Yes, I agree to the terms… I think

We’ve all done it: We’re signing up for a new online service and we lie that we’ve read and agree to the terms and conditions. “It’s just impossible” to read them, claims Jan-Christoph Borchardt of Terms of Service; Didn’t Read. “It would take you 76 days every year to read all the terms you agree to on the web,” adds his partner Hugo Roy. Websites like Facebook are also constantly changing their terms, making it hard to keep up.

Jan-Christoph Borchardt, Hugo Roy and Michiel de Jong are the young entrepreneurs behind the ToS;DR project. Their plan is simple: To give you a breakdown of the terms and conditions so you don’t have to read them all. This young, Berlin-based startup aims to fix what they call “the biggest lie on the web.”  The trio explained the basics in their 3-minute Indiegogo video.

The project is community-run, so volunteers can read, discuss, and collectively rate the documents. Websites are then given a Classification from ‘A’ to ‘E’, with ‘A’ being the best. An A-rated website “treat[s] you fairly, respect[s] your rights and will not abuse your data.” By contrast, the E-rated websites “raise very serious concerns.” The site also gives a breakdown of the most important things you should know:

Whenever you click that you agree to terms or policies, you’re risking your privacy and giving up your the rights to your content. ToS;DR is an easy to way to answer questions like, “what are they doing with my data?” and, “are they tracking my activity?” Even if you only scan the ratings, look for the red ‘X’s’ that indicate the worst of the bunch:

They also have a simple browser extension that warns you when you’re visiting a low-rated website (download it for Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera).

Although the reviews for Facebook and Twitter are far from finished, they are already quite full. Both are criticized for allowing third parties to access your content, and Facebook’s critique actually lists names of companies they share your information with. It also says they give users a short timeframe (3 to 7 days prior) to reject the changes, but only if 30% of their 1 billion active users participate.

Out of all the websites currently under review, it worries me how many websites won’t allow you to delete your account. The reviews I’m excited for are mobile communication apps like Whatsapp. If I don’t read the terms online, I’m even less likely to read them on a phone screen. Although many users will still accept the terms no matter what, the website can help them choose alternative websites depending on their ratings.

When ToS;DR launched their Indiegogo fundraising campaign, they were already a team of 300 volunteers. At the close of the campaign last week, they had not only reached their €10.000 goal, but they also received another €10.000 grant from Google for Entrepreneurs. You can track their progress on their website, on Twitter, and on Facebook.