Terms of Service feat. Zoom

I have never read the Terms of Service to any app, social network, etc. I always skim the first few sentences, think what a waste of time it is, click accept, and then forget they even exist until I stumble upon the next one.

This week we were tasked to read the Terms of services of an app/website. I chose to read Zoom’s Terms of Service, mostly because Zoom has become such a large part of my daily life. Zoom’s terms of services were long but compared to some that have spanned well over 4 pages, it’s an easier read. Something I thought was interesting in the Terms of Service was that Zoom will notify a user if they have been recorded or if someone has accessed their content without permission. Also, Zoom makes sure to state that they are not liable for anything that may go wrong and that by agreeing to the Terms of Services, users understand their liability. I think that is scary for most users because if we do not read the Terms of Service then how are we supposed to know what we are agreeing to.

I felt like Zoom’s Terms of Service was relatively easy to understand, however, like most terms of service it was still filled with corporate lingo and words big enough to scare the dictionary. I feel like companies use this as a diversion strategy so that customers will not read the Terms of Service. This leads to customers being surprised when they find out the company sells their data or does some other immoral but not technically illegal thing.