You've agreed to more contracts than any generation before you. Every app, every account, every free trial comes with a Terms of Service document that you almost certainly did not read. Nobody does. The average Terms of Service takes 20 to 30 minutes to read in full — and a 2017 Deloitte survey of 2,000 US consumers found that 91% of people accept them without reading a word. For people under 35, that number rises to 97%.
The companies writing these documents know this, which is why the parts that matter most are buried deepest.
You'll see the rules-of-use document labeled differently depending on the service: Terms of Service, Terms and Conditions, Terms of Use. They're largely the same thing. Privacy Policies are technically separate documents, focused specifically on how your data is collected and used. They're worth checking for the same reasons, and several red flags below apply to both.
This isn't a lecture about how you should read every ToS before agreeing (you won't, and neither will I). It's a practical guide to the specific clauses worth finding: the ones that have actually cost people money, legal rights, and control over their own data, and how to spot them in under two minutes.
Why bother reading a privacy policy at all?
Because the consequences of not reading them are real.
In 2023, Zoom quietly updated its Terms of Service to include language granting them rights to use your video calls, recordings, and transcripts to train AI models. The backlash was immediate once people noticed. Weeks later. By then, the new terms had been in effect long enough that Zoom's position was that users had consented by continuing to use the service.
Meta did the same thing in 2024 with creator content. X/Twitter updated their policy in October 2024 to allow third-party AI training on user posts. Figma auto-opted users into AI training on their design files in early 2025.
None of these updates were announced prominently. All of them were technically disclosed, in the terms you didn't read.
The other reason is legal standing. In the US, most consumer services now include arbitration clauses that waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit. In plain English: if the company does something harmful to a million users, those users can't band together and sue. Each person has to pursue their claim individually in private arbitration, a process most people never start because the cost and complexity aren't worth it for small claims. That's the point.
The red flags that actually matter
Not every clause in a Terms of Service is worth worrying about. Most of it is boilerplate that no lawyer would ever act on. But these specific patterns have shown up repeatedly in high-profile disputes, and they're worth knowing.
1. "You grant us a license to your content"
This one shows up in almost every social platform ToS, and the details vary enormously. A narrow license lets the platform display your content to other users. That's reasonable, that's what you signed up for. A broad license lets them sublicense your content to third parties, use it for commercial purposes, or train AI models on it.
The phrase to look for: "royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable license." If you see all four of those words together, the license is broad. That's not automatically disqualifying, but you should know it's there.
2. Arbitration clauses and class action waivers
If you see a section titled "Dispute Resolution" or "Binding Arbitration," read it carefully. This is the clause that strips your right to sue in court and join class action lawsuits.
Discord's 2024 forced arbitration update is the best recent example of why this matters. They updated their terms to include mandatory arbitration and gave users a 30-day window to opt out by emailing a specific address. Most people missed it entirely. The update was communicated the same way every other routine terms change is communicated. After the window closed, every Discord user who didn't opt out is now legally bound to arbitration for any future dispute.
The phrase to look for: "you waive any right to a jury trial" or "class action waiver." If the ToS includes an opt-out right, it's usually buried at the bottom of the dispute resolution section with a specific email address and a short window.
3. AI training clauses
Given how aggressively companies moved to capture AI training rights in 2023 through 2025, this has become one of the most important things to check in any new sign-up. The language varies but usually appears near the data use or intellectual property sections.
Phrases that indicate AI training rights: "improve our products and services," "develop and improve AI and machine learning," "train models using your content." Some are explicit, others are indirect. "Improve our services" is vague enough to cover AI training without saying so.
4. "By continuing to use the service, you accept any changes to these terms"
This is how companies update their terms without requiring you to actively agree again. It's legal and extremely common, but it means that when a company sends you an email saying "we've updated our Terms of Service," that email is not an invitation to review and decide. It's a notification that changes are already in effect.
The practical implication: services you signed up for years ago may have terms that look nothing like what you originally agreed to.
5. Data retention after account deletion
Most privacy policies will tell you what data they collect. Fewer are upfront about what happens to that data when you close your account. Look for a "data retention" section. It will often specify that they retain certain data for a period after deletion ("up to 90 days"), or that some data is retained indefinitely in "anonymized" or "aggregated" form.
"Aggregated and anonymized" sounds more protective than it is. Multiple studies have demonstrated that even anonymized datasets can be re-identified when cross-referenced with other data sources.
How to read long Terms of Service fast
You don't have to read the whole thing. You need to find the sections that matter.
Open the document and use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to search for these terms in sequence:
- "arbitration" — takes you straight to the dispute resolution section
- "license" — finds the content rights section
- "AI" or "machine learning" or "train" — surfaces any AI training language
- "retain" or "retention" — shows you the data retention policy
- "third party" or "third-party" — reveals data sharing with external partners
- "changes" or "modifications" — explains how they notify you of updates
Six searches, each takes 30 seconds to skim. That's the realistic version of reading a Terms of Service: not the full document, but the parts that have historically been used against users.
The checklist
If you want a quick reference before agreeing to a new service:
- Is there a binding arbitration clause? Is there an opt-out, and when does it expire?
- How broad is the content license? Does it include sublicensing or AI training?
- Does the privacy policy specify what data is retained after account deletion?
- Are there AI or machine learning training rights granted on your content or data?
- How are future changes to the terms communicated: active consent required, or continued-use acceptance?
None of this takes long once you know what to look for. The point isn't to become a lawyer. It's to stop being surprised.
TermAlert is a free Chrome extension that does this automatically. It intercepts agree and sign-up buttons, analyzes the Terms of Service using AI, and gives you a plain-English verdict before your click registers. Install it here.