Don’t want to read privacy policies? This AI tool will do it for you.

an article by Sigal Samuel published by Future Perfect grateful to ResearchBuzz: Firehose for this

If you take a minute to teach this AI, it’ll teach you something in turn.



Let’s be real: When you download a new app, you probably don’t bother to read its privacy policy first. I write about privacy as a journalist and even I rarely bother to read those policies. They’re written in eye-glazing legalese perfectly calibrated to make any normal human being want to stop reading as soon as possible.

Who can blame us for rushing to check that little box that says we agree to the terms of service?

Now, a new tool called Guard promises to read the privacy policies of various apps for us. It harnesses the power of AI to analyze reams of text, breaking down each sentence for the level of risk it represents for our privacy.

Guard currently takes the form of a free website featuring analysis of certain popular apps like Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, Whatsapp, Netflix, Spotify, Reddit, and Duolingo. It hasn’t yet analyzed every app out there, not even close, but you can suggest new apps for it to check out. (Facebook comes to mind.) Unfortunately, Guard can’t inspect a given app immediately on demand — at least not yet.

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