New is fun. It’s exciting to install a new app, to start using a new service.

But they all come with a checkbox. And all those little checkboxes come with terms, conditions, and policies which control how the app or service can use your information.

When was the last time you paused before you checked the box? When you read what you were agreeing to?

Maybe you never have, or it’s been a while. The documents are dry as melba toast. Filled with legalese and dense language, they’re a mirthless slog.

If you’re tired of not knowing what you’re agreeing to, or want to figure out what your small business has already consented to, use my Privacy Policy Assistant to help you maneuver through fine print and gotchas. All you’ll need is a free ChatGPT or a Google account to use the assistant along with a little experience having conversations with AI.

And I won’t even know you’ve used it, unless you let me know.

When And How To Use The Assistant

You should use the Privacy Policy Assistant any time you are curious what a service or app collects about you or how it makes money with your data.

Are you using a free service like Facebook or Snapchat? They’re likely either selling info about your behavior or data about you with third-party partners. Knowing that can help you decide how, or if, you want to use them.

In terms of using the assistant, it’s as simple as having a conversation with a friend. This friend, though, really knows how to dig into dense legal documents.

To get started, whichever you prefer, ChatGPT or Google Gemini, just click the appropriate link, and begin a conversation:

• ChatGPT
• Google Gemini

To get started, all you need to do is to ask one question:

How do I get started?

The assistant will ask you to provide four bits of information:

1. What service you want it to look at.
2. If you are already using it or considering using it.
3. What specific concerns you have. Examples are how your data is stored or maybe who else the service can share your data with.
4. Where you live. Important because privacy policies vary by country or region like a U.S. state.

Here is a two-minute video which walks through how to use the Assistant.

Gemini made this very simple. In prior chats, ChatGPT has been unable to read websites, so I’ve had to copy and paste text or upload a PDF.

Either way, once the AI has access to the policies, you’re moments away from being able to make an informed decision about whatever service you ask it to review.

What Can The Assistant Help You Understand?

For example, I’ve taken ChatGPT’s AI browser, Atlas, for a test drive. To understand what the potential privacy pitfalls are with it, I asked the assistants to assess it.

Here’s what they told me:

• ChatGPT’s Response
• Google Gemini’s response

Based partially on the high priority concerns they surfaced, as well as other things I learned, I am using Atlas very sparingly. It’s just too new and too porous privacy wise for me to be comfortable with it.

I use the assistant maybe every other week. It has helped me understand the weight management platform Noom, and comes in very handy when I am considering using a new app or service.

I find it helps me get clear on what the service might do with my data, and if I need to worry about it. Sometimes, like with Noom, I got surprised. I had no idea my health care insurance plan could get access to information I put into the app.

Another times it explained how the Alignable leverages user data to build its service. It will blast out invitations to everyone in a user’s address book unprompted. As a result, I opted to not use it.

These are just three examples. How many apps are you using right now without really knowing what they’re doing with your data?

Ready to Take Control of Your Digital Privacy?

Run one app or service you use daily through the Privacy Policy Assistant. Then subscribe to my weekly newsletter where I break down the latest privacy threats and how to protect yourself—in plain English, not legalese.

Need personalized help evaluating your tech stack? Book a free 30-minute consultation and let’s figure it out together.