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The Small Print

18 min read · Data: 105 agreement and policy pages from 37 payment, software and AI companies, read 22–24 Oct 2026 · US terms; Canada not covered

ForUS small businesses that pay for payment, software and AI servicesUS

Of the 389 contract clauses we could rate, 183 favor the provider and 20 favor you. We read 105 agreement and policy pages from 37 payment, software and AI companies that US small businesses pay every month. We read them on 22 and 23 Oct 2026.

We're not lawyers. This is general research on published terms, not legal advice for your business. Terms change and vary by plan, product and country, so check the version you agreed to. For a large contract, held funds or a dispute, talk to a lawyer where you are.

Review copy. The pages were read through an extraction tool. 43 quotes are checked word for word against saved copies so far; the rest are being checked against the live pages before release. Ratings are ForeGaze's reading of the text, not legal advice.

0clauses rated across 37 companies
0favor the provider
0favor you
0of 81 dated documents changed in the past year: 59 updated, 2 with changes already scheduled
0of AI consumer-plan clauses favor the provider, against 21% on business plans

Few owners read these. Most terms change when they're posted, or simply when you keep using the service.

Your money and data sit on their side. Processors can hold funds after you leave. Liability is capped at a few months of fees.

Disputes are heard on their terms. Private arbitration, usually in a city you don't live in, with class actions waived.

About one in four friendly-looking clauses (54 of 221) has a catch. It might be a linked document that changes on posting, a carve-out, or a promise on a help page instead of in the contract.

Some hold up. Braintree gives a written right to move your card data to a new processor. Square US and PayPal US let you opt out of arbitration within 30 days of signing up. If they can write it, so can everyone else. See every clause

At a glance

Three numbers from 105 agreements

Drawn from our ratings of the published terms. Each figure says what it counts.

Nearly half the rated clauses favor the provider; 1 in 20 favors you

ForeGaze · favor the provider: 183neutral: 186favor you: 20183favor the provider (47%)186neutral (48%)20favor you (5%)
Clauses, of 389 we could rate across 37 companies (34 unreadable left out). Source: ForeGaze ratings of 105 public agreements and policies, read 22–24 Oct 2026. Adobe is rated on its current terms (3 Oct 2025); Clover is still rated on its 2015 terms.

AI consumer plans lean about three times as far toward the provider

Consumer plans (Free, Plus, Pro)67%Business plans (Team, Enterprise, API)21%0%100%
Share of rated AI clauses that favor the provider, 9 providers. Source: ForeGaze ratings of their consumer and business terms, read 22–23 Oct 2026.

About half of reported problems are things the terms allow

the terms allow it: 66terms or promises say otherwise: 5unclear, or allegations: 5866the terms allow it (51%)5terms or promises say otherwise (4%)58unclear, or allegations (45%)
Recurring reported problems, 129 for 42 companies; single forum posts and reviews left out. Reports, not findings. Sources: complaint records, regulator and court files, news; gathered 23 Oct 2026.
What to do

Takeaways, what you can negotiate, and how to cut your exposure

1The plan you're on matters more than the brand. Self-serve and consumer plans carry the weakest terms; business and signed contracts carry the best.
2Your biggest risks are money held, data you can't take with you, and terms that change on posting. All three can be reduced without a lawyer.
3Some terms are negotiable and most owners never try. Ask when you have volume, a multi-year term or regulated data.

Usually negotiable

  • Processing rates and fees, once you have volume: 38 of 71 payment pricing pages in our The Small-Ticket Tax census invite you to ask.
  • Term, renewal and exit fees on contracts you sign (point-of-sale, multi-year processing terms, equipment). Ask for month-to-month, or a waiver if they raise prices.
  • Notice and price locks in a signed order form. OpenAI's business terms say signed order forms aren't changed by its website updates.
  • AI data terms on business and enterprise plans: a data processing agreement, zero data retention, a health-data agreement where you need one, and data region.
  • Reserves and holds, with a clean chargeback history. Ask for the release date in writing.

Usually not, so choose instead

  • Self-serve and consumer plans: click-through terms are take-it-or-leave-it. Switching plan or provider is your lever.
  • Arbitration and venue: rarely changed for small accounts. Square US and PayPal US offer an opt-out within 30 days of sign-up. For most existing accounts that window has closed. Opting out sends disputes to the provider's chosen courts, so it isn't always better.
  • Liability caps on standard plans: usually one to twelve months of fees; some are a flat $1,000 to $10,000, and Shopify excludes even direct damages. Your own indemnity to them is usually uncapped. Insure the risk rather than expect a bigger cap.
  • Changes on posting: you can't stop them, but you can watch for them. That's what the daily change log is for.

Cut your exposure: the short list

  1. Keep cash out of reach. Hold a buffer in an account that is never linked to your processor. Some agreements reach every account that receives payouts (Shopify Payments), and Helcim takes a security interest in your bank account. Moving money to dodge a known debt can be reversed.
  2. Export monthly: customers, transactions, invoices. Don't count on a window after you leave.
  3. Switch off AI training in every tool's settings (HubSpot's is on by default), and use business AI plans for client data.
  4. Put renewal and notice dates in your calendar for anything with a term or an exit fee.
  5. Decide on the arbitration opt-out at sign-up, where one is offered (usually 30 days): opting out can move disputes to the provider's home courts. If you opt out, do it in writing and keep the proof.
  6. Keep chargebacks low. Visa replaced its fraud and dispute monitoring programs with one program, VAMP, on 1 Apr 2025. Processors set their own, stricter limits: Braintree's contract trigger is 0.9% of transactions, with fees from $2,000.
  7. Ask your insurer whether your policy now excludes AI-related claims.
  8. Read the linked documents, not just the main agreement: service, AI and processor terms often change on posting and override it.

When to talk to a lawyer

  • Before signing a multi-year term, an equipment lease or a personal guarantee (Stax's agreement requires one).
  • When funds are held or an account is closed and money isn't released.
  • Before using AI tools with health, children's or financial data, or for decisions about people (hiring, credit, housing).
  • When a dispute is worth more than the fees you've paid: that's where liability caps and arbitration bite.
  • In the US, consumer-protection laws mostly don't cover business buyers, so the contract governs. Courts can still refuse to enforce a term they find unconscionable (grossly unfair).
  • If you're put on Mastercard's MATCH list of terminated merchants: it can follow you for five years.
  • When a claim deadline is short: some agreements give you one year to bring a claim (Square, Toast) or two (Chase).
  • If you gave a personal guarantee at sign-up: it can outlive the business.

This page is research, not legal advice.

In CaliforniaSeveral US agreements send disputes to California. Stripe: arbitration in San Francisco under California law. Square: California law, with Alameda County courts in Oakland. Slack: San Francisco County. For a California business that is home ground; for everyone else it means travel or a remote hearing. California's privacy agency (CPPA) takes data complaints; see Where to complain.
The catches

Where the friendly promises break

We read every clause that looked friendly or neutral twice, looking for the exception, the linked document and the help-page promise.

54of 221 friendly-looking clauses carry a catch
8promises live on a help page, FAQ or trust page, not the contract
47more traps outside our ten clauses

Where the catches hide

An exception hollows it out19
Other catches14
A promise on a help page, not in the contract8
A linked document overrides it7
Your money can still be held6

Squares on the map with an amber dot have a catch. Open one to read it, with its source.

Four habits that catch them

  • Read the linked documents. Service, AI and processor terms often change on posting and override the main agreement.
  • A help page is not a contract. FAQ and trust-page promises can change without notice.
  • Look for "except". Notice periods, no-training promises and indemnities usually carry carve-outs.
  • Check who holds your money. Platforms often hand you to a processor with its own terms.
Linked terms moveOnly the main agreement waits for your renewal. The linked service and AI terms change 30 days after posting. "Never reviewed by humans" is an FAQ line, not contract.Google Workspace
Stripe's terms tooYour payouts run on Stripe's agreement, with its class-action waiver and, in the US, arbitration in San Francisco.Shopify Payments
Software onlyThe price lock covers software fees in the first term. Card rates can change on 30 days' notice.Toast
Surprise billOn monthly plans, going over your limits adds charges for the month just gone.Mailchimp
Feedback trainsAny staff thumbs-up, thumbs-down or bug report sends the whole chat for training, kept 5 years, unless an admin turns rating off.Anthropic (business)
Pass-through risesThe 3-month notice skips fee rises passed on from card networks and banks: most of an interchange-plus bill.Adyen
ExclusionsAnthropic, Google, Microsoft and Perplexity exclude modified output and anything you "should have known" infringes.AI IP indemnities
Exit holdsNo exit fee, but money can be held when you leave: up to 180 days at PayPal, a six-month reserve at Helcim.PayPal · Helcim

47 traps outside our clauses, by company

Anthropic
  • Safety review and retention for 'Covered Models' supersede any zero-data-retention agreement, so ZDR is not a firm promise. source
  • Beta services carry no indemnity and a liability cap of the lesser of $1,000 and 12 months' fees; many new features ship as betas. source
  • Commercial chats flagged by automated trust-and-safety systems are kept up to 2 years, classification scores up to 7 years, and feedback 5 years. source
  • A staff member using a consumer Claude account with a work email can be linked to the employer's enterprise account, where an admin may monitor it; consumer data rules and business data rules blur. source
DeepSeek
  • Consumer and API terms are governed by PRC law with suits at the court where Hangzhou DeepSeek is registered; a US SMB has no practical forum. source
Google
  • Gemini API paid tier logs prompts for an unstated period for abuse detection and may store or cache them in any country; unpaid quota is human-reviewed and used for training. source
  • Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Chrome are outside Google's BAA even on Workspace, so 'Gemini supports HIPAA' is feature-dependent. source
Meta AI
  • Consumer Meta AI terms were never read and the API Terms timed out, so all Meta consumer cells are blank; staff using Meta AI inside WhatsApp/Instagram for business are unrated. source
Microsoft
  • Copilot web-search queries leave the DPA/BAA and EU Data Boundary, and Anthropic models in Copilot are excluded from EU Data Boundary and in-country processing. source
  • Copyright Commitment coverage for configurable products (Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI) requires the customer to run metaprompts, red-team evaluations and keep reports to show Microsoft when claiming. source
Mistral AI
  • Feedback from any end user grants Mistral an irrevocable, indefinite training license over that data, which then stops being confidential; Labs/Preview models always train and ignore opt-outs. source
OpenAI
  • A 2025 court preservation order made OpenAI keep 'deleted' and temporary chats for Free, Plus, Pro and Team (now Business) and non-ZDR API customers, overriding the 30-day deletion promise; only Enterprise, Edu and ZDR were exempt. The order was lifted in October 2025. source
  • On ChatGPT Business (the SMB plan), the 'employees only access to resolve incidents' promise does not apply: third-party contractors may review conversations for abuse. source
Perplexity
  • Third-party model providers' terms govern Third-Party Models and Perplexity disclaims control over them; their retention practices are not visible from the Enterprise Terms. source
xAI
  • Under ZDR, deleted content cannot be recovered even under legal process, and unused prepaid credits are forfeited on termination. source
Adyen
  • Reserve level can be changed with immediate effect in Adyen's sole discretion, and set-off survives insolvency. source
Braintree
  • Lien and security interest over all your existing and future obligations' collateral including all reserves. source
  • Reserve can be held after exit as long as PayPal deems necessary, with liability continuing after release. source
Chase (US)
  • Indemnity starts with an unconditional release of claims against Chase and the bank. source
Clover (Fiserv)
  • Hardware sold through banks/ISOs may come with a separate non-cancellable equipment lease (2016 form; current status unverified). source
Helcim
  • Lien/hypothec on your bank account, present and future, and a personal or company guarantee on request. source
PayPal
  • Card processing runs under a separate bank CEA whose bank can assign without consent and caps liability at $10,000. source
Shopify Payments
  • Personal guarantee can be required from a principal. source
  • First-priority lien over funds in all your bank accounts that receive payouts. source
  • Notices deemed received within 24 hours, so notice periods run from posting. source
  • US merchants also accept Affirm (Shop Pay Installments) and Global-e (Managed Markets) terms by accepting the Payments terms. source
Stax
  • Pass-through fee increases take effect on notice, which can be a line on your statement. source
Stripe
  • Your indemnity payments and fees/fines are uncapped while Stripe's liability is capped, so the 'mutual' cap is one-sided in practice. source
  • You must monitor the legal page yourself; incorporated terms bind 'as amended from time to time'. source
Toast
  • Renewal re-binds you to whatever Merchant Agreement is current, and any fee can change on renewal. source
Adobe (Creative Cloud, individual and business)
  • The cancellation fee and refund rules sit outside the General Terms, in a Subscription and Cancellation Terms page and plan help pages that the General Terms make part of the agreement. The help page we read applies to US subscribers only. source
  • Section 17 bars using the products, or what they make, to create, train, test or improve machine-learning models, which matters if you build AI tools from Adobe output. source
Calendly
  • Termination makes all outstanding payments due at once, and account deletion is immediate, with no export window in the Terms. source
Canva (Teams / Business)
  • Legacy Teams customers were moved to per-seat pricing with a three-seat minimum (some US 5-person teams from $119.99 to $500 a year), notified by email (no Canva rows are filled). source
Dropbox
  • A third-party AI toggle that sends files to OpenAI for AI features was on by default (no Dropbox rows are filled at all). source
GoDaddy
  • The $10,000 cap can be overridden by any product-specific Services Agreement that 'expressly states otherwise' (e.g. domain or hosting agreements); these were not checked. source
Google Workspace
  • The 'never reviewed by humans' promise for Gemini is on an FAQ/knowledge page, not in the Service Specific Terms; it covers licensed users only, and the training sentence limits only training 'outside of your domain', leaving in-domain use open. source
  • Bundling Gemini raised prices for existing customers: flexible-plan prices changed mid-stream on a fixed date, and annual plans were moved automatically at renewal (Business Standard annual $12 to $14). source
  • Pre-GA AI features can be changed, suspended or withdrawn with no notice. source
HubSpot
  • Free tools can be cut off at any time with no notice, which matters if a free CRM holds your customer list. source
Intuit QuickBooks Online
  • A declined card gives only 14 days before suspension, after which you must re-subscribe to reach your books. source
Mailchimp
  • Monthly plans are billed retroactively for going over audience or email limits. source
Microsoft 365 (business)
  • Reported by Directions on Microsoft and a Microsoft partner: monthly billing on annual subscriptions costs 5% more through direct online purchase, CSP partners and MCA-E, from 1 Apr 2025 (new monthly subscriptions; existing ones at first renewal after that date). We have not confirmed this on Microsoft’s own pages. trade press and distributor blog, not confirmed · scope not stated by the sources Directions on Microsoft · CloudBlue. Separately, Microsoft’s own terms bind you for the rest of an annual term you pay monthly (clause row 3).
  • Subscriptions sold through a Microsoft seller's proposal are excluded from the seven-day refund window. source
Shopify
  • AI features (Sidekick, Agentic Storefronts) are governed by supplemental terms outside the main Terms, which say nothing on AI; the help page is also silent on defaults and training. source
Slack
  • On free workspaces, including ones downgraded from paid, messages and files older than a year are deleted continuously, and upgrading does not bring them back. source
Zoom
  • Termination for convenience runs one way: Zoom can end the agreement for no reason, while the customer can only leave by non-renewal (30 days' notice) and payments are non-cancelable. source

Liens and personal guarantees come up often enough to deserve their own clause; that comes next.

1 · The map

Every company, every clause

Select a square to read the clause.

Favors youNeutralFavors the providerCould not be readHas a catch: open it

Select a square to see the quote, what it means and the source.

2 · The order

Who leans your way, and who doesn't

Clauses in your favor to the right, clauses in the provider's favor to the left. Same pills as the map.

Counts of rated clauses per company. Unreadable clauses are left out, so companies with gaps show shorter bars. Adobe is now in the order, rated on its current terms. Clover stays out: it is rated on its 2015 software license rather than its payment contract, and its newer pages could not be opened on 24 Oct 2026. It is marked † on the map.

3 · AI

With AI, the plan matters more than the brand

Share of each provider's rated clauses that favor the provider, on its consumer plan and on its business plan.

Consumer planBusiness plan

DeepSeek is the exception: its API terms (75%) are almost as one-sided as its consumer terms (78%). Meta's consumer terms couldn't be read, so Meta has no dot. Consumer plans: Free, Plus, Pro and similar. Business plans: Team, Enterprise and API terms. A small business using a personal plan for client work is on the left-hand dot.

4 · One clause, side by side

Compare what each company actually says

Pick a clause. Every company's wording, best first.

Pick one of 10 clauses

5 · Two companies

Put two agreements head to head

Each spoke is a clause: outer edge favors you, center favors the provider. Gaps are clauses we couldn't read.

Tap two companies: first, then second

6 · Two numbers to know

How long they can hold your money, and how much they'll ever owe you

After you close: how long funds can be held

From the payment agreements read. "No limit stated" means the agreement allows holds without naming an end date.

The liability cap: months of fees it is based on

The most the provider would owe you is usually what you paid them over this many months. Shopify's platform terms exclude even direct damages.

7 · Only in the agreement

Costs you won't find on the pricing page

Each figure is from the agreement itself, read 22 Oct 2026.

8 · If it goes wrong

Where your dispute would be heard

The place and forum each agreement names for a dispute, seen from your metro area. Tap your city on the map (the grey dots); tap a red place to see which companies send disputes there.

YouOther cities: tap to moveWhere disputes goNear you
How the places are chosen
  • Each pin is the forum named in that company's dispute clause for your country: the court, the arbitration seat, or the governing law.
  • No pin: the clause names no place, or we couldn't read the terms.
  • Near you: your own courts, or hearings held close to you.
  • Straight-line distances; the map is schematic.
  • Arbitration is private and usually one by one: most of these agreements waive class actions. Opt-out windows, where they exist, close about 30 days after sign-up.
9 · What it adds up to

Money, data and power

Money: the processor holds the keys

In the gap between your customer paying and the money reaching you, the agreement decides who controls the funds. Usually it's the processor.

No noticeStripe can debit your bank account "without separate notice", and you waive the right to revoke that.Stripe
Their interestInterest earned on balances they hold for you is theirs.PayPal · Chase
5 daysNotice of changes for US business accounts. Personal accounts get 21.PayPal US

Fees that exist only in the agreement are in section 7.

Data: what they learn from you, and what you can take away

Joining takes a minute. Leaving with your data takes a contract clause, and most don't have one.

Trains on itThe terms allow your data to train models. HubSpot's switch is on by default; GoDaddy's AI tools have no opt-out we could find.Square US · Adyen · HubSpot · GoDaddy
Email to opt outTo keep a workspace out of general machine-learning models, the owner has to email the company. The binding terms allow training; the generative-AI opt-in promise is on a trust page.Slack
3 yearsHow long Google keeps human-reviewed Gemini chats, even after you delete them.Google (consumer)
Plan, not brandEvery consumer AI plan we read trains on chats unless you switch it off. Business plans turn training off by contract, but feedback buttons and help-page promises leave gaps.All AI providers

After you leave: written time to get your data out

Stripe's agreement gives no written export right. Braintree is the only payment agreement we read that gives a written right to move your card data to a new processor.

Power: they can change the deal, you can leave

Most agreements let the provider rewrite the terms on its own. The fair ones exist, and they are worth choosing.

On postingNew terms take effect when they're posted, or when you keep using the service.Mailchimp · GoDaddy
Any reasonThe provider may terminate "for any reason, without notice and at any time", and excludes even direct damages.Shopify
1 monthThe most Mailchimp would ever owe you: one month of fees.Mailchimp
No hearingArbitration on paper only: oral hearings waived, five document requests.GoDaddy
The fairer versionsHubSpot: object within 30 days and stay on the old terms until renewal, unless it ends your plan instead. Square US and PayPal US: opt out of arbitration within 30 days of signing up. Where disputes go: section 8.
10 · A fair standard

Ten clauses a fair agreement would contain

Each is already in at least one agreement we read. None is unrealistic.

  1. Changes wait for your renewal, or come with at least 30 days' notice by email and a right to leave with a refund.Closest: HubSpot (object and stay on the old terms, with an escape hatch); Google Workspace's main agreement, but not its linked terms.
  2. No closing an account without notice, except for fraud or legal orders, with a way to appeal.Partly done: Google offers an appeal of suspensions on its AI services.
  3. A stated end date for holds on your money after you leave, and no claim on accounts at other banks.Closest: Adyen states a finite release period; Helcim limits bank debits to amounts due.
  4. A written right to export your data, including card data to a new processor, for at least 90 days.Done by: Braintree (card data). Closest: Microsoft 365 (90 days in the contract, though its help page warns of deletion after 30); QuickBooks (a year read-only, on a help page only).
  5. No training on your data or your customers' data on any paid plan, written into the contract.Done by: OpenAI and Google business terms. Weaker: Zoom (calls and chats only); Anthropic business terms (staff feedback overrides it); Microsoft 365 (stated on a help page).
  6. A liability cap of at least 12 months of fees, with security breaches and indemnities outside the cap.Closest: 12-month caps at Stripe, Braintree, Toast and QuickBooks Online. AI providers' IP indemnities exist but exclude modified output and what you "should have known".
  7. Disputes heard where you are, with a small-claims option and a clear opt-out from arbitration.Closest: PayPal US (arbitration hearings within 50 miles of you). QuickBooks and Braintree keep a small-claims option. Shopify Payments names courts, but its processor Stripe's terms add a class-action waiver.
  8. No exit fee when they raise prices, and no exit fee above what you'd pay to the end of the month.Done by: Stripe and Square have no exit fees. PayPal and Helcim charge none, but can hold your money when you leave.
  9. Every fee on the pricing page, none only in the agreement.Closest: Helcim publishes fee disclosures, and its pricing pages say a chargeback you win costs nothing (checked in The Invoice Rail Map). Its Terms of Service don't promise it.
  10. A price lock for the term, and credits for seats you don't use.Closest: Microsoft's older subscription agreement (price lock); Toast (software fees, first term only); Slack (credits for inactive seats, which expire when you leave).
Reality check

What businesses report, against what the terms say

For 42 companies we gathered complaint records, court and regulator files and recurring forum themes, then asked of each problem: do the terms allow it? Single forum posts and single reviews are left out.

66of 129 reported problems are allowed by the terms
5reports that conflict with a stated policy or term
58unclear, or still allegations in court
Terms allow itTerms or promises say otherwiseUnclear

Recurring problems found per company; select one for the detail. Counts aren't adjusted for company size.

Reports that conflict with stated policy

Only official records or several independent reports; single forum posts are left out. These are reports, not findings, unless a regulator or court has ruled. The companies named were not sent these items before publication. We will print any reply and correct errors. From our next posts, each company is sent its items before publication.

  • Square (Block): Merchants say promised release dates passed without payment; a news report describes a 90-day hold followed by a notice of 30 more days, released in full after the outlet contacted Square. news + aggregate (BBB) · 17 May 2023 source
  • Stax: Complainants report monthly fees or invoices continuing after cancellation requests, with cancellations delayed or requiring extra steps; some refunds were partial or delayed. aggregate (BBB complaint sample) · read 23 Oct 2026 source
  • GoDaddy: The FTC alleged GoDaddy marketed 'award-winning security' while lacking basics such as admin MFA and monitoring, letting attackers reach customer sites 2019-2022; settled without admission. regulator (FTC order) · 21 May 2025 source
  • DeepSeek: South Korea's regulator found DeepSeek sent prompts and device data to other firms in China and the US without consent or disclosure. regulator (non-US) · 24 Apr 2025 source
  • Amazon (seller): After a 2019 German competition case Amazon committed worldwide to 30 days' notice for ordinary termination and reasons for blocks; sellers still report deactivations with vague reasons and appeal-writing industries persist. regulator (Bundeskartellamt) + seller reports · 17 Jul 2019 source

Adobe: a US government settlement announced 13 Mar 2026 (outside the counts above)

These are allegations and settlement terms as the US Department of Justice states them, not a finding by a court. They are not counted in the 137 reported problems or in the clause ratings.

  • Allegations. A complaint filed on 17 Jun 2024 in the Northern District of California alleged that Adobe hid a hefty early termination fee in fine print and links, and made cancelling hard. It alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. Two Adobe executives were also named. US Department of Justice · 17 Jun 2024 source
  • Settlement terms, as stated. Adobe would pay $75 million in civil penalties and offer customers $75 million in free services. A proposed order would require Adobe to disclose any early termination fee, and how it is worked out, before enrolling customers. It would also require a reminder before a free trial of more than seven days turns into a paid plan with that fee, and easy ways to cancel. US Department of Justice · announced 13 Mar 2026 source
  • Status. The order takes effect only if the court enters it. We could not confirm from the pages we read whether it has been entered. The FTC's own case page, last updated 25 Jul 2024 when we read it, lists only the 2024 documents. The Justice Department page does not state Adobe's position, and we have not contacted Adobe; any reply will be printed here before release. source
  • How it relates to our ratings. We rate the written terms only and do not test these allegations. The 50% fee we rate in the Renewal, exit clause comes from Adobe's own US help page dated 27 Jan 2026. source

Read with care: people with problems post more, review sites mix consumers with businesses, and lawsuits are allegations unless a court or regulator has ruled. Not reached this time: Reddit, X, Facebook groups, and Google and Yelp reviews, which blocked our tools or didn't come up in search. They're next, read by a person.

By type of business

Which terms hit your kind of business

The risk that hurts most depends on how you sell. Pick your group for the terms that bite, the trap, and what to do.

LowMediumHigh

From a research pass on 10 groups of similar businesses (official records first, forums only for recurring themes). Market shares are directional; complaints self-select; evidence for creators and trades is thinner.

11 · Your agreements

What you've signed, added up

Tick the companies you use. We combine their clauses into general steps for anyone using those providers; it isn't advice about your situation.

12 · Terms move

Most of these documents changed this year

Each dot is a document's own "last updated" date, as shown on the page we read.

PaymentsSoftwareAIEach dot is one document, placed at its own "last updated" date. Tap a dot.

59 of 81 dated documents were updated in the 12 months to 22 Oct 2026, and 2 more carry future effective dates (Anthropic's and OpenAI's usage policies). That makes 66 changed or changing in a year. A daily check watches every one of these documents for new versions.

If it goes wrong

Where to complain

Complain to the company first and keep records. Regulators use complaints to find patterns; most won't resolve your individual case.

ProblemUnited States
Misleading sales, hidden exit fees, leasesFTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov); your state attorney general; BBB
Frozen or held fundsFTC; your state attorney general; state money-transmitter regulators (for PayPal, Square, Stripe); small claims
Patient or client health dataHHS Office for Civil Rights; the FTC for health apps outside HIPAA
Other personal data and AIFTC; state privacy agencies. In California: the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
Delivery-app feesLocal caps where they exist (New York City)
Auto-renewalFTC (ROSCA, the federal online auto-renewal law); state attorneys general
13 · Coverage

What we've read, and what's next

Three areas so far. 66 more companies and products are queued across 13 areas; the daily run reads two at a time, highest priority first.

Read and ratedPayments12 companies

Processors and point-of-sale: Stripe, Square, PayPal, Toast and more

Read and ratedSoftware platforms16 companies

Store builders, office suites, CRM, email, design, meetings, scheduling

Read and ratedAI services9 companies

Consumer and business plans of 9 providers, read separately

14 · Same company, different deal

The terms change with the product and the plan

One brand can mean several agreements. Check which one you actually signed: the plan and the product line change the terms.

Shopify
Platform terms: Ontario courts, for US merchants
Shopify Payments: Delaware courts in the US
OpenAI
Consumer plans: trains on chats unless you switch it off
Business plans: no training on your content unless you agree
Google
Consumer Gemini: human-reviewed chats kept up to 3 years
Workspace: "never reviewed by humans" is an FAQ line; linked AI terms change 30 days after posting
Microsoft
Consumer Copilot: personal use only; no opt-out of human review
Microsoft 365 business: no training of foundation models, stated on a help page, not in the contract
Slack
Main agreement: no unilateral changes
Supplemental terms: changed by posting; continued use is acceptance

We read AI consumer and business plans separately. Lending products (Square Loans, Stripe Capital, Shopify Capital) are queued.

15 · Ask us

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Sources

Every document we read, and the ones we couldn't

105 documents on the companies' own websites, each with the "last updated" date it showed. 26 pages could not be read in full; most failures were our tools, not the companies.

Why pages couldn't be read

Not published (3)Behind a form or redirect (3)Site blocks automated readers (9)Our tool's limits (11)

Not published · 3

Not published. The company doesn't post it; you get it at sign-up or from a sales agent.

  • Clover (Fiserv), Merchant processing agreement (Fiserv Program Guide): Not posted; the terms page loads only with JavaScript and links to no processing agreement. Searches on 24 Oct 2026 found only the 2015 pages and a 2016 third-party copy. Now: Unrated cells
  • Chase Payment Solutions, US direct-merchant terms: No public URL found; the US column uses Chase Integrated Payments instead. Now: Partly rated
  • Adyen, Adyen for Platforms sub-merchant terms: Not located publicly. Now: Main Adyen terms rated

Behind a form or redirect · 3

Behind a form, a click-through or a region redirect.

Site blocks automated readers · 9

The site blocks or errors for automated readers (robots rules, security checks, script-only pages). A person can usually read it in a browser.

  • Meta AI, Meta AI terms: The site's robots rules disallow automated reading (retried 23 Oct). Now: Unrated; Meta's general, ads and privacy terms now archived via Open Terms Archive
  • Meta AI, Meta privacy policy and transparency pages: Robots rules; transparency pages are script-only. Now: Privacy policy now archived via Open Terms Archive
  • Anthropic, PDF versions of legal terms: The PDF host's robots rules disallow automated reading. Now: HTML versions read instead
  • xAI (Grok), Legal index: Site error. Now: Individual documents read directly
  • Square, US payment terms: Site error when we went back to it on 23 Oct. Now: Rated from the earlier reading
  • Wix, Terms of use, sections 2 to 19: Only section 1 rendered for our reader. Now: Full text now archived via Open Terms Archive; rating queued
  • Clover (Fiserv), Clover App Market Developer Terms: Loads only with JavaScript; our reader got the page shell with no terms text and no date (retried 24 Oct 2026). Now: Clover stays rated on its 2015 pages
  • Clover (Fiserv), Clover privacy notice: Same: script-only page, no text or date reached (24 Oct 2026). Now: Data-use cell stays on the 2015 license
  • Adobe, Machine-learning FAQ: Robots rules disallow automated reading (retried 24 Oct 2026). Now: AI cell rated from the General Terms (§4.3, §17)

Our tool's limits · 11

Our own tool's limits: read requests that timed out, our privacy guard wrongly flagging a public page, or a page cut off past the reader's length limit.

All sources

Archived copies: 82 documents, 18 of them listed here, are kept as dated full-text copies with SHA-256 fingerprints, taken from Open Terms Archive's public records (ODC-BY). They stay in our research files, since the text is each company's copyright. Open Terms Archive often reads European versions; we flag where that differs and never use them to rate US terms.

Method

How this was done, and its limits

  1. Read105 official agreements, service terms and policies from 37 companies, US versions, 22–24 Oct 2026.
  2. RateTen fixed clauses per sector: favors you, neutral, or favors the provider, against the norm we found. Each with quote, section, link and reason.
  3. Hunt the catchEvery friendly-looking clause read again for exceptions, overriding linked documents and help-page promises.
  4. Check realityComplaint records, court and regulator files, news and forums: do the terms allow what businesses report?
  5. Keep watchDated copies with SHA-256 fingerprints and a daily check for new versions. The change log starts at publication.
Quotes checked word for word against saved copies: 43 exact, 2 close, 12 to check by hand; 512 await a saved copy26 pages not fully read: see whyUS English versions onlyWe rate the text, not how often it's enforcedNot legal advice

Spot an error? Write to hello@foregaze.ai. We fix it and log the change here.

Please read

What this is, and isn't

Not legal advice

ForeGaze is a research company, not a law firm, and no one on the team is a lawyer. Nothing here is advice about your situation or creates a lawyer-client relationship.

Ratings are opinions

Our view of the quoted text, measured against what we found across these agreements. The quotes and links are there so you can judge for yourself. A rating doesn't mean a company broke the law or treated anyone unfairly.

Reports aren't verdicts

What businesses and regulators have said, dated, and unverified unless marked. Lawsuits are allegations, and settlements usually include no admission.

Dated and partial

Read 22–23 Oct 2026; each source shows the version we read. Headline figures rechecked 23 Oct 2026. Some pages couldn't be read (see Sources). State and local law can override a clause.

How it was made

Read and drafted with AI tools (Claude, made by Anthropic, which is also rated here; its catches are on the map like everyone else's). Quotes are checked word for word against saved copies, and a person reviews every rating before release. ForeGaze is responsible for the content.

Corrections and replies

Companies and readers: hello@foregaze.ai. We fix errors, date each change, and publish company responses.

Company names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify them. Quotes are short extracts for commentary. Provided as is, without warranty.

Check the version you signed

Terms differ by plan, product and country, and most change on posting. Find your providers on the map, then read the clause in your own agreement.

Open the map