Earlier this year, Amazon launched the Echo Show, which is exactly what it sounds like: a version of its Echo smart speaker that includes a seven-inch color screen so it can show users photos, videos, and messages. One of the device’s selling points is that users can watch YouTube videos on it… or they could before Google removed their access. [More]
terms of service
If You Use Services Like Venmo For The Wrong Purpose, You Could Lose Money
By 7.20.17
There are a plethora of peer-to-peer payment options on the market, think Venmo, Facebook Payments, or Square Cash. Each offer users an easy, convenient way to transfer money between people, but many have very specific intended uses; some are for paying your friends, others are for buying goods or paying for services. Some can be used for both, but may require different accounts. It’s important to know the difference, lest you become the latest victim of a scam or simply become shut out from your account. [More]
Study: 98% Of Us Will Sign Away Our Firstborn Because We Don’t Read The Terms Of Service
By 7.13.16
“Click here if you have read and agree to the Terms of Service.” How many times in your life — heck, how many times just this month, or this year — have you hovered over that little ticky box without bothering to click the TOS link first? Or scrolled straight to the bottom of a pop-up window with 17 pages of boring legalese in it, just to continue installation? If your answer is anything other than “all the times,” you are in a very, very small minority. [More]
VTech’s Latest User Agreement Lets Company Skirt Liability For Future Hacks
By 2.9.16
Last year, a data breach of VTech’s Learning Lodge app store exposed personal information for millions of parents and children. While the company claims to have improved its security to prevent future hacks, it also looks like VTech has given itself a way out of liability for anything bad that might happen. [More]
How To Opt Out Of Getting Phone Calls, Texts From Pandora Under Music Service’s Updated Contact Policy
By 7.16.15
Proving that it’s always a good idea to thoroughly read any changes in a company’s terms of service, even if you really don’t want to because it’s just so many words, Pandora customers might be interested to know that they could be getting phone calls, text messages or even videoconferencing calls from the company in the future if they don’t opt out. [More]
Some Of Those Threats Weren’t Empty: 25% Of Instagram Users May Have Quit Over TOS
By 12.28.12
UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: It seems those numbers from AppData indicating that Instagram is leaking users aren’t quite all they’re cracked up to be. To that end, a spokeswoman for Instagram denies the app is losing users, saying in a statement: “We continue to see strong and steady growth in both registered and active users of Instagram.” [More]
It Was Only A Matter Of Time: Instagram Hit With Civil Lawsuit Over Terms Of Service
By 12.26.12
While many of us were hanging our stockings with care on Monday evening, Facebook and Instagram were facing a far less cheery Christmas present in the form of a proposed class action lawsuit filed in a federal court in California. Nothing says “Happy Holidays” like a little legal action against a ginormous social network, right? [More]
Instagram’s Most Followed User Kim Kardashian Might Totally Break Up With It
By 12.20.12
Despite the backpedaling Instagram performed on Tuesday night in the wake of a widespread backlash against its controversial new terms of service and privacy policy, the social media service is still facing the prospect of losing a lot of users. And if it loses its most followed user, things could be even worse. Do you really want Kim Kardashian to leave and possibly take a chunk of her 5.7 million followers with her, Instagram? Well, do ya? [More]
Don’t Like Instagram’s New Terms Of Service & Privacy Policy? Quitting Is The Only Way Out
By 12.18.12
It seems like every week users of social network Instagram have been seeing more and more changes, all leading the service down the merry path toward becoming more and more like its parent company, Facebook. There was the Twitter card break-up, followed by the revelation that yes, Instagram would get ads. And now the service has updated its terms of service and privacy policy in ways that might see a whole lot of users fleeing for good. [More]
Microsoft Updates Service Agreement To Make It Easier To Read The New Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clause
By 8.31.12
While we appreciate that Microsoft has made its online services agreement much easier to read, the update comes with a questionable addition: a shiny new mandatory binding arbitration clause with class action waiver. The clause states that you agree to settle any legal disputes (except intellectual property rights disputes) in either the small claims court in your county of residence or Microsoft’s, or through the arbitration procedure outlined in the agreement. Microsoft announced that this change was coming awhile back, and has already added similar language to its XBOX Live service. [More]
Terms Of Service Too Long? This Site Reads Them For You
By 8.9.12
You don’t always read the Terms of Service before accepting them. Not for hardware, not for software, not for websites. We’re fairly certain that no one ever does. (Someone out there, please prove us wrong.) What we really needed all along is a service that reads over all of that legal language and gives you the highlights of the ToS, then explains which features are good or are bad for you as a consumer. Now that service exists. It even has little pictures that tell you which parts of the ToS are good or bad. Meet ToS;DR. [More]
Netflix: We Can Murder Your Account With No Notice At Our Whim
By 7.20.10
It’s amazing what we agree to every day when we scroll through infinite screens of dense legalese to click the box that said we’ve read and agree to abide by the terms of service on various sites. Brandon discovered that Neftlix users have all consented for the company to stop its endless supply of movie and TV shows for any reason whatsoever. [More]
Groupon Shows How To Properly Explain TOS Changes
By 5.18.10
Groupon is a daily deal sort of website, but the reason it’s on Consumerist today is because of how well it communicated some recent changes to its Terms of Service agreement. Consumerist reader Pureboy sent in a copy of the email he recently received where the website explained the changes in plain English, with examples. [More]
Senator Asks FTC To Provide Privacy Guidelines For Facebook, Other Social Networks
By 4.26.10
Senator Charles Schumer is upset on your behalf over Facebook’s latest loosening of its privacy policies, and yesterday he called for the FTC to step in and provide some guidance, offering to introduce legislation if the agency feels it needs that extra authority. Specifically, Schumer wants three things: opt-out defaults should be switched to opt-in, sites should always disclose where the information is going, and there should be some general “guidelines for user privacy” that sites follow. [More]
Sony Says It Can Take Away Data, Content With Updates At Will
By 4.23.10
Sloopydrew says Sony sent him a new terms of service email with some harrowing declarations about the company’s rights to screw with your gadgets as it sees fit — sort of a retroactive justification for taking away the ability to install another operating system on the PS3 hard drive. [More]
Citibank To Customer: Charge $750 And We Won't Gouge You So Badly
By 11.18.09
Mike says Citibank boosted his interest rate to 20 percent, then said they’d knock off half of it as long as he paid on time and charged at least $750 a month.
AmEx Sends Legal Notice Warning Of Random Denials
By 11.17.09
Steve says American Express sent him an off-putting letter letting him know it could refuse to authorize his charge at any time. He writes:
