3 possible consequences of accepting without reading the terms and conditions of use of the applications (and what to do about it).

Pedro_P

How many times have you accepted without reading the terms of service of an application or website?


▼ “I have read and accept the terms  and conditions of use.”

How many times have you read this  phrase? Probably more than you can  remember.

Especially since last May 25 was  approved in Europe the new  R egulation General Data Protection   (GDPR, for its acronym in English), the question is repeated more than  ever in every corner of the web.

It also happens every time you  update WhatsApp, Facebook or the  operative version of the  software   that your cell phone uses, or when  you download an application in the  Google store or the Apple store.

Many times, we click  “Accept”   without stopping to read the  conditions of use, either due to lack  of time or interest (or both).

Alistair Alexander, director of the  Tactical Technology Collective  ( Tecnología Táctica Colectiva, in  Spanish), an international  non-governmental organization to  promote the rights of Internet users,  says it is “common” to accept them  without reading.

That is why it is usually advisable to  read the fine print.

And what can happen if you do not?  Below, we explain three possible  scenarios (and what you can do  about it).

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1. That the company cancels  the services suddenly

One of the clauses that can be  included in the tedious “terms and  conditions of service” is that which  gives the company responsible for  the application the right to suspend  or cancel services at any time.

They could cut the  cable at any time…

This is the case with the digital  storage application  Dropbox  ,  “which means that it could be that  from one day to the next, your entire  account disappears and you run out  of the data stored on your servers”,  reads the Office’s blog. of Security of  the Internaut (OSI), employee of the  government of Spain.

• What can you do about it?

“If the users of this service were  aware of this clause, they would all  make  backup copies of  the  information they store or  synchronize  in this service, to avoid a possible scare”, warn from the OSI.

They also recommend using an  alternative service when making  these backups “so as not to lose  information the day that Dropbox  decides to suspend or cancel their  services”.

And, beyond Dropbox, computer  experts advise making backup  copies, preferably encrypted.

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2. Have access to all your photos,  messages  or  location

“In theory,  Instagram  is free to do  what they like with your photos,” the  Softonic  software company website  reports.

And is that when you install the  app   and accept the terms and conditions  of use, you grant them a  “non-exclusive” use license on the  content you post.

But you also give him the right to use other information, such as your exact location.

You  may be giving  access to your photos to an  application just by accepting the  terms of use.

It also happens with  Google  Assistant  – or  Siri,  Apple’s voice  assistant – who can “read, interpret  and interact with your text  messages,” they explain on  Andro4all, a website specializing in  news about the Google operating  system.

• What can you do about it?

To cancel or limit the applications  that have access to your photos, you  can go to the “Privacy” section. In  the section “Photos” you will find the complete list of the applications that  you have installed on the cell phone  to which you gave access to your  photos. Within that same section you can accept or deny access.

And remember that those images  may contain additional data that you  may not want to share, such as the  date and place where you took them.

As for the location, you should go to  the application in question -for  example, Instagram- and choose the  option you want: “Always”, “Never”  or “While using the  app  “. The same  goes for the voice assistant: choose  yourself what options you give  permission to.

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3. Sell your data to third  parties
”Facebook  shares your information  (name, list of friends and public  information) with many other  services such as Bing, Pandora,  TripAdvisor or Yelp automatically,”  they indicate from Softonic.

It also happens with other  apps  like  Amazon, “that can sell your data to  third parties in case there is a transfer of companies.”

• What can you do about it?

Even if you have accepted the terms  of use, you have an option so that  this does not happen:  disable it  manually  , indicate from Softonic.

Within the “Privacy” option in the  application, define to which  applications you give permission.

Privacy options within apps can give you more freedom  over how you share your data.

►Version translated into English from: Source

bsk

informative

Injohny

My company had to pay penalty for over usage of free software Toad as the licence said if the free users go above 25, you have to pay.

Buddha480

Did it even with CraxMe ....LOL