How To Spot Changes To Small Print At Google, Facebook, Twitter And More

The service compares the old and the new versions of policies side by side, highlighting deleted passages in blue and added passages in yellow. It tracks any changes to the policies, so the Facebook change noted last week was simply a change of address for contacting the site.

A number of controversies have developed over popular websites' terms and conditions, particularly those of social networking sites. MySpace attracted the wrath of the musical community in 2006 when changes to its terms and conditions seemed to assert intellectual property rights over music made and posted by site users.

Earlier this year Facebook was forced into a terms and conditions climb-down when it reversed a change that seemed to grant it control over users' data forever.

"Some changes to terms of service are good for consumers, and some are bad," said EFF senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann. "But internet users are increasingly trusting websites with everything from their photos to their 'friends lists' to their calendar, and sometimes even their medical information. TOSBack will help consumers flag changes in the websites they use every day and trust with their personal information."