All fine print · Digital
The important part of terms of service
Nobody reads them and everybody agrees to them. Four clauses do all the work: what happens to your content, how disputes are handled, when they can close your account, and how the terms change.
The four parts that decide it
The licence you grant over your content
You almost always keep ownership and grant a licence. The words that matter are worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable and royalty-free, and how many of them appear together.
Dispute resolution
Binding arbitration and class-action waivers decide whether you could ever realistically complain. This is the clause companies fight hardest to keep, which tells you what it is worth.
Termination of your account
Whether they need a reason, whether you get notice, and whether you can export your data afterwards. "At our sole discretion, without notice" is the standard and it is worth knowing you accepted it.
How the terms change
Most say they can change at any time and continued use is acceptance. The good ones commit to notifying you of material changes; the number that do is smaller than you would hope.
The traps
- Automatic renewal at a price that is not the price you signed up at.
- A licence broad enough to use your content in the company's own advertising.
- Liability capped at the amount you paid in the last month, which for a free service is zero.
Red flags
- A class-action waiver plus arbitration in a jurisdiction you have never visited.
- The right to change the service or discontinue it entirely with no refund of prepaid time.
- No data export mechanism mentioned anywhere in the document.
Three easy wins
- Export your data now, while you still have an account. It is the only clause you control.
- Check the arbitration opt-out window. Many terms allow it within 30 days of signing up.
- Screenshot the pricing page on the day you subscribe. It is the only version you will ever see.
Questions
Do I really own my photos after posting them?
Almost always yes: you keep copyright and grant a licence. The licence, however, is usually wide enough that ownership stops feeling like much.
Are terms of service legally binding if nobody reads them?
Generally yes. Courts have limited them at the edges, particularly surprising or unfair clauses, but the default is that clicking accept binds you.
Now do it to the actual document
Paste the contract into the tool and see which sentences it thinks matter. Then check them against the four parts above.
Open the toolNot legal advice. This is a checklist of what to look for, written to be useful in any country. It is not advice on your document, your situation or your jurisdiction, and the law where you live may say something different. For anything that matters, pay a professional for an hour of their time.