She added that though she has been reading these policies for years, she does not enjoy it, but does it because she wants to know how websites are going to use her data.
“It’s mentally taxing, something that should be simple like signing up for a quick website or signing up for an account for something takes like half an hour, an hour,” she said. “I definitely don’t like it, I wish I didn’t have to do it.”
She has given up on products and services because she disagreed with the terms and conditions. For instance, when she was moving apartments last year, she found one that she liked and got an offer for, but the contract included mandatory arbitration, which means disputes have to be resolved out of court behind closed doors, and a line saying she was not allowed to have kitchen knives. She asked about the lines she objected to, and the landlord took back the offer.
Deciding whether or not to sign up for the Philly Fighting COVID vaccine registry was a harder decision, because there are alternatives for apartments, but earlier in the month, Philly Fighting COVID was the only site registering people for vaccines in Philadelphia.
“I (was) terribly divided as to whether or not I kind of want to put aside all of these issues I have with terms of service, privacy policies and just do it because I feel like it’s a good civic thing for me to do,” she said. “This is something that’s definitely beyond me, it’s something that impacts our entire city.”
She ultimately did not register with Philly Fighting COVID.