You know how in real life and in even television, it's always made a point to thoroughly read a contract before a person actually signs it because the fine print might contain something you won't ever agree to? Say, for example, the deal, hidden from your knowledge, actually being life-binding (ok, kind of unrealistic, but it gets the point across!) in nature, or something like to that? You do? Okay, good. Well I just found out- and I never knew this before- that the "Terms of Service" window that pops out of your computer screen when you make online purchases, install new softwares, or even join a social networking site? Yup, it serves just the same purpose as a real-life, legitimate contract.
Most people (I admit, myself also included), do not bother to fully read the terms of use or privacy agreement. According to Jeff Sauro, founding principal of quantitative research firm Measuring Usability, no more than 8% of users typically read terms of service agreements in full before accepting them.And then there's me, according to Sauro's research, who belongs to the 70% of users who grow impatient after 12 seconds of scrolling through the terms. Hey, it's still a little better than the 21% who admit to just clicking on the "Agree" button immediately.
But even though Online Agreement Terms may not bear the threat of being bound to life with a contract, it could contain some hidden- and less than pleasant- items of agreement. The Business Insider has identified some of these items, and they are in the terms of:
- Giving up your right to file class-action lawsuits against the company (Business Insider points to new clauses inserted by Sony for its PlayStation network and Microsoft for its Xbox Live site).
- Agreeing to repeat billing of your credit card, once your annual subscription to a service is up (without your renewing and/or authorization).
- Authorizing a site to share and/or sell your information.
Issues like these make us think twice about making a dash for that "Agree" button. However, and in our defense, companies should also at least try to make their written terms of agreement less complicated, confusing, and time consuming. Others have already taken the step and have pushed for simpler formats which are easily understood by consumers.
I hope this blog post was as eye-opening for you as it was so for me. So the next time you're about to agree to some term of condition, remember to stop and read, or at least, take a skim at it first before you agree!
Original article and photo from here.
