40 Hilarious Discoveries People Made By Not Skipping The Terms And Conditions
Let’s be honest: most of us scroll right past the “Terms and Conditions” without reading a single word. Whether we’re installing a new app, signing up for a service, or updating software, those lengthy legal documents are usually just something we blindly agree to. But someone on Reddit dared to ask: “For the few that have actually read any terms and conditions, what sneaky things have you found?” And surprisingly, a number of people had some wild, bizarre, and downright alarming answers.
Here are some of the most memorable and sneaky discoveries shared in the thread.
#1
Image source: ArikBloodworth, Mick Haupt / Unsplash
Back in the day when people [legally] acquired new music by buying CDs, one of the bands I listened to would hide nice little messages to fans in the copyright/legal fine print in the booklet that came with the CD. Sometimes there would be a small link to a hidden part of their website that had extra content.
#2
Image source: oak_sway, freepik
At a gun range one time I saw that if I yelled out “I love dogs!” my time and anything I buy is half price. I immediately did so, startling my best friend. That was awesome.
The contract to a job I had working in the desert warned about the frequency of alien attacks. I was disappointed to go a year and a half without any, though.
#3
Image source: sirgog, Getty Images / Unsplash
A while ago (~2011) there was a scam “Work from Home” service widely advertised all over Facebook and other places, promising enormous paycheques and a free trial. (It was an opt-out subscription service as you might expect).
Curious as to how the scam worked, I looked at their T&Cs.
There was a clause in there requiring you to pay $10000 in compensation to the company if you filed a chargeback against their fees.
Whilst that would never stand up in court, dealing with debt collectors who might conveniently offer to settle for ‘a mere three thousand’ would be all sorts of hell.
#4
Image source: rivigurl, flickr
Something that I wish I read was on Fabletics online store. Apparently if you make any purchase they automatically sign you up to their VIP program which is a $50 per month subscription for “VIP clothes”. I made one purchase on their site, checked out like any other online store, and got my clothes a week later. 8 months go by and I notice a -$50 taken out of my bank from Fabletics (I check my bank pretty often so idk how I missed this) and it turned out to be a recurring payment for 8 MONTHS. I called their support line and explained to the guy that I never signed up for their subscription and I never even received any sign up confirmation emails or payment statements to know what was happening. He said I most likely signed up when I purchased my clothes 8 months ago because it’s in their terms. It’s like once you “sign up” they ghost you and take your money every month. It took a lot of frustration and refusal to hang up the phone until they finally said I can get a refund of my $400+ that was just sitting in my VIP account. I was like “clearly I was unaware of this because from the past 8 months I haven’t made any more purchases on your stupid site, give me my money back.” They finally refunded it all back. F*****g scammers. Don’t buy s**t from Fabletics.
I still should leave an online review about it because after looking up “Fabletics scam” it seems to happen to a lot of people.
#5
Image source: _eg0_, clintmckoy / Unsplash
Thank you customer for actually reading our terms and conditions. Send us an E-mail with the following content and we will send you a free box of chocolates.
They did indeed send chocolate.
#6
Image source: PhilipLiptonSchrute, Tahir osman / Unsplash
In the hiring contract for the last company I worked for, there was a line buried on page like 22 that said if you email a certain email address on your first day saying you saw the line, you’d get a bonus day of PTO for the year.
#7
Image source: Sheraff33, Kobe Kian Clata / unsplash
Gym membership contract: one of the reasons that will **not** allow waving your resignation fee is “in case of a nuclear reactor core melting”.
#8
Image source: 69poop420, Getty Images / Unsplash
Idk if this is super surprising, but I read the entire lease for my first apartment and apparently, I couldn’t get out of my lease even if I DIED.
#9
Image source: plate0221864onice, Kake / Flickr
Gamestation once made an “Immortal Soul Clause” on April Fool’s day, to prove that no-one actually reads the terms and conditions. It read ” By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. “.
#10
Image source: FaustusC, William Hook / Unsplash
Apps that demand access to your call history, keyboard, internet and photos, when they’re literally just a flashlight.
#11
Image source: NovaPokeDad, freepik
I’m a lawyer. Whenever undergrads tell me they want to go to law school, I tell them to read the entire iTunes terms and conditions, without skipping a single sentence. If they can’t get through it, they don’t have the discipline and attention to detail for law school.
#12
Image source: RamsesThePigeon, Shkuru Afshar / wikipedia
Amazon’s AWS Service Terms contain a clause pertaining to a **zombie apocalypse**.
No, really:
>However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.
#13
Image source: smellycattttttt, Lala Azizli / unsplash
On amazon: anytime they want they can take away from me the books thats I’ve bought on kindle store.
#14
Image source: dixthemean, Getty Images / Unsplash+
I don’t know if they changed it but, when you chose the “fragile” obtion in a mail system like FedEx, that didn’t ment they would take special care of it but that you admitted that it was fragile and therefore it could be broken without being their fault, leaving you unable to sue them for breaking your package or to ask any reimbursement.
#15
Image source: TamponLoveTaps, WestportWiki
I had a Victoria’s Secret coupon that said Canadians are required to pass a math question or test in order to be eligible for the discount.
I think I still have it at my desk – my job in part is writing terms and conditions, agreements, and disclosures for the bank I work at so I actually do read a lot of T&Cs in homage to the amount of time my colleagues in the field put into writing 18 pages of s**t no one but examiners read. The Canadian math requirement is the strangest I’ve ever seen.
#16
Image source: ewux_eva, Collabstr / unsplash
If you make money on TikTok, the owners can rightfully take the money.
loopsydoopsy:
They can also use your videos in their advertisements without your permission, even if the videos are private. Cody Ko had to deal with this.
_NITRISS_:
Hippity hoppity your Tik-Tok is my property
#17
DeviantArt’s ToS is basically a contract allowing them to print, reproduce, and profit from your art (if they so choose) without needing your permission or consent.
Usually this takes the form of ads or contests, where they’ll be used in public displays. If you post works that show a high level of technical skill, then you need to either sign it or use a big ol’ watermark.
#18
Image source: th1nker, freepik
A job schedule app my company uses requires you to login using the company email. To set this up on your phone, you have to give your company the rights to erase the contents of your phone remotely, probably in case you become a threat to the company. No thanks.
#19
Image source: ExxInferis, Dimitri Karastelev / Unsplash
WhatsApp, when it went full-Facebook 4 years after purchase, sent out an Android update.
The update said it was just adding the ability to give group chats a sub-heading.
What it was *actually* doing was giving Facebook permission to take information. This option was enabled by default (of course it was) and you had only 3 months to notice this had happened before the option to opt out was disabled.
I was late noticing this, but when I read the terms and conditions, the last line said something along the lines of, “Even if you opt out, Facebook and the Facebook family of companies will *still* take the data for…..training purposes.”
Aaaaand deleted my account. They probably had my info by that point but f**k that s**t. Installed Signal.
#20
Wanted to sign my kid up for cheerleading. Sat there and read the terms and agreement. Said something along the lines of “We are not responsible for any accidents that occur in the transportation of your child.” My husband lost his brother in a school transportation accident and they initially tried to avoid the blame. So naturally that line gave us the heebie jeebies and we just left. Turns out they were just a shady company all around. She now does cheer through her school.
Image source: anon
#21
While buying a train ticket in Russia : “if the train breaks down, don’t think of this as a way to get compensation. Consider it a part of the Russian experience.”.
Image source: Yu11a
#22
Found this quite a few years ago on chive:
“Anyone submitting photos to Us also agrees to name their first born son, or daughter, Leo and second born child, John. If you stop reproducing after the first child, you must agree to acquire a Panda Bear from China and name it John.
Resignation Media not only owns the rights to any photos you upload, but also owns the rights to your mom. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your mom, and any claims you or your family may have on her, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from Resignation Media. In the event your dad or your mom’s parent(s) intervene and claim joint-ownership of your mom, Resignation Media reserves the right to b***h slap them and give all parties Justin Bieber haircuts. If, upon receiving your mom, she attempts to leave theCHIVE’s kitchen, where she belongs, she too will be given a Justin Bieber haircut.”
EDIT: this was about 6y ago & they have since changed it
Image source: no-you-hang-up-first
#23
Image source: LiveShowOneNightOnly, freepik
I showed up for a medical procedure once and the front desk nurse handed me a 3-page form to sign. I started reading it, and she got visibly annoyed, so I kept reading. Found on 2nd page a sentence like this: patient agrees to pay all billing amounts resulting from this procedure. I asked, what does this include? Can you provide me with an estimate of the charges. She said no. I said I am not signing it, because the doctor could throw in a 3-week vacation to Florida or whatever else he/she wants as a “result” of the procedure. That led to a standoff, me not signing, her not taking me back to the procedure room.
#24
Buying my first car at a dealership too close to a Naval base. Never bought a car before. Had no idea what to do. Monthly payment is $250? That sounds sensible…
Sat down and read the contract much to the chagrin of the sales guy. Interest rate was 18%. I knew enough to walk away.
Image source: anon
#25
It was for a lottery arranged by my city. You would pay money to get in and win various prizes. On the terms and conditions it said they don’t really have to give you any prizes.
Image source: siirr
#26
The dev team of the videogame Factorio is explicit not responsible if you stay awake all night long playing Factorio and can’t go to school / work in the morning.
Image source: treverios
#27
Every picture you take on Snapchat is public domain.So, Snapchat can use your picture for whatever they want. You could be driving on the Highway and see your face on a billboard and have no rights to the picture.
Kinda funny people don’t know this with all the nudes sent on there.
Image source: anon
#28
Image source: earlson, masjidmpd / Unsplash
I don’t have a story myself, but I found [this article] about a man who won a $1000 giveaway that was hidden in the EULA of an app. The 3000 people who installed the program before him didn’t bother to read it.
#29
Image source: other_usernames_gone, P. L. / Unsplash
If you want to take Huawei to court you have to take them to court in China.
What they don’t tell you is that it’s near impossible for a foreigner to win a court case in China.
#30
Image source: TheDarkLord023Reborn, Amanz / unsplash
Sony can sue you for literaly not updating your console software if you’re connected to internet.
#31
I remember a story years ago about this guy applying for a loan or credit card from his bank but asked to take the documents home and read over them and send them back a signed copy. He added clauses in the T&C’s that the bank had to pay him and if they wanted out of the contract they had to pay him some huge exit fee, signed the amended one and sent it back to them and they agreed to it without reading it. Not sure how true it is though.
Image source: hinesy94
#32
When we registered our Samsung front-loading washing machine online, the terms and conditions stipulated something along these lines:
“Use of detergents not recommended by the manufacturer may cause malfunctions not covered under warranty.”
But there was no specific list of *recommended* detergents given, other than stating they had to be “High-efficiency (HE) laundry detergent.”.
Image source: anon
#33
I was s****d and downloaded a mobile game some years ago and decided to read the terms and conditions. It was like 20 pages and mostly had to do with privacy and micro transaction stuff. In the back half a paragraph was the lyrics to ToTos Africa.
Image source: OlStickInTheMud
#34
I remember reading the Samsung terms and the conditions, they basically have full control over your phone, they can limit anything on your phone, you do not own it when you have a Samsung account on your Samsung phone.
It was one of the ways they pushed out the note 7, by disabling the battery from charging up to 100% they kinda forced you to get a new one.
I’m going to make a rant about this f****d up company.
Image source: dontsteponthegrassma
#35
There was a story contest from a theme park where your story could be published…
…but any story submitted would automatically be owned by the company and could not be used by you or others.
So they could:
1. Throw your story in the trash and you still wouldn’t legally own it anymore and can’t publish it somewhere else
2. They own your story so they can make money out of it without paying you a dime
3. They were not obligated to credit you as the writer other than mentioning it somewhere in the first publishing – after that it was fair game
4. They were allowed to alter your story as they saw fit without consulting you
I wasn’t the only one who noticed, it was soon pointed out on social media. There wasn’t really a backlash, but I didn’t submit a story.
Image source: Trania86
#36
After reading through all the comments here, I see no one has mentioned how useful this tip can be-
If you’re downloading some shady software, scroll through the entire ToS and find any check boxes, then uncheck them.
Usually for things like this, that’s how various programs and malware will end up being downloaded without you understanding how, which is what will usually happen with people who are especially young or especially old. There will be something written in there like “You agree that you would like to install MegaSuperSaverSearchPlus to your PC and set it as your default search engine” with a pre-checked box next to it, leading to a lot of easily avoided problems.
So yeah, scroll through and uncheck boxes when you’re downloading something weird. You dont even need to read the terms, just be aware what could be tucked away inside them.
Image source: anon
#37
I read the detailed rules of a poker room once. When they described the bad beat jackpot (a promotion where if you have a once in a lifetime hand and still lose, you win a jackpot for being so unlucky), the example they gave had 5 kings in it, 3 kings in the board and 2 in the hand. (For those unfamiliar, there are 4 kings in a deck). I pointed it out and the manager laughed and said I was the first person to ever catch that.
Image source: Chasicle
#38
I know at some point Comcast was not responsible if it k*lled you.
Haven’t looked at it in years though (used to work for them so you get to learn the terms pretty quickly).
Image source: SunnySamantha
#39
It wasn’t actually me, it was the manager I was interning with.
He told me about how it was important to read *everything*, even the terms and conditions.
When you go to an iPhone’s license page (or something else, I don’t remember), it says that they won’t take any responsibility to any shock you received from the phone if it were 5 mm away from you, unless you had something blocking it from your skin, like clothes, or a pocket protector.
Image source: wikikid
#40
I’d sell my soul for a donut…
“Your soul is the legal property of Marge Simpson & not the devil’s”.
Image source: anon
Got wisdom to pour?