TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

"By clicking you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy"

I'm guessing your eyes already glossed over and you're considering not reading any more of this.

Except that's what lots of companies want.

Researchers at two universities conducted a study where they asked students to join a fictitious networking website, and as part of the process, asked the participants to agree to terms of service that included the following:

"3.1.1 NameDrop Data […] Any and all data generated and/or collected by NameDrop, by any means, may be shared with third parties. For example, NameDrop may be required to share data with government agencies, including the U.S. National Security Agency, and other security agencies in the United States and abroad. NameDrop may also choose to share data with third parties involved in the development of data products designed to assess eligibility. This could impact eligibility in the following areas: employment, financial service (bank loans, insurance, etc.), university entrance, international travel, the criminal justice system, etc. Under no circumstances will NameDrop be liable for any eventual decision made as a result of NameDrop data sharing."

2.3.1 Payment types (child assignment clause): In addition to any monetary payment that the user may make to NameDrop, by agreeing to these Terms of Service, and in exchange for service, all users of this site agree to immediately assign their first-born child to NameDrop, Inc. If the user does not yet have children, this agreement will be enforceable until the year 2050. All individuals assigned to NameDrop automatically become the property of NameDrop, Inc. No exceptions.

Go back and read both of those paragraphs carefully if you didn't notice anything.

The study found that only 15% of participants had any concerns about the policies and only nine (9) people (less than 2% of participants) worried about giving away their first born.

No, most companies are not actually going to attempt to take your offspring, or give all your personal information to the NSA, but that doesn't mean they have your best interests in mind.

As I tell people regularly, if you are not paying for it then YOU are the product. YOU are what is being sold.

Luckily, there are a couple of non-profits looking out for you.

One is TS;DR (Terms of Service; Didn't Read) which rates companies on their terms of service and privacy policies. You can check to see how a service you use stacks up at https://tosdr.org

Another is the Mozilla Foundation's *Privacy Not Included, which focuses on internet connected devices and how good of job they do at securing your privacy. You can peruse their list at https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/

I realize that's not a lot, considering how many sites and services we are all signed up for, but it's a start, and hopefully it'll make you a little more aware as to what you might be giving away when you click that agree button.

Michelle

Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Apple Privacy Policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/
Microsoft Privacy Policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/
Facebook Privacy Policy : https://www.facebook.com/policy.php

"The Biggest Lie on the Internet: Ignoring the Privacy Policies and Terms of Service Policies of Social Networking Services" Information, Communication & Society, pp. 1-20, 2018. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2757465

Michelle's Tech Security Handout: https://olliatwvu.org/media/5596/technology-security.pdf