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50 People Actually Read The Fine Print And Discovered They Were (Almost) Selling Their Souls
In the digital age, we’re asked to agree to the terms and conditions on a daily basis. Almost every website we click on nowadays asks us to confirm with their company’s privacy policy, but how many of us actually take the time to read the fine print? Research shows that only a minority does this.However, people in this thread took their sweet time and read the terms and conditions they were presented with, and they’re glad they did, as they found some unexpected things written there. Scroll down to find their stories below, and don’t forget to share your own experiences so it motivates others to pay closer attention to what they’re agreeing to.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Thank you customer for actually reading our terms and conditions. Send us an E-mail with the following content and we will send you a free box of chocolates.
They did indeed send chocolate.
Riley Quinn 7 months ago
I do like chocolate and will indulge this pleasure on occasion, but if I have to choose between reading the pages of fine print or waiting until the day after a holiday to get 1/2 price chocolates, I'll get them myself.
RELATED:
#2
In the hiring contract for the last company I worked for, there was a line buried on page like 22 that said if you email a certain email address on your first day saying you saw the line, you'd get a bonus day of PTO for the year.
Nadine Debard 7 months ago
My contract must be like 2 pages because in France we both have the law and the branch agreements so if the employer doesn't change anything the contract just refers to them and indicates the job description, the days, the hours, the place where you will work and the pay.
#3
Something that I wish I read was on Fabletics online store. Apparently if you make any purchase they automatically sign you up to their VIP program which is a $50 per month subscription for “VIP clothes”. I made one purchase on their site, checked out like any other online store, and got my clothes a week later. 8 months go by and I notice a -$50 taken out of my bank from Fabletics (I check my bank pretty often so idk how I missed this) and it turned out to be a recurring payment for 8 MONTHS. I called their support line and explained to the guy that I never signed up for their subscription and I never even received any sign up confirmation emails or payment statements to know what was happening. He said I most likely signed up when I purchased my clothes 8 months ago because it’s in their terms. It’s like once you “sign up” they ghost you and take your money every month. It took a lot of frustration and refusal to hang up the phone until they finally said I can get a refund of my $400+ that was just sitting in my VIP account. I was like “clearly I was unaware of this because from the past 8 months I haven’t made any more purchases on your stupid site, give me my money back.” They finally refunded it all back. F*****g scammers. Don’t buy s**t from Fabletics.
I still should leave an online review about it because after looking up “Fabletics scam” it seems to happen to a lot of people.
Likes cats a lot! 7 months ago
Shapermint did something similar to me. I noticed it the first month and had it stopped.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
Wow. Wonder how many other online companies do this.
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Robert T 7 months ago
My MIL got scammed by something like this. She needed a plumber and called a number she found in the yellow pages. They put her through to a call centre that signed her up for a plumbing insurance scheme. They then failed to send the plumber they needed. We cancelled the direct debit and it was only then that they wrote to her saying she had breached the terms and conditions. They had never sent anything in the post until then, so we had never seen the Ts&Cs. I wrote them a stern letter and they cancelled it and refunded what had been paid, as they had not provided ANY service. Cunch of bunts.
Brittania Kelli 7 months ago
Savage x Fenty Lingerie did this to me. Make a purchase and they sign you up to their £30 a month VIP where you get 'special deal's and your monthly fee can be redeemed towards purchases. I noticed the first month and called them up demanding to know who the h e l l out here is spending a minimum £30 a month on lingerie!? Their bras are nice, but not that nice.
AndyR 7 months ago
I suspect the USA is the only place where it isn't illegal.
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The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
They did this to me too. But the multiple emails I received each month from them before they charged me were enough of a tip off. It somehow still took me 3 months to get around to cancelling though lol, but they didn't give me a hard time and refunded my money in a few minutes. But I still find this so deceitful... Worse than all the email lists I get on just from making 1 purchase
Riley Quinn 7 months ago
I won't even go on a website without finding out first if they're legit. I stick to the biggies, like Amazon and Walmart, but only venture onto other sites after I've researched them for unsavory business practices. Yeah, I've got some serious trust issues.
detective miller's hat 7 months ago
Same thing happened to me years ago with a "free" credit report site. Buried in the bottom of the credit report was a line that by receiving said report, I had "agreed" to pay their $20 per month service. It was 2 months before I noticed, and a pain in the b*m to get it cancelled and get my money back.
detective miller's hat 7 months ago
really BP, we're censoring B U M now???
Load More Replies... Patricia Steward 7 months ago
If refused a refund, just say casually say okay, I'll follow up with small claims court. Chances are they'll refund just to not have to deal with it.
Lorrie Rothstein 7 months ago
It’s so difficult to cancel their membership. They try to talk you out of it. I have to scream at them
Colin Matthews 7 months ago
Don't scream just mention you intend to pursue a claim against them for breaching (fill in local consumer protection act) and intend to inform the local news media of the outcome. Job done.
Load More Replies...Few people read the fine print when it is physically in print, and probably fewer do it when it’s in the digital environment. The Pew Research Center has found that just 9% of adults read a company’s privacy policy before agreeing to the terms and conditions, while more than a third (36%) say they never do it.
With a simple click of a button, people give websites the right to keep, analyze, and sell their data to third parties without realizing it. Often, people also click away their right to go to court if anything goes wrong.
#4
Apps that demand access to your call history, keyboard, internet and photos, when they're literally just a flashlight.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
If you’re not paying for it with legal tender, you’re paying for it in other ways.
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Array Index Out of Bounds 7 months ago
Boy. I mean, I have written quite a few apps, and when you export to Android (or whatever platform) you are asked which permissions you want to ask the user. There are many, most of which I will never use.
Tropical Tarot 7 months ago
I do know that the phone permission is to let it either keep working when you have a phone call or stop working when you get a call. You would want s flashlight to keep working but not an audiobook.
#5
Gamestation once made an "Immortal Soul Clause" on April Fool's day, to prove that no-one actually reads the terms and conditions. It read " By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. ".
superfluous 7 months ago
They obviously didn't read MY terms and conditions which state I win! Always! Companies don't even have to do business with me - if an employee LOOKS in my general direction, they are bound.
#6
I’m a lawyer. Whenever undergrads tell me they want to go to law school, I tell them to read the entire iTunes terms and conditions, without skipping a single sentence. If they can’t get through it, they don’t have the discipline and attention to detail for law school.
Riley Quinn 7 months ago (edited)
This should be a requirement for members of the US Congress. Seems a number of them sign the bills without reading them. Several actually admitted not reading Rump's One BBB Act that passed through the House. Side note: Our legislators are beyond pathetic, yet they'll be re-elected by the dumb@sses.
Mat O'Dowd 7 months ago
You can still read "Terms and Conditions, the Graphic Novel"! https://blog.mozilla.org/en/internet-culture/deep-dives/terms-and-conditions-the-graphic-novel/
superfluous 7 months ago
Well there's the difference - you GET PAID to read them as a lawyer, dontcha? Whereas the average consumer just wants their freaking product and is tired of being told they have to agree to this bs before doing business. We know we're the little insignificant poor schmuck to their full bench of lawyers so we're gonna get screwed whether we read it or not!
Rick Murray 7 months ago
On the other hand, as a wannabe lawyer you're liable to understand the various terms. As a consumer, page after page after page after page of gibberish to cover all eventualities. It gets wearying.
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The data that internet users agree to give away is especially useful to advertisers, who can then tailor their content to consumers' preferences. A part of such data can also end up in the hands of health insurers, life insurance companies, and even employers, all of which can make important decisions according to it and have quite an effect on our lives.
#7
Amazon's AWS Service Terms contain a clause pertaining to a **zombie apocalypse**.
No, really:
>However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
Give it a year and whoever is left in charge of the CDC by then wouldn't be able to recognise a zombie if it bit them on the årse. 🙁
Charity Angel 7 months ago
This doesn't rule out whatever was going on in The Walking Dead - that was airborne.
#8
Idk if this is super surprising, but I read the entire lease for my first apartment and apparently, I couldn’t get out of my lease even if I DIED.
Kit Black 7 months ago
Yes. Your estate is liable for your debts *if* you had sufficient assets to cover them.
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Bob Brooce 7 months ago
I'll see your clause and raise you a rotting corpse.
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Jane Doe 7 months ago
My very first lease, I went with a corporate owned apartment complex because I didn't want some mom and pop landlord c**p..."tennant will shovel the snow on the walkway before and the steps leading to the apartment building." The hell I will. "Oh, that doesn't matter. They don't mean that." They took it out. They also never shoveled or salted a gd thing and I slipped down steps at least three times. But no way I was doing it! hmmmm.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
Those slips on the steps may have caused you some pain and suffering... just a thought.
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#9
I don't know if they changed it but, when you chose the "fragile" obtion in a mail system like FedEx, that didn't ment they would take special care of it but that you admitted that it was fragile and therefore it could be broken without being their fault, leaving you unable to sue them for breaking your package or to ask any reimbursement.
The Cute Cat 7 months ago
On the other way around.. when you don't claim the item to be fragile and it broken because it is fragile, then they can escape by reason that user is not mention their stuff as fragile.
Riley Quinn 7 months ago
I'd never say that USPS or UPS haven't broken a fragile item they were handling, but FedEx is infamously bad. When ordering online, I check if my only shipping option is FedEx. If it is, I'll go to another company for the item.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
This is a wonderful urban legend. What they DO have in their agreements are arbitration clauses that adhere you to going through arbitration (typically in predesignated jurisdiction; where they’re registered) rather than filing a civil suit.
OneHappyPuppy 7 months ago
Ooh I've had my fair share of broken shipments with various couriers and can confirm, they'll try every trick in the book to not oay you out the damages
A solution to this problem is obvious - to read the terms and conditions we’re presented with. But realistically, if we read each one, we’d spend around eight hours a week doing that. That’s almost a whole day we lose in a week. Who has time for that?
To help with this issue, ToS;DR ("Terms of Service; Didn't Read"), a free browser extension, was created. It labels and rates agreements you’re presented with from very good to very bad. It aids in unearthing the worrisome things and prevents you from signing your life away.
#10
On amazon: anytime they want they can take away from me the books thats I’ve bought on kindle store.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
Not at all surprising. This is the mantra of the subscription model.
Norma 7 months ago
Kindle is NOT a subscription but they've changed their wording to the effect that you're buying a license to read the book. You don't own the copy you paid for.
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Upstaged75 7 months ago
All my books are already downloaded and my Kindle is not connected to anything. How are they going to take them?
AndyR 7 months ago
I keep an old Kiindle just for backups. I only enable WiFi when I need to download something, otherwise it stays off the internet.
Load More Replies... April Pickett 7 months ago
I read that too. Let them try to do that; there won't be an Amazon like the one we have now.
Tropical Tarot 7 months ago
There is the classic Space Raptor Bútt Invasion but my personal favorite is Bigfoot Pirates Haunt My Bàlls. Yes these are really the titles..The writing is decent.
Load More Replies... Riley Quinn 7 months ago
I don't use a Kindle, but there are sites explaining how to backup your Kindle or download your Kindle content onto a computer where Amazon can't reach it. True? Perhaps. But I'd certainly do the research if I owned a Kindle.
#11
At a gun range one time I saw that if I yelled out “I love dogs!” my time and anything I buy is half price. I immediately did so, startling my best friend. That was awesome.
The contract to a job I had working in the desert warned about the frequency of alien attacks. I was disappointed to go a year and a half without any, though.
#12
Gym membership contract: one of the reasons that will **not** allow waving your resignation fee is "in case of a nuclear reactor core melting".
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
Oh shīt, I was hoping to use that as a reason to cancel my membership!
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
I have never had a gym membership, and never will. You can tell by looking at me.
Nota Robot 7 months ago
I have regularly encountered the phrasing "nuclear reactions" in terms and conditions, but this one is new to me.
#13
Back in the day when people [legally] acquired new music by buying CDs, one of the bands I listened to would hide nice little messages to fans in the copyright/legal fine print in the booklet that came with the CD. Sometimes there would be a small link to a hidden part of their website that had extra content.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
A friend of mine raised a really interesting question a few years ago. If you have purchased a record, cassette, CD, DVD. etc., haven't you already paid the copyright fee? So, if you buy an updated medium, shouldn't you be able to only pay for the new media i.e.. take your old disc back to the retailer; disc, cassette, CD, digital file etc,. and simply pay for the new media. Rather than paying for the right to play the tracks again?
SM 7 months ago (edited)
You didn't pay a copyright fee (Someone that was in the business of reselling would be one paying a copyright fee). You paid for rights spelled out in the license agreement. It would certainly not give you the right to go back and demand it on a different media just because you are willing to give the store the original media.
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Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
Weird Al wrote a song called "Nature trail to hell" which has backmasked message "Satan eats Cheese Whiz" and in another song "You really have a lot of time on your hands"
April Pickett 7 months ago
You OWNED that music. You bought and paid for that particular album, and it was yours. I'm not especially fond of the subscription method for music. I understand that there are a lot of different styles of music available through subscription, but I'll listen to my CDs and the radio.
SM 7 months ago (edited)
You don't own that music. You paid the certain rights that were spelled out in the license/term's agreement. There wasn't anything legally that would have stop them from making the terms that you can only use it for a certain period of time. I think the main reason that wasn't done until subscriptions came around is because they wouldn't have been able to enforce it.
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keyboardtek 7 months ago (edited)
I am a music composer. Some music sync library companies that act as the middleman between the music creator and the TV/Film industry have in their agreement that they can re title your music so that they alone earn all future royalties. The artist only receives a one time fee.
#14
A while ago (~2011) there was a scam "Work from Home" service widely advertised all over Facebook and other places, promising enormous paycheques and a free trial. (It was an opt-out subscription service as you might expect).
Curious as to how the scam worked, I looked at their T&Cs.
There was a clause in there requiring you to pay $10000 in compensation to the company if you filed a chargeback against their fees.
Whilst that would never stand up in court, dealing with debt collectors who might conveniently offer to settle for 'a mere three thousand' would be all sorts of hell.
#15
I had a Victoria's Secret coupon that said Canadians are required to pass a math question or test in order to be eligible for the discount.
I think I still have it at my desk - my job in part is writing terms and conditions, agreements, and disclosures for the bank I work at so I actually do read a lot of T&Cs in homage to the amount of time my colleagues in the field put into writing 18 pages of s**t no one but examiners read. The Canadian math requirement is the strangest I've ever seen.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
Probably a technicality. To prevent this from being a game of chance.
JB 7 months ago
Preventing exploitation of vulnerable people and ensuring a minimum age.
Load More Replies... JB 7 months ago
No, the math requirement is pretty standard here. It prevents children and vulnerable adults from being exploited. Contests, lotteries, some coupons, giveaways... a lot of things.
Orysha 7 months ago
How could you prevent that if their abusers give them the answers?
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Christine Trejbal 7 months ago (edited)
It's on all giveaway things here, it's so it's not considered a lottery.
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
A woman I worked with once told me she was from Canada and all the experiences she's had here in the US. "It must have been quite a culture shock coming here from there"..she replied in an oh so urbane tone, "Not really, our cultures are quite similar".."No, I was thinking more that you had to start wearing socks and shoes". Her jaw hit the floor, a couple folks standing there laughed, she was a good sport.
BarBeeGirl 7 months ago
Pretty much all contests and games with prizes require some sort of test to ensure you are of “sound mind”
#16
A job schedule app my company uses requires you to login using the company email. To set this up on your phone, you have to give your company the rights to erase the contents of your phone remotely, probably in case you become a threat to the company. No thanks.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
That's when you buy a cheap burner work phone. But a company like that I wouldn't trust enough to work for.
Nicola Mawson 7 months ago
Company can buy me a phone. And I'll log overtime
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Rafael 7 months ago (edited)
I wouldn't do it with my primary, and would ask the company to give me a work phone. However, playing a bit of devils advocate here, this is not necessarily done out of malice - mostly it is done for cases of lost/stolen phones. Some companies lost big with this sort of data leak.
The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
A company I worked for did this to one of our sales people when he left. Accessed his personal phone and wanted me to delete EVERYTHING. Our remote app was all or nothing. I chose nothing and said I had deleted everything. I would much rather be responsible for this shady company losing customers vs this guy losing all of his personal photos, texts, etc.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
The outlook app has something like this as well. They require Device Adminisrtator rights when you log in using company email, stating they can wipe the entire phone through Microsoft portal.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
All these burner phones... No, company wants email and access to delete everything, company can *supply* a phone or FRO.
ZestyBison 6 months ago
That's getting into second phone territory. Also it's questionable that an APP, especially or even more so one for work, has so many permissions and controls over your personal device.
#17
I showed up for a medical procedure once and the front desk nurse handed me a 3-page form to sign. I started reading it, and she got visibly annoyed, so I kept reading. Found on 2nd page a sentence like this: patient agrees to pay all billing amounts resulting from this procedure. I asked, what does this include? Can you provide me with an estimate of the charges. She said no. I said I am not signing it, because the doctor could throw in a 3-week vacation to Florida or whatever else he/she wants as a "result" of the procedure. That led to a standoff, me not signing, her not taking me back to the procedure room.
Rafael 7 months ago
From the OP: "After a while another nurse came to the front wondering why I was still not in prep. I explained the situation, she just stood there staring at me, like no one had ever brought this up before. Finally after about 15 minutes I figured I could insert the word "reasonable" after the word all, because I see that on contracts at work all the time. I told them I what I was doing, made the change, initialed the change, then signed the document at the bottom. They probably still talk about that crazy dude living with conspiracy theories everywhere. Don't care. "
StrangeOne 7 months ago
Every time they get annoyed and impatient while you read the T/Cs you know there's something fishy going on they don't want you to figure out.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
There is plenty of legal precedent in the US that shows this would have to be a reasonable charge. A trip to Florida or a new car is flagrantly not reasonable. Crashing o the table and efforts to keep patient alive and taken care of outside of typical surgical procedure IS a result of the surgery and reasonable.
Andrew Arons 7 months ago
It really bugs me that hospitals still charge for medical procedures when the patient dies, especially considering how frequently deaths due to medical negligence are covered up. It's estimated that 9.5% of all hospital deaths are due to medical errors. And that's only the ones they're willing to admit.
Load More Replies... Fire Singer 7 months ago
I had to do a sleep test and the document they tried to get me to sign said something along the lines of "you're responsible for all payments, even to those doctors out of network." I refused to sign it unless they told me which doctors were out of network that I'd have to pay for. There were two receptionists and one of them said "I told you! I told you people wouldn't sign this document because of that language!" to the other receptionist. I got the sleep test done and didn't sign the document. ALWAYS read what you sign. I've learned that the hard way.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
I had sleep apnea, but I could not sleep with a cpac mask on. I phoned my sleep specialist doctor who said "OK, take it back and we'll try something else." When I tried to return it to the medical supply store, they insisted that I sign a statement saying that I was returning it "without the doctor's permission". They wanted it in writing. I took their form and wrote in "written" before the word "permission", signed it, and handed it to them. They shrugged and took back the equipment. (I got rid of the sleep apnea by losing 65 pounds.)
Funhog 7 months ago
My cats' veterinarian's office has a signature pad device on the counter at check-in, where it is their procedure to prompt the client to sign it, to acknowledge receipt of -- and agreement to -- their terms, without having had the opportunity to read them first. Each time, I've asked for a printout before signing.
Harry Gondalf 7 months ago
Not a lawyer, but what would happen if you added "(with prejudice) after the signature? Or even, "W.P."
#18
WhatsApp, when it went full-Facebook 4 years after purchase, sent out an Android update.
The update said it was just adding the ability to give group chats a sub-heading.
What it was *actually* doing was giving Facebook permission to take information. This option was enabled by default (of course it was) and you had only 3 months to notice this had happened before the option to opt out was disabled.
I was late noticing this, but when I read the terms and conditions, the last line said something along the lines of, "Even if you opt out, Facebook and the Facebook family of companies will *still* take the data for.....training purposes."
Aaaaand deleted my account. They probably had my info by that point but f**k that s**t. Installed Signal.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
Yep. Facebook even has a clause in their conditions about them being able to still collect your info through other profiles. Even when you have deleted your own data.
#19
Wanted to sign my kid up for cheerleading. Sat there and read the terms and agreement. Said something along the lines of "We are not responsible for any accidents that occur in the transportation of your child." My husband lost his brother in a school transportation accident and they initially tried to avoid the blame. So naturally that line gave us the heebie jeebies and we just left. Turns out they were just a shady company all around. She now does cheer through her school.
#20
If you make money on TikTok, the owners can rightfully take the money.
loopsydoopsy:
They can also use your videos in their advertisements without your permission, even if the videos are private. Cody Ko had to deal with this.
_NITRISS_:
Hippity hoppity your Tik-Tok is my property
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
It’s so silly users think they have exclusive intellectual property claims for the content they post on a free, “former” Chinese state intelligence app.
Load More Replies... #21
Found this quite a few years ago on chive:
"Anyone submitting photos to Us also agrees to name their first born son, or daughter, Leo and second born child, John. If you stop reproducing after the first child, you must agree to acquire a Panda Bear from China and name it John.
Resignation Media not only owns the rights to any photos you upload, but also owns the rights to your mom. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your mom, and any claims you or your family may have on her, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from Resignation Media. In the event your dad or your mom's parent(s) intervene and claim joint-ownership of your mom, Resignation Media reserves the right to b***h slap them and give all parties Justin Bieber haircuts. If, upon receiving your mom, she attempts to leave theCHIVE's kitchen, where she belongs, she too will be given a Justin Bieber haircut."
EDIT: this was about 6y ago & they have since changed it
superfluous 7 months ago
Ha! Jokes on them! No kids! They can have my Mom with no contest. Although the misogynistic remark about her place in the kitchen makes me want to b***h slap the lot of them!
#22
While buying a train ticket in Russia : "if the train breaks down, don't think of this as a way to get compensation. Consider it a part of the Russian experience.".
setsuriseikou 7 months ago
Journeying on a train can be not for the faint of heart even in modern Russia
Load More Replies... Lavern Defazio 7 months ago
Besides getting sent to the front lines . Okay, getting dark here. Time to log off and wash dishes. Have a greatt day!! See y'all in a few months.
#23
Buying my first car at a dealership too close to a Naval base. Never bought a car before. Had no idea what to do. Monthly payment is $250? That sounds sensible...
Sat down and read the contract much to the chagrin of the sales guy. Interest rate was 18%. I knew enough to walk away.
superfluous 7 months ago
Never look at just the monthly payment - insist on knowing the total cost of (anything you finance) the car.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I had the full cost of my car when I went to buy it, but they still tried to get me to sign up for credit, until the learned how little I earned per week!
Blue Bunny of Happiness 7 months ago
Only useful thing I learned in Economics lessons, always check the APR.
#24
It was for a lottery arranged by my city. You would pay money to get in and win various prizes. On the terms and conditions it said they don't really have to give you any prizes.
The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
I've seen things like this in giveaways. It's commonly written as "actual prizes not shown, other prizes of equal monetary value may be substituted." So while their summation of the clause is technically correct, it's misleading.
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#25
DeviantArt's ToS is basically a contract allowing them to print, reproduce, and profit from your art (if they so choose) without needing your permission or consent.
Usually this takes the form of ads or contests, where they'll be used in public displays. If you post works that show a high level of technical skill, then you need to either sign it or use a big ol' watermark.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
Adobe and Instagram tried the same stunt. They both tried to change their T&S to add a clause saying you automatically surrender all your rights when uploading content to ther platforms. Google has the same with all your data in Google Drive and Gmail. There are even stories about peoples files getting deleted by Google for no reason.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
You typically wave your intellectual property rights when you post your creations or art on websites or within applications. Same with Google. Same with sending it via Gmail. It’s ubiquitous. They can reproduce & use how they wish. If you don’t want them doing that, then don’t share your creations with them or on their platforms. It really is that simple.
Ben Aziza 7 months ago
For a digital artist that is Impossible. As for the gmail thing. I dont think it is applicable by them. Dont get me wrong they are soulless abd would claim that they can do that. But a wall of lawyer's and trust regulators would materialise at least in the eu.
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#26
If you want to take Huawei to court you have to take them to court in China.
What they don't tell you is that it's near impossible for a foreigner to win a court case in China.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
Okay, fair enough. I wont risk buying your products then.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
Not so different to certain American companies that specify particular comptent jurisdictions in the US. If it's the east district of Texas, good luck there if you're a foreigner...
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
This is usually an agreement for most goods & services. You have to litigate in their jurisdiction if you agreed to it when you clicked “ok”
#27
The dev team of the videogame Factorio is explicit not responsible if you stay awake all night long playing Factorio and can't go to school / work in the morning.
Brian Droste 7 months ago
I agree with this one. If you stay up all night that is the persons fault, not the video programmers. I am retired now and sometimes I stay up much later than I should. I can't blame whatever I am doing for staying up.late. That is my fault for not going to bed at my usual time.
#28
Every picture you take on Snapchat is public domain.So, Snapchat can use your picture for whatever they want. You could be driving on the Highway and see your face on a billboard and have no rights to the picture.
Kinda funny people don't know this with all the nudes sent on there.
That tired person 7 months ago
OH S**T as a hijabi that is f*****g terrifying because I take alot of private pics without my hijab
Red5 7 months ago
This basically isn't true, it's an exaggeration of the way the rights work on services like this. Many of these entries are based in a misunderstanding of the legalese required for a photo/art sharing website to work. The photos are absolutely not public domain. Not even close. You still own the rights to any photo you take. By using a sharing service you grant them a specific license for use. That will vary depending on the service and how their privacy settings work.
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ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago (edited)
Again, to be clear: if you are posting your “art,” photography, creations, poems, etc. on a free (with premium paid features or not) app or website - if it is on their servers - then you do not have exclusive intellectual property rights to said art. This doesn’t even have to be qualified within the EULA/ToS. It’s the given. To assure they can use, reproduce, market, sale, etc. they typically bury it in the agreement you agree to by signing up or clicking “ok” as a guest. If an entity is hosting your creations for free or nominal fee, typically they can do whatever they wish with it.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago (edited)
As a side note: in early aughts an artist friend posted some graphic designs on DeviantArt & shared via Gmail. One of them ended up on shirts at Urban Outfitters licensed through the parent company of the art website. I’ve had friends have their elements used by an airline, girl-focused gaming site, Sanrio…all from saving them on a free online drive owned by that “Do no harm” with the colorful “G” company in Mountain View, CA. I know several artists whose work is available for on-demand, fast fashion t-shirts on Amazon, because they were stored in their Prime photo library. Just talk to some of the old-school artists in SF Bay Area, peninsula & Silicon Valley. This started in the late 90s & has only gotten more prolific & covert over the years.
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#29
I don't have a story myself, but I found [this article] about a man who won a $1000 giveaway that was hidden in the EULA of an app. The 3000 people who installed the program before him didn't bother to read it.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
This reminds me of the Microsoft eula. How this is even legal is beyond me?
SM 7 months ago (edited)
"Legal" is the one that has be most money for lawyers and lobbyists.
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#30
Sony can sue you for literaly not updating your console software if you're connected to internet.
ManBlob 7 months ago
While I do love my PS5, the days with PS2 were the GOAT. No internet requirements, solid games, so many good couch co-op games.
StrangeOne 7 months ago (edited)
Deffo. I still have mine and play games on it time to time. However, finding replacement games that aren't "refurbished" to the point of not working after a few times, or not looking like it was used as a doll's skating rink, has been futile and expensive. Wasted $50 on a Thrillville Off The Rails now that it won't read but has 0 marks. Unless it's the console that needs cleaning. I can still play other games like SSX3, Sly trilogy and others, though. Love that I can just chill and play how I want, on my own.
Load More Replies... Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
This one, I can kind of understand (Risk to other users).
The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
Exactly. If you don't complete an update that includes necessary security installs, and then get a virus that can spread system wide, that's a huge issue.
Load More Replies... marcelo D. 7 months ago
this is a preemptive (and obviously illegal) way of them trying to prevent piracy, since an updated is way harder to jailbreak and cannot use pirate software
#31
I remember a story years ago about this guy applying for a loan or credit card from his bank but asked to take the documents home and read over them and send them back a signed copy. He added clauses in the T&C’s that the bank had to pay him and if they wanted out of the contract they had to pay him some huge exit fee, signed the amended one and sent it back to them and they agreed to it without reading it. Not sure how true it is though.
JB 7 months ago
If memory serves, he won in court and the judge cited the bank needing to read what they sign.
Andrew Arons 7 months ago
I bet that loophole was closed in a nanosecond.
Load More Replies... April Pickett 7 months ago
It would be interesting to see how that goes. Probably take all the lawyers Trump uses to get this contract through the court system.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
My folks have shown me how to strike things from a contract that aren't relevant or I don't agree with, but that's also with the other person there and it was discussed. I'm on the fence about changing contract terms, though. Not sure it would hold up.
#32
When we registered our Samsung front-loading washing machine online, the terms and conditions stipulated something along these lines:
"Use of detergents not recommended by the manufacturer may cause malfunctions not covered under warranty."
But there was no specific list of *recommended* detergents given, other than stating they had to be "High-efficiency (HE) laundry detergent.".
StrangeOne 7 months ago
Basically any detergent that states on the package can be used in HE machines, and not specific brands.
Bob Brooce 7 months ago
IANAL, and might even be crazy, but I suspect that any detergent that's not a High-efficiency (HE) laundry detergent is a detergent not recommended by the manufacturer
The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
Yeah. This is why all high efficiency detergents clearly have HE printed on them... If I fill my gasoline powered car with diesel and blow the engine I couldn't expect it to be covered under warranty could I????
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
This is a marketing ploy. But to me, it reads a poor quality. If your washing machine can't use normal detergent, it's time to look for a better quality machine, LG has a better reputation, anyway.
Bob Brooce 7 months ago
1. Protecting yourself from stupid customers who might use who knows what is perfectly reasonable. 2. You might want to ask Google about LG refrigerator compressor problems.
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#33
I was s****d and downloaded a mobile game some years ago and decided to read the terms and conditions. It was like 20 pages and mostly had to do with privacy and micro transaction stuff. In the back half a paragraph was the lyrics to ToTos Africa.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago (edited)
's****d' completely negates the point of this post. BP, why the fūck do you bother to post things that can't be read!
Bartlet for world domination 7 months ago
**** BP, if s****d means s****d, it was there, but if OP was s****d they must have hallucinated.
#34
After reading through all the comments here, I see no one has mentioned how useful this tip can be-
If you're downloading some shady software, scroll through the entire ToS and find any check boxes, then uncheck them.
Usually for things like this, that's how various programs and malware will end up being downloaded without you understanding how, which is what will usually happen with people who are especially young or especially old. There will be something written in there like "You agree that you would like to install MegaSuperSaverSearchPlus to your PC and set it as your default search engine" with a pre-checked box next to it, leading to a lot of easily avoided problems.
So yeah, scroll through and uncheck boxes when you're downloading something weird. You dont even need to read the terms, just be aware what could be tucked away inside them.
Carl Roberts 7 months ago
Even major companies pull this garbage. Years ago, I was installing McAfee virus protection, and I had to uncheck 3 or 4 boxes for completely unrelated programs that it wanted to install from "affiliate" brands.
Robert Trebor 7 months ago (edited)
I bought a new laptop which had McAfee installed, but I use another antivirus, so I uninstalled McAfee. They hounded me with DOOM DOOM DOOM notifications for days, until I found one little kermel of McAfee left behind, which didn't uninstall. I stomped it, and the laptop is fine.
Load More Replies... Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
This is so known with a lot of big brands software. All these pre-checked boxes in their installers to download extra program's from their advertisers.
Bob Brooce 7 months ago
Idiots downloading cursors is one of the leading causes of computer problems.
JB 7 months ago
F*****g b***h m**********r j*****s downloading b******t w****r cursors, when they could swap one f*****g letter and have much more m***********g fun!
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#35
There was a story contest from a theme park where your story could be published...
...but any story submitted would automatically be owned by the company and could not be used by you or others.
So they could:
1. Throw your story in the trash and you still wouldn't legally own it anymore and can't publish it somewhere else
2. They own your story so they can make money out of it without paying you a dime
3. They were not obligated to credit you as the writer other than mentioning it somewhere in the first publishing - after that it was fair game
4. They were allowed to alter your story as they saw fit without consulting you
I wasn't the only one who noticed, it was soon pointed out on social media. There wasn't really a backlash, but I didn't submit a story.
ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago (edited)
Ugh! If only people understood their intellectual property rights and how often & easily they waive them for something free!!!!
Brian Droste 7 months ago
What happened if you slightly alter your own story. Then it wouldn't be the same story. Or change the title of the story. So would you be able to publish the story under your own name then? It is in essence a different story then.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
So "Pride and Prejudice" becomes "Pride; also Prejudice."
Load More Replies... Andrew Arons 7 months ago
I wonder what would happen if someone paid the $45 it costs to get a copyright before they submitted a story? I suppose it would just be a waste of money if they never used your submission. But if they did, they might be willing to settle any potential lawsuit out of court just so you'll go away... Ka-Ching!🤪
Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
This is very common in application forms in the Design industry. They always have a clause that you have to do an assignment to be able to apply, but by sending your application you automatically give all your copyrights to the company and you no longer have any rights to your work. They can therefore refuse to hire you, and still sell your work to third parties. And you can do nothing about it because it is no longer your work.
#36
I remember reading the Samsung terms and the conditions, they basically have full control over your phone, they can limit anything on your phone, you do not own it when you have a Samsung account on your Samsung phone.
It was one of the ways they pushed out the note 7, by disabling the battery from charging up to 100% they kinda forced you to get a new one.
I'm going to make a rant about this f****d up company.
Fabulous chocolate cookie 7 months ago
Wasn't the Note 7 the phone which exploded multiple times due to a faulty designed battery? Also wasn't Apple caught doing this over software updates to make you buy a new iphone?
Andrew Arons 7 months ago
The exploding battery wasn't a bug, it was a feature.
Load More Replies... The Majestic Opossum 7 months ago
Apple has done this for far longer on a much larger scale, along with many other shady business practices. You pretty much cannot own any piece of technology in the states without agreeing to these ridiculous terms.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
I ditched Samsung because of this type of thing. I miss them being a moral company. But I guess arrogance took over!
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
I love my Samsung displays, but I will not buy their phones or appliances.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
That explains why my Samsung phone batteries would get laggy, even with new chargers.
#37
I read the detailed rules of a poker room once. When they described the bad beat jackpot (a promotion where if you have a once in a lifetime hand and still lose, you win a jackpot for being so unlucky), the example they gave had 5 kings in it, 3 kings in the board and 2 in the hand. (For those unfamiliar, there are 4 kings in a deck). I pointed it out and the manager laughed and said I was the first person to ever catch that.
#38
I know at some point Comcast was not responsible if it k*lled you.
Haven't looked at it in years though (used to work for them so you get to learn the terms pretty quickly).
#39
Id sell my soul for a donut...
"Your soul is the legal property of Marge Simpson & not the devil's".
#40
It wasn't actually me, it was the manager I was interning with.
He told me about how it was important to read *everything*, even the terms and conditions.
When you go to an iPhone's license page (or something else, I don't remember), it says that they won't take any responsibility to any shock you received from the phone if it were 5 mm away from you, unless you had something blocking it from your skin, like clothes, or a pocket protector.
#41
LinkedIn is granted access to all your contacts found in email or address books and explicitly given permission to use them as they please, including using your identity in automatically generated emails.
This was a change made a few years ago. I cancelled immediately.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
I had add Linked In to my Gmail spam, because everytime I tried to unsubscribe, nothing changed. I suspect, I'm not alone here!
Clown fish 7 months ago
I deleted the whole account. The emails stopped after a year
Load More Replies... Bob Brooce 7 months ago
LinkedIn is one of the biggest spammers in the world. If we know each other and you want to send me a message about your lined in account that's fine. I've never ha any kind of relationship with Linked in, so every single email they ever sent me met the legal definition of spam.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
I used to get (around 2012ish) spammed by people that I don't know on LinkedIn. I don't have a LinkedIn account, I never saw the point. I asked them nicely if they could do something like a block list to stop this rubbish being sent to me. Their reply was to tell me to set up an account to set my mail preferences. Bad answer. I threw together some software to periodically log into my mail server. If it found something from LinkedIn then it would copy it, delete it from the server, and then send a copy of it with an explanation message at the top to abuse@, postmaster@, and what looked like Ryan Roslansky's email. I also randomised the from email address to hurt simple block lists. I have no idea what went on because I never saw the messages, I just left it running for a year or two and when I turned it off, not a peep from LinkedIn. 👍 Maybe I'm blocked there? Oh diddums.
#42
I can't remember the app, it was many moons ago I saw this. But it was supposed to be geared toward aspiring photographers and giving them exposure, and you could rate other photos and do challenges. Essentially the ToS said that anything you post is now their property that they can use for whatever they want, including making money off of it.
#43
I didn't read this on the ToS but learned about it. Amazon apparently asked it's users: Do you want your voice data to be used for improving our future services?
You'd think replying No would stop the transfer of voice data? No. It would only not be used for improving future services. They'd still be able to do with it whatever they were doing till date.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
I don't understand why people would think it's a good idea to pay to install a corporate spy into their homes. Alexa, order me twenty tonnes of Barilla linguine. Alexa confirm order. 😂
Chonky Panda 7 months ago
We most ppl don't have any real secrets, they can take whatever they want from me 🤷🏻
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 7 months ago
I kept seeing ToS. Wondering what it stand for. Finally figured it out. Terms of Service.
#44
**TL;DR**
1) Don't make nuclear or biological weapons with Windows
2) Don't use Java to make biological or nuclear weapons because it can fail and k**l people
----------------------------
I was a kid, re-installing Windows on the down-low because I killed the computer with p**n yet again. Bored, was scrolling through the EULA. Couple fun things I found:
>6. EXPORT RESTRICTIONS. You agree that you will not export or re-export the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, any part thereof, or any process or service that is the direct product of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (the foregoing collectively referred to as the "Restricted Components"), to any country, person or entity subject to U.S. export restrictions. You specifically agree not to export or re-export any of the Restricted Components (i) to any country to which the U.S. has embargoed or restricted the export of goods or services, which currently include, but are not necessarily limited to Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, or to any national of any such country, wherever located, who intends to transmit or transport the products back to such country; **(ii) to any entity who you know or have reason to know will utilize the Restricted Components in the design, development or production of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons;** or (iii) to any entity who you know or have reason to know has been prohibited from participating in U.S. export transactions by any federal agency of the U.S. government. You warrant and represent that neither the BXA nor any other U.S. federal agency has suspended, revoked or denied your export privileges.
Not super surprising, and I'm pretty sure it's been commented on many times before, but still interesting. If you're making a nuke and use Windows to aid that process, Microsoft can take away your Windows. Nerr.
>7. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT. **The SOFTWARE PRODUCT may contain support for programs written in Java.** Java technology is not fault tolerant and is not designed, manufactured, or intended for use or resale as online control equipment in hazardous environments requiring fail-safe performance, such as in the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, direct life support machines, or weapons systems, **in which the failure of Java technology could lead directly to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage. Sun Microsystems, Inc. has contractually obligated Microsoft to make this disclaimer.**
This one I didn't see before. I gotta wonder why they had to put that in there. Was there already an incident? Is Sun saying that they're not taking responsibility for their software if you **are** making anthrax dirty-bombs with Windows (assuming you used Java)? Man, that's... uh... not a great look for Java. I mean, I get discouraging terrorists, but I wouldn't do so through insinuation that your software is *too unstable and buggy for them*. Though I can understand why they'd put that in there.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
I think this is a combination of American government paranoia and lawyers. After all, if humanity is all but wiped out because somebody made a Windows nuke and it BSOD'd and blew up in the wrong place... you just know one of the survivors will be a lawyer who will consider this their opportunity to make a name for themselves. I mean think about the damages for all but wiping out our species and most countries. Whoo. So to avoid this particular scenario, it is clearly stated that if you want to make a nuclear weapon, don't use Windows. Hmm, use Linux? 🐧
#45
AncestryDNA owns your DNA forever and can do what it likes with it. I forsee Jurassic park coming, but with people.
Edit: No duh there are already people walking around. I'm imagining a scenario more like we clone famous/infamous people for kicks and giggles. Kind of the like the hall of heads in Futurama.
Pheebs 7 months ago
I’m not sure the spit sample you send in could really be enough to create a new you. I suspect it’s more they own rights to your DNA results forever.
Bob Brooce 7 months ago
I suspect this is (yet another) example of somebody jumping to conclusions because they didn't understand what the TOS actually meant. The SnapChat one is probably the same. In most places you automatically have a copyright on any text/art/music/photos you create, so if you didn't grant a website a license to reproduce it every single time they copied that work to one of their servers or a users device they'd be violating the copyright.
Load More Replies... ॐBoyGanesh 7 months ago
They can & do cooperate with law enforcement databases. So, your DNA is on file. Hopefully, you’re not a criminal & they’ve no reason to use it. Until free speech becomes a crime!
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
If you want a DNA test, use an actual medical facility.
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Philly Bob 7 months ago
I wouldn't want a clone of myself. I could never live with that aśshole.
Michelle C 7 months ago
Yup. They alter or toss results they don’t like, either, some say. I have been a victim of the alteration pattern. It’s not cool and it’s not funny or cute, either.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
If you think about it, it's scary how much information they have about pretty much everyone and their ancestors.
#46
Pretty sure anyone who ever played the original Diablo also agreed sold their soul to the devil in the Terms and Conditions.
#47
Google can use anything you create on their platform without telling you or giving you a royalty.
Hippopotamuses 7 months ago
Wow. This is a surprise. What happened to "Don't be evil" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil
Toothless Feline 7 months ago
Oh, they abandoned “don’t be evil” years ago. They never truly believed it or tried to follow it, but they dropped the slogan itself a long time ago.
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 7 months ago (edited)
Tbh, they can use my s**t if they want to. It's not like anyone I know has come along asking to buy my creations from me in years. But I don't create things for profit. Just the joy of it.
#48
A friend of mine claims he actually read the whole Steam’s Terms and Conditions, apparently they can take away games from your library whenever they want regardless of how much you payed.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the games are essentially rented digital copies without a defined return date.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
Yes, you pay purchase prices to rent things. That's why I play games (infrequently) on an old PS2. I own the disc, I can play whatever as much as I want until physical hardware failure.
C. S. M 7 months ago (edited)
GOG(Great Old Games, GOG.com) doesn't do that garbage, and mirrors many Steam hits. Once you download from GOG, it can be yours forever. Steam is my 'check it out before buying' storefront for reviews, before I buy from GOG. I've got all my claimed and purchased Steam games downloaded and playable to avoid their being nuked. Also check out itch.io for lots of free games.
#49
Faceapp, the app that makes you look older that a lot of people have been using lately, basically says they can access everything on your phone and share it with whoever they want.
I also used to use this popular tuning app that had similar T&C when I was learning how to play an instrument. I never actually got a tuner after that so I haven't played since :(.
#50
Rakuten TOS gives them free access to all your emails.
nottheactualphoto 7 months ago
I don't know what Rakuten is, but it doesn't have access to my mail server.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
martin734 7 months ago (edited)
Reading this list, at least half of these insane terms and conditions violate consumer protection and data protection laws here in the UK. I don't know what it is like in the USA but here a contract cannot require you to waive any rights granted by law, especially regarding data privacy and consumer rights. Also, despite what the terms and conditions state, if you a providing a service or product to UK customers then it is UK law that is applied to any dispute, regardless of what country the provider of the service or product is from. This is something that the likes of Google, Amazon and Meta have found to their cost.
IORN 7 months ago
Ditto for the EU. And I'm sure some of those comments are outdated everywhere.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 7 months ago
I used to include something in my software licences to the effect of "Your agreement to the terms of this licence additionally requires that you are nice to kittens and accept cats of any age as your rightful overlords and masters". Never heard a peep out of anybody. It's just the c**p that nobody reads prior to clicking the "Yeah whatever" button.
superfluous 7 months ago
Yeah, by me writing this comment and BP posting it, and you reading it y'all agree to be bound by me to do anything I want 😉
martin734 7 months ago (edited)
Reading this list, at least half of these insane terms and conditions violate consumer protection and data protection laws here in the UK. I don't know what it is like in the USA but here a contract cannot require you to waive any rights granted by law, especially regarding data privacy and consumer rights. Also, despite what the terms and conditions state, if you a providing a service or product to UK customers then it is UK law that is applied to any dispute, regardless of what country the provider of the service or product is from. This is something that the likes of Google, Amazon and Meta have found to their cost.
IORN 7 months ago
Ditto for the EU. And I'm sure some of those comments are outdated everywhere.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 7 months ago
I used to include something in my software licences to the effect of "Your agreement to the terms of this licence additionally requires that you are nice to kittens and accept cats of any age as your rightful overlords and masters". Never heard a peep out of anybody. It's just the c**p that nobody reads prior to clicking the "Yeah whatever" button.
superfluous 7 months ago
Yeah, by me writing this comment and BP posting it, and you reading it y'all agree to be bound by me to do anything I want 😉
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