca Cola dont sue each others into bankrupcy for breach of laws regarding industrial competition and market regulations.

Basically a peace treaty of sorts.

JazzPhobic , tuchodi Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In civilized countries, these things are unenforceable as you cannot prevent someone with a particular skillset from earning a living. It is more usual to say that you can't work for clients or suppliers for a set period of time, basically to prevent poaching and stealing IP.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#19

Smile Direct Club has an NDA that basically protects their company from any criticism of bad results. If you were to check their page on the Better Business Bureau, you will see that most of their complaints are not available, which is due to the NDA.

For anyone to get released from their contract for anything ranging from loose teeth, cracked teeth, or misaligned bites, you have to sign the NDA. Signing it waives your rights to criticize the bad results, gives you a fraction of your total money spent (at least for me) or seek any sort of reparations for any future dental costs. The kicker is that more often than not, you aren't given the option to get a release. They ask you to give pics for reevaluation, and if they see nothing wrong, they usually deny any wrongdoing and say the results were deemed "satisfactory." If you keep calling/emailing, you get the runaround from management and the only way to get a release form is by writing a complaint to the BBB. And usually, the day after they send you the NDA to get the complaint down and release you from the contract.

I'm sure legally, this is all above board. But thinking of it clinically, it's super fucked up to me. You're expected to trust your teeth to non-licensed dentist professionals who are priding themselves on the word of mouth of others while silencing criticism? And rather than try to address the problem, they gaslight you and convince you that it's part of the risk. That you only get out by complaining to the BBB and to protect their bottom line, you're expected to just shut up about it, have a fraction of your money refunded and now expected to deal with the fallout yourself.

Thousands of dollars wasted dealing with a cracked tooth, a misaligned bite, and having to get two of my crowns replaced. I wouldn't wish having an off-bite to anyone in the world but now I have to live with it and the bills due to a pandemic and being stupid enough to sign the NDA just to be done with them. Just hope someone sees this and thinks twice about Smile Direct Club.

Godot28 Report

Add photo comments
POST
anyabeboop avatar
Anya Beboop
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry to hear this. I hope you can do better soon. My fiance had a botched, painful removal of all his upper teeth about 7 years ago and they made his denture wrong and refused to take our calls, cancelled our appointments. We are on state insurance and you only get free dentures every 8 years or something. He doesn't have upper teeth still because he is afraid of getting his teeth worked on now.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) When I was tech before I was a vet, I worked in a lab that mostly tested animal meds on animals. Flea products, heartworm meds, etc.

We had one product in testing for human medication though, which was an injection that supposedly was going to shorten the need to wear retainers after having braces.

Of course, to test that, we needed animals that had worn braces long enough to replicate the changes that happen to human mouths that have had braces.

What I'm getting at, was that some days it was my job to brush the mouths of like 50 beagles that all had braces and make sure the wires and brackets were in place and not causing any trauma to the lips or gingiva.

The image of dozens of goofy little dogs clack clack clacking around me in circles around the lab super excited to see me, doing their ridiculous beagle howls and flashing their braces as they did so will never leave my brain.

Moctor_Drignall , Aditya Joshi Report

Add photo comments
POST
wouter_berg avatar
Wouter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While I can somewhat understand the need to test on animals for some serious reasons, how can you defend torturing these poor things for a product that merely increases comfort for humans?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) As Security Chief, I found that my boss, the Region Security manager, was stealing.

At that time, I thought to keep things "in the family'; imagine the scandal that, in the security branch of a nationwide mobile phone company, one of the people in charge of security was caught doing what he was supposed to prevent. Naive me.

So I reported directly to the CSO who, after getting a confession, ask the culprit to resign.

After that, he placed his 24yo niece (or something, family related) in the Region management, then, after 2 months fired me.

A year later, I found out that the first boss was indeed the CSO cousin who ordered his niece to fire me in retaliation.



Wiser me knows now to bring those things directly to HR.

eddiefive , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Add photo comments
POST
julija-mich avatar
B-b-bird
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh no.... HR will not always help in this case (depends if department is more pro-worker or pro-company), but yeah definitely it would give more exposure onto culprit and less probability of cover up and "fixing" things, since ore unrelated ppl would know about instance.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

I was a science themed kids birthday party magician. I had to sign an NDA and non-compete in order to be taught the experiments that I performed during the show. They’re cool demos, I could even wow adults with some of them, but they’re not that special, I guarantee you that I could find the experiments themselves on the internet or in a homeschool textbook (the flair and the showy part was all me). But all of us “magicians” were college students, so the NDA and noncompete were there to intimidate us a bit. The non-compete was important, the owner didn’t want us stealing the experiments and create a competing company, but the NDA was just saber-rattling to keep us compliant with the NC. It was worth it, he paid us well and the tips were usually pretty good.

But the NDA and the NC expired a decade ago, so if you want, I can spill the secrets!

rbaltimore Report

#23

The outcomes of quite a few reality shows I directed, were rigged.

Yosemite_Sam9099 Report

Add photo comments
POST
gargarita-mica-08 avatar
Boreddd🇺🇦
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We already know "reality" shows are not the least bit real. 99% of the time they're scripted

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

Netflix has created a group of AI that will essentially be like the Skynet of streaming media.

It can predict with crazy accuracy what you’ll click on based on not only your previous views and clicks, but the time of year it is in your location, the WEATHER going on outside your window and the kinds of movies you like to watch when it’s raining or snowing. it figures out your likely holidays celebrated, your favorite colors, typefaces, and genres. This leads into the marketing AI.

They have created an AI driven software that creates movie posters and promotional art for a film or show appear to be whatever genre they want. For instance, it’ll create artwork for an action movie that makes the movie look like a rom com if you’re into rom come and not actions. It’s literally an automated super smart photoshop like computer just for film/tv artwork.

Scooch100t Report

Add photo comments
POST
moosygirl avatar
Moosy Girl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s cool they can do that, but if that’s what they’re using for their „what to watch next” interface in the app they’re really missing the ball in my case.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Your leather car interior is likely to shrink in the sun.

SNESChalmers420 , Ammy K Report

Add photo comments
POST
phoenixrising573 avatar
Cheryle Hayman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Leather seats need to be TREATED with moisturizer just like any other leather product. Of COURSE they'll shrink in constant sun/heat - all leather does without leather treatment on a regular basis!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) Your phone company doesn't always comply with FCC regulations involving the recording of phone calls. A lot more may be recorded and insecurely stored than you realize.

DUS8K4 , NordWood Themes Report

Add photo comments
POST
superheroesagainstandros avatar
LinkTheHylian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why my phone calls are nothing more personal than asking my roommates about dinner.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Work in film VFX so there’s a lot.

Ummmmm let’s see, I mean the obvious is always that studio interface = s**t movie. I’ve never worked on a film and heard “the studio wants to reshoot this sequence” and ever had it turned out to be a good thing.

But my guess is 99% of you know that.

So a specific? There are so many good movies you’ll never get to see because of studios. I mean you’ll see them but not until they’re recut, reshot, and completely devoid of any artistic vision that created them.

People point to “the Snyder cut” or now Suicide Squad and I can honestly tell you if a film is over 50 million and not directed by Scorsese, Nolan or Tarantino it’s created by a mindless collection of studio executives who don’t know s**t about filmmaking.

Ad Astra was incredible and would’ve been such a tribute to 2001 but the studio saw it and got scared of James making a slow paced science fiction film that made you think.

They pulled it from him, made a mess when it was given to a second editor (because he wanted to add 15 million in new VFX shots) then given back to James to fix but with this new direction.

Woman in the window was interesting and while not a great thriller, something that was decent and thought provoking. Think Shutter Island. But three test audiences in New Jersey, a second distribution company (Fox to Disney) and a second director for massive reshoots created the shitshow that was unloaded on Netflix.

There are several big time films that’ll never see the light of day because the studio bought them and is sitting on their release. Things you’ve never heard of with great directors and casts because the studio doesn’t want to be associated with it for whatever reason. Weinstein was notorious for this but several other producers have done the same.

What’s going on with Scarlet Johansson right now is waaaay too common for everyone in the industry. Only difference is she’s above being blackballed and has the money to pay for the lawyers needed to defend her.

Finally just know if you go to a film and say “how did they not fix that shot” realize the director wanted to, we just didn’t get approval, or “who comes up with this s**t” it probably wasn’t s**t until the studio got involved.

whereegosdare84 Report

#28

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I have been apart of a focus group program for over 10 years now. It's mostly opinion chat sessions but there were occasional times where I would test or try out some new product that I'd have to sign an NDA for.

You remember when HP started that line of mini laptops?

Yup. Beta tested those.

Some other things now on the market I've tested before release were: Gillettes Fusion, Facebook Dating, Xbox Project X Cloud!

And yes they pay wonderfully.

winternarrative , Dylan Gillis Report

Add photo comments
POST
federicocantoni avatar
Jrog
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did the same for a while, testing a couple dozen products. Most of them never reached the market, but I remember testing an AWFUL first version of the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. All the products were sent as unbranded samples but was pretty easy to spot the brand with the questions in the interview. Usually among the first questions there was "Which of these brands you know?" and "How do you know BRAND?", giving it away pretty quickly. Unfortunately they did not pay "wonderfully". I usually got some free stuff and about 30 euro in some kind of credit (I chose Amazon) for each 60-minute questionnaire.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#29

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) I signed a NDA with EA games in order to pitch them a game idea that myself and 2 friends had developed. They turned us down due to there being a similar title already being in production. That was 10 years ago and there's still never been a game in even remotely the same vein as the one we pitched. Frustrating to say the least.

WSOsabers , Kamil S Report

Add photo comments
POST
gregd942 avatar
Yourname942
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They don't own the idea so pitch it to someone other than EA, Blizzard, or Ubisoft

View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

People Who Signed NDAs That Have Now Expired Share What Secrets They Were Supposed To Protect (30 Answers) You know those Jackbox party games? They have a database full of about a hundred jackbox games that were pitched but not used, since rejected games often get featured in later party packs.

Notably, one of those jackbox games is called Poop Cake. Won’t detail how it works in case it does get released, but there is a rejected jackbox game called Poop Cake that exists and is officially documented for potential future use.

MatthewBrokenlamp , Sora Khan Report

Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.