Changes in policies are applied retroactively.
Explanation: This service requires that your behavior, and/or content, complies with the newest version of the regulations regardless of the time at which you have submitted it.
They store data on you even if you did not interact with the service
Explanation: Some services store data on you even if you did not provide that data yourself. For example, users might provide access to their address book, after which a service might also store the phone numbers of that person's contacts.
Your personal data is used for automated decision-making, profiling or AI training
Explanation: Personal data or content you share with the service may be processed to make decisions by automated means without human involvement. This includes profiling, which is any form of automated processing of your information to analyse or predict things like your economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests; as well as Artificial Intelligence training.
App required for this service requires broad device permissions
Explanation: The app of the service requires more device permissions than necessary. As a consequence it can compromise your privacy by accessing many functions and information from your device, such as precise location, contacts, device identifiers etc.
You must provide your identifiable information
Explanation: The Service requires users to provide their identifiable information, including phone number, iD number or other information, even though this data collection isn’t essential for the purposes of the service. They may still allow pseudonyms in the foreground.
Some personal data may be kept for business interests or legal obligations
Explanation: After the end of the data retention period and/or if you request the deletion of your data, they may still keep it for business interests (fraud detection, transactions...) or legal obligations (tax, legal reporting...)
This service shares your personal data with third parties that are not essential to its operation
Explanation: Your personal data is or may be given to third parties nonessential to the service’s operation. This could be a business partner that receives your data to provide targeted advertisements.
Many different types of personal data are collected
Explanation: The service collects different kinds of personal data, such as name, demographic information, postal address, biometric data, device information, IDs, contacts, call logs...
Your account can be deleted without prior notice and without a reason
Explanation: At any time, your account can be terminated without explanation and without warning by the service.
Information is gathered about you through third parties
Explanation: This Service may employ, either identifiable or non-identifiable, data collection from third party sources about you.
Extra data may be collected about you through promotions
Explanation: Additional personal data may be collected through contests, surveys, promotions, petitions or sweepstakes.
Your personal data may be sold or otherwise transferred as part of a bankruptcy proceeding or other type of financial transaction
Explanation: If the service gets acquired or is involved in a merger, bankruptcy, reorganisation or sale, your personal data may be transferred or sold.
You are being tracked via social media cookies/pixels
Explanation: These types of cookies/pixels send information to social media sites when you interact with the service.
This service tracks which web page referred you to it
Explanation: The service logs the URL of the last web page you visited before visiting the Site and may use that information to gather more data about you.
Instead of asking directly, this Service will assume your consent merely from your usage.
Explanation: The Service infers your acceptance from your continued usage, instead of prompting you to read the new Terms and asking for direct consent. This doesn’t apply to services that have no way to seek consent from users through their contact details or an account.
Your profile is combined across various products
Explanation: When using multiple services from one same company, they can combine these (unrelated) information sources about you to build up a single richer user profile about you.
Your personal data may be used for marketing purposes
Explanation: The service may use your personal data for marketing, such as sending you personalised offerings.
Your content can be licensed to third parties
Explanation: By posting content through the Services, users grant them a transferable and/or sublicensable right, which allows user content to be licensed to third parties.
If you offer suggestions to the service, they become the owner of the ideas that you give them
Explanation: The service can claim ownership on feedback, proposals, ideas and suggestions submitted by the users, who may waive their "moral rights" on that feedback.
You are forced into binding arbitration in case of disputes if living in Canada or the U.S.
Explanation: This service forces users to use their own contracted arbitrator and forces users to waive their rights to jury trial.
You waive your right to a class action.
Explanation: The right to be represented in a class action (or representative action) exists in the US and some European countries. It allows people who have been similarly injured by the same accused to take legal action by a single lawsuit instead of individually. Some Terms of Service try to limit that right. By agreeing to them, you could waive (= renounce to) your right to a class action, which might reduce your chances to be successful in a case.
You have a reduced time period to take legal action against the service
Explanation: If you wish to bring legal action against a service about a past incident, you may not be able to do so if the Terms you agreed to implied a limited amount of time. As a result it may be worthy to carefully read that section of the Terms to know exactly how much time you might have before your right to take legal action expires.
Your personal data is used for advertising
Explanation: Your interaction with the service and data you have shared with them may be gathered to create an advertising ID or profile to target ads on you, either on the website you were visiting or in third party websites.
This service assumes no liability for unauthorized access to your personal information
Your provided identifiable information is actively checked by the service
Explanation: The service checks if the required identifiable information you've provided is correct, and may do so on a regular basis. The check measures could be analyzing your browser information and/or providing the identifiable information to a third-party or the authority, thus compromising your anonymity.
Your provided identifiable information is actively checked by the service
Explanation: The service checks if the required identifiable information you've provided is correct, and may do so on a regular basis. The check measures could be analyzing your browser information and/or providing the identifiable information to a third-party or the authority, thus compromising your anonymity.
Usernames can be rejected or changed for any reason
Explanation: The service's terms explain they may change or remove usernames at their sole discretion, and they may do so without prior notice.
Any liability on behalf of the service is only limited to the fees you paid as a user
Third-party cookies are used for statistics
Explanation: For instance, Google Analytics, rather than self-hosted (first-party) statistics software.
Third party cookies are employed, but with opt out instructions
You can delete your content from this service
Explanation: You can ask the service to remove your content at any time, and it's deleted within a reasonable time.
You can limit how your information is used by third-parties and the service
Explanation: Usually it's related to the right to object to data processing or restrict it under the GDPR. Users may be able to refuse the use of their data for marketing purposes for instance.
The service may inform and/or notify you regarding government inquiries that may involve your personal data
Explanation: In case the Government governing the Terms requests personal data of a user of this service, they will make reasonable efforts to inform/notify the user (e.g. warrant canary).
You can request access, correction and/or deletion of your data
Explanation: Users have the right to access personal data hold by the Service, correct it and/or permanently delete it. This usually applies to Services GDPR compliants.
This service claims certain user-generated content like voice and video calls is encrypted, and they can not decrypt it
Explanation: The service claims that user-generated content is end-to-end encrypted, meaning only intended recipients can access or decrypt it. As a result, no unauthorized parties, including the service itself, can view the content.
This does not necessarily cover meta data, such as the date of creation or sender and recipient information.
You maintain ownership of your content
Explanation: This service does not claim ownership over user-generated content or materials, and the user doesn't need to waive any moral rights by posting owned content.
User accounts can be terminated after having been in breach of the terms of service repeatedly
Explanation: User accounts can be terminated for having been in breach of the terms of service repeatedly, meaning they cannot be terminated without a reason, but only for a limited number of reasons. Additionally, user accounts will not be deleted after a first infringement.
You aren’t forced into binding arbitration in case of disputes
Explanation: Binding Arbitration is a dispute resolution method involving a neutral third party which will render a decision instead of going to court. Since the arbitrator can decide the outgoing of a dispute without evidences or a legal basis, it is preferable that users decide whether they want or not their dispute to be resolved this way.
The court of law governing the terms is in a jurisdiction that is friendlier to user privacy protection (California, U.S.A.)
Explanation: The Terms are governed by the applicable laws of a jurisdiction known for protecting citizens privacy with strong data regulations. Usually contributors will need to explain in the Analysis view of each point linked to this Case why the jurisdiction is friendly to user privacy protection.
A list of all cookies set by the website is provided
Explanation: The service provides users with a complete list of all first and third party cookies its website sets and an explanation of their uses. This information can be valuable for users to make an informed choice whether to allow those cookies.
You can retrieve an archive of your data
Explanation: Users can request a copy of the data collected through the services and infer from it the amount of personal information that is processed and stored by the Service. This usually applies to Services GDPR compliants.
Information is provided about how your personal data is used
Explanation: The Privacy Policy explains the purposes for which data is collected and the way it is processed, used and shared.
Information is provided about what kind of information they collect
Explanation: The Privacy Policy describes in detail the data collected through the website and through the services provided.
Your personal data is not sold
Explanation: This service makes the claim that your personal data is not being sold, rented or traded with third parties. This, however, may not always be an accurate statement as it may be, more often than not, based entirely on a very loose legal definition on “selling”, whereas other jurisdictions may actually constitute their sharing of your personal data as “selling”.
Two factor authentication is provided for your account
Explanation: The service provides means of further securing your account with two factor authentification, thus greatly improving account security.
The service claims to be GDPR compliant for European users
Explanation: The service has a different behavior towards users protected by the GDPR.
The service claims to be LGPD compliant for Brazilian users
Explanation: The service has a different behavior towards users protected by the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais.
The service claims to be CCPA compliant for California users
Explanation: The service has a different behavior towards users protected by the California Consumer Privacy Act.
You have the right to leave this service at any time
Explanation: You can stop using the service and/or cancel or delete your account at any time for any reason. Moreover, the termination is reasonably fast and simple.
Information is provided about security practices
Explanation: It's important to know what security measures are taken to protect your data from unauthorized access. This case applies to the Agreements that precisely explain their security practices.
You can opt out of promotional communications
Explanation: You can update your account preferences and/or easily unsubscribe of email/sms lists to stop receiving promotional communications.
The service has non-exclusive use of your content
Explanation: The service can pay for your content and you are allowed to make it commercially available to other services/parties.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the service harmless in case of a claim related to your use of the service
Harming minors in any ways is prohibited
Explanation: This service prohibits harming minor in any ways. Since both “minor” and “in any ways” are vague and can be cited to restrict possibly any actions, the case is not classified as “good”.
You authorise the service to charge a credit card supplied on re-occurring basis
Explanation: You card will be billed on recurring basis unless cancelled. For instance, monthly or annual subscriptions.
The service assumes no liability for any damages the user incurs
Explanation: The service assumes no liability for any damages the user incurs, including tangible (e.g. profits) and intangible losses (e.g. data), resulting from the use or inability to use the service or any other matter relating to the service.
Blocking first party cookies may limit your ability to use the service
Explanation: Most browsers allow users to set preferences related to cookies storage. You may choose to block all cookies (including first-party cookies), but it may impact your use of this service and you may not be able to access some or any of the features provided.
They may stop providing the service at any time
Explanation: They may discontinue the services without prior notice, at any time, for any or no reason. They usually assume no liability for losses and damages resulting from this suspension.
Defend, indemnify, hold harmless; survives termination
This service does not condone any ideas contained in its user-generated contents
The service provider makes no warranty regarding uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free service
Explanation: The service provider expressly does not claim to provide uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free service.
You are prohibited from sending chain letters, junk mail, spam or any unsolicited messages
Explanation: Users are not allowed to use the service for chain letters, junk mail, spamming or any other distribution of content to people who have not agreed to receiving it.
You must create an account to use this service
Explanation: You must provide the service with your information in order to use it
You agree not to submit libelous, harassing or threatening content
Explanation: This service prohibits users from submitting content of a variety of types. This can include content that is unlawful, harassing, abusive, threatening, libelous, sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or discriminatory in any other way.
You are prohibited from attempting to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems
Explanation: The service does not allow any attempts at hacking or otherwise gaining unauthorized access to other users' computers.
Spidering, crawling, or accessing the site through any automated means is not allowed
No guarantee is given regarding quality
Explanation: The Service doesn't warrant or guarantee the quality of the products or services provided.
You are prohibited from posting content which promotes violence or politically or religiously extremist values.
Explanation: Users are not allowed to post extremist political or religious content. They are also not allowed to post content that glorifies violence.
The service is provided 'as is' and to be used at your sole risk
Explanation: This service does not provide any guarantees as to its usability or fitness for the users' purposes. Users agree to use it at their own risk, accepting any possible bugs, malfunctions or harm to their devices.
Users who have been permanently banned from this service are not allowed to re-register under a new account
Explanation: Once users have been permanently banned from this service, they are not allowed to create a new account to keep using the service.
This service is only available to users over 13 years old
Explanation: The Services are intended for users who are at least a certain age. If you are younger than the age required then you are prohibited from using the Service.
Your account can be suspended for several reasons
Your account can be suspended for several reasons
You agree not to use the service for illegal purposes
Explanation: The user agrees not to commit any unlawful acts through the use of the website, including the posting of illegal content or messaging.
First-party cookies are used
Explanation: First-party cookies only belong to the domain of the service and not a third party.
Your personal data is aggregated into statistics
Explanation: Your personal data is used for statistics in a de-identified/aggregated form (i.e. not directly linked to a unique identity) to analyse trends, for research and for analytics.
This service informs you that its Terms of Service does not apply to third party websites
Explanation: The service states that whenever it links to third party websites or applications, its Terms of Service does not apply. Those third party websites or applications hosted or operated by other organizations may have their Terms of Service.
The service does not guarantee accuracy or reliability of the information provided
Explanation: This service makes no warranty regarding the accuracy or reliability of any information that is given on its website or the results that may be obtained from the use of the service.
You cannot distribute or disclose your account to third parties
Explanation: In this context third-parties refers to anyone including friends, family, or company
You must report to the service any unauthorized use of your account or any breach of security
Explanation: The service asks the user to notify them immediately of any unauthorized use or security breaches.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and for the activities on your account
Explanation: You are responsible for protecting the confidentiality of your password and for maintaining the security of your account. Any activity occurring under your account is your responsibility, whether authorized by you or not.
First-party cookies are used
Explanation: First-party cookies only belong to the domain of the service and not a third party.
Other applicable rules, terms, conditions or guidelines
Explanation: Use of the service is subject also to an exhaustive list of other documents containing rules, guidelines, terms or policies (in addition to the obvious Terms of Service/Terms of Use and Privacy Policy/Data Use Policy)
Third parties are involved in operating the service
Minors must have the authorization of their legal guardians to use the service
Explanation: Minors must have the authorization of their legal guardians to use the services. The legal guardians are responsible for the use of the service by the minor.
The service is not responsible for linked or (clearly) quoted content from third-party content providers
Explanation: Weight used to be 50.
Minors must have the authorization of their legal guardians to use the service
Explanation: Minors must have the authorization of their legal guardians to use the services. The legal guardians are responsible for the use of the service by the minor.
Your IP address is collected, which can be used to view your approximate location
Explanation: This service requires that your behavior, and/or content, complies with the newest version of the regulations regardless of the time at which you have submitted it.