Should We Read Terms & Conditions?

By: M. Marques

Do people really even read terms and conditions? 

​The answer is no. Most people choose to skip the reading because it is too long, complex, or simply because they think they won’t break any of the rules cited in the terms and conditions. Here’s another question: 

Do people have to read terms and conditions? 
The answer is a bit more complex. Imagine that there is a super popular app that everybody is downloading, and you just got it, but you’re stuck on reading the terms and conditions. Naturally, you would skip it and go straight to the app, since lots of other people have it, so the app must be trustworthy. This way of thinking is very common in real-life situations, like, for example, watching a movie. If everybody seems to like it, then you should go and watch it without having to search for reviews beforehand. The problem is, this philosophy can be faulty sometimes. If you want the product, you have no choice but to accept the terms of use, regardless of what it says. Since nobody reads them, this can lead to later misunderstandings of happenings that were justified in the  paragraphs of the terms and conditions, but were overlooked. 


If you want to be 100% sure of what your product requires of you, you can paste the text into an AI text simplifier and it will tell you what the terms and conditions are, which will save time!


You could also read it all, but terms and conditions are sometimes intentionally hard to read so that users never fully understand what they are signing up for. This is a business tactic, and it is working! 68% percent of people don’t bother to read a single word of these terms of use, and insincerely tick the “I have read the Terms and Conditions” box to get on to their product.


So, next time you’re faced with these lengthy Terms and Conditions, remember to be careful while accepting them!