How to tell what a service really does with your data.
Privacy policies are written to be technically complete and practically unreadable. But a handful of specific practices tell you most of what you need to know. Here’s what to look for.
Does it sell or “share” your data?
Search the policy for “sell,” “share,” and “partners.” Broad sharing with unnamed third parties - often dressed up as “trusted partners” - is the single biggest red flag.
How much does it collect?
Look at whether collection goes beyond what the service needs to work: precise location, device identifiers, contacts, or data bought from other sources.
Is your data used for ad targeting?
Terms mentioning “interest-based advertising,” “cross-context behavioral advertising,” or building a “profile” mean your activity is being used to target you.
How long is it kept?
Vague or open-ended retention (“as long as necessary”) with no clear endpoint means the company may keep your data indefinitely.
What rights do you actually have?
Check whether you can access and delete your data, how hard it is to do, and whether those rights are limited to certain regions.
Check any policy in seconds
Paste a privacy policy into Hidden Catch and it summarizes it in plain English, flagging exactly these practices and ranking them by how much they should concern you.
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