Skip to main content

TrueColours Chrome extension is a life hack for those pesky T&Cs you never read

A new Chrome extension wants to help you identify the most important rules that will affect your everyday use of some of the web’s biggest platforms.

Every time you sign up for an online service you have to agree to the provider’s terms and conditions, which tend to be complex policies formatted in yawn-inducing blocks of text. These critical rules and regulations end up being ignored by all but the most vigilant of users.

Recommended Videos

The “TrueColours” extension from Stabilo was recently launched in Germany with the aim of alerting users to the crucial sections in a web platform’s terms and conditions. At present, it only works with German sites, but an English version is expected to arrive in a month’s time, according to Stabilo.

The tool’s creators claim that by overlooking a site’s guidelines you risk missing out on important information regarding your online privacy, among other things. It arrives amid growing scrutiny in Europe over the wider privacy implications of social networking and mobile apps.

Once installed, the TrueColours extension acts as both a warning system and annotation tool. When you visit the terms and conditions page of a website, it automatically highlights the most significant text (green for “noteworthy”, yellow for “questionable”, and red for “critical”). You can then skim through the extensive document and educate yourself on the policies that will impact you the most.

Like other web annotation tools, TrueColours is relying on its users to continue the process by highlighting terms and conditions across the web. If, for example, you notice something notable in the policies of a website or platform, all you have to do is select the edit button, which will transform your cursor into a digital highlighter. Once you’re done marking the text, you can then share it with other users.

TrueColours has already highlighted the top 20 most popular websites in Germany. The extension is available from the Google Chrome Web Store, and the TrueColours website. An accompanying iOS smartphone app (also in German) can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

Saqib Shah
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
PayPal vs. Venmo vs. Cash App vs. Apple Cash: which app should you use?
PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Apple Wallet apps on an iPhone.

We’re getting closer every day to an entirely cashless society. While some folks may still carry around a few bucks for emergencies, electronic payments are accepted nearly everywhere, and as mobile wallets expand, even traditional credit and debit cards are starting to fall by the wayside.

That means many of us are past the days of tossing a few bills onto the table to pay our share of a restaurant tab or slipping our pal a couple of bucks to help them out. Now, even those things are more easily doable from our smartphones than our physical wallets.

Read more
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more