Did I just read that correctly?
This won’t be the first time you’ve heard this today, but it seems that the issue of terms and conditions breaching consumer privacy has blown up via the Facebook messenger app.
Like the vast majority of people within this class, I like to use Facebook. I like to use it a lot, and I find that it has begun to replace many other forms of communication that I frequent, such as texting and calling. It’s just sometimes more convenient to start up a Facebook chat. This is apparently being made even easier by the release of the Facebook messenger app. This app combines the ease of text messaging with the social connection of Facebook and, best of all, its free.
Yet, when I was at last ready to succumb to the pressure to download the app, my news feed became awash with cries of protest against it and the repeated sharing of this picture.
WHAT THE HELL?
You are taking some serious liberties here Facebook, you want to send SMS messages without even asking me? Why don’t I just sign you over my power of attorney as well.
Yet when I asked others what they thought of the terms and conditions, many were quite unfazed, claiming that, while it looks bad, it’s no more invasive than 90% of the other apps you’ve already downloaded on your phone.
Thinking on that I realised that it could well be true. How many times have you downloaded an app and clicked “I agree” to the terms and conditions without reading them or putting any thought into the consequences? Most of the time I wish there was a “remind me later” button that I could forever push, excusing me from having to commit to agreeing. I personally was just too distraught at the thought of missing out on the phenomenon that is snapchat.
You might be thinking here, how does this relate to digital marketing?
It totally does!
A lot of the time these terms and conditions are set up so that the organisation, such as Facebook, has the power (and your permission) to use or sell information that it gathers to other parties, such as advertisers. However, when it comes down to it, do you really care if Facebook puts you in a category of people that like soccer and consequently you see an ad for soccer boots on the side of your page?
It is also worth considering the impact that such terms and conditions could have on YOUR organisation/brand, should you choose to use them.
If you go and check out the messenger app on the app store, the amount of 1-star reviews is staggering, with many of those stating “I don’t know how to give a 0 star review and this was the best I could do.” Is it worth writing terms and conditions that are so invasive if it is going to push away or upset such a large portion of your customer base?
What I want to know is, should I really care about this or is it a necessary and inevitable way of the future?
Or on the flip side, should Facebook just back the hell off and design an app that isn’t going going to be so invasive on my personal life?
You tell me.
mymarketingtoddyssey 