“I have read and agree to the Terms” is the biggest lie on the web. Every time I hastily check ‘Agree” in answering the question “I have read the Terms of Service” I have a brief thought something like “I... The post Have You Ever Read an Entire Terms of Service Agreement Before You Checked “Agree”? appeared first on Sharp Eye.
“I have read and agree to the Terms” is the biggest lie on the web.
Every time I hastily check ‘Agree” in answering the question “I have read the Terms of Service” I have a brief thought something like “I hope nothing dreadful was buried in there”. I suspect most of us do the same — rushing past the fine print to get to whatever we actually came to do.
I am sure that Terms of Service (ToS) contracts are obtuse, lengthy, and written in the tiniest font I’ve ever seen, on purpose, to make them off-putting and very boring. Corporate lawyers know that the average person will not take even five minutes to glance through the multiple pages, much less read it from beginning to end.
There are reasons, however, why we should all be more careful whenever we agree to anything without reading what it is, but particularly these types of agreements. Terms of service agreements are not consumer-friendly and by clicking on ‘Agree’ you could be:
- Giving up privacy rights you would not have agreed to if you knew.
- Agreeing to hidden fees you aren’t expecting.
- Waiving your rights to legal recourse.
Here are two examples of recent legal cases:
A couple was riding in an Uber when it ran a red light and was hit by another car. Both passengers sustained multiple injuries that required surgeries. They tried to sue Uber but a court ruled that they could not because of a related service agreement signed by their daughter using her mother’s phone. The ToS was for Uber Eats, but the ToS agreements are the same for Uber Eats and the Uber ride app, and in the ToS she signed she waived the right to take Uber and Uber Eats to court.
Another case was a service agreement for a one-month trial subscription to Disney + in 2019. In this case, a woman died eating in a Disney theme park after confirming with her waiter that what she had ordered was allergen-free. The ToS her husband had accepted for the one-month trial subscription to Disney+ streaming contained an arbitration clause agreement which allowed Disney to try to get the case dismissed. In arbitration cases, consumers are on their back foot and have the decks stacked against them. In the Disney case, it was only the public outcry that got Disney to back off asking the court for a dismissal.
This is a complicated issue. For an clear explanation of ToS and why we should all read them before we agree, watch this short 2 minute video.
Here is an example of what you’re agreeing to when you sign onto Facebook:
From the website of Terms of Service; DR
Facebook’s ToS allows Facebook to store your data whether you have an account or not, read your private messages, view your browser history, use your name and photo in ads, and hang onto any content you might have deleted. I found that information shocking.
To use a company’s product, you must agree to its Terms of Service — there’s no middle ground. If you choose to accept, make sure you actually understand the ToS first so you know exactly what you’re agreeing to.
To the rescue:
There is an app called Terms of Service; Didn’t Read (ToS;DR). It is a nonprofit, community-driven organization started in 2012 that analyzes, translates into plain language, and rates the terms and privacy policies of major websites and apps. Lawyers and law students translate the complex legal jargon into plain English and provide simplified actionable summaries. It gives services grades from Class A (fair) to Class E (bad) based on user privacy, data rights, and transparency.
Think about ToS;DR as providing Cliff Notes for the ToS if you’re old enough to remember Cliff Notes; for those not that old, think of it as an AI translation or summary.
Here are the explanations for their grades:
- A – These are the best terms of service. This web service treats you fairly, respects your rights, and will not abuse your data. Color: green.
- B – These terms of service are fair towards the user but could be improved. Color: light green.
- C – These terms of service are okay, but some issues require your consideration. Color: yellow.
- D – These terms of service are likely skewed against you, or there are some important issues that require your attention. Color: light red.
- E – These terms of service raise very serious concerns. Color: red.
- N/A – There is not enough data to determine the class. Color: grey
The site aims to highlight potential risks in data handling and user rights, and it is doing an excellent job based on the reviews. Beyond its ratings, the community element adds real value: users can join discussions and help evaluate services, making it a genuinely collaborative resource for consumers. I’m almost at the point where if they haven’t rated a website’s ToS I’m considering signing onto, I will try to find a similar offering by a company this app has reviewed and approved. I appreciate the founders and those who work there for their desire to protect consumers from unfair and undercover practices. We still should read any and all ToS we agree to!
Note: On May 4, 2026, The New York Times published an editorial about the Disney+ case and the increasing use of ‘forced arbitration’ which heavily favors corporations over individuals. “In small claims courts, consumers win as often as 89% of the time. Before the two leading U.S. arbitration providers, consumers win just 21 percent and 33 percent of cases.”
The post Have You Ever Read an Entire Terms of Service Agreement Before You Checked “Agree”? appeared first on Sharp Eye.
