Concepts

3D Printing Restrictions and Bans is a practice in which businesses, platforms, or governments impose legal, technical, or policy-based limitations on how consumer 3D printers may be used. These…

Activation is a license or service validation procedure. It may involve sending information about a device, a license or a licensee to a service provider, and receiving some information that is…

Ad blocking is the practice of blocking advertisements, typically through automated means. Typical goals for doing this are reducing distractions, lowering the extent of data collection, decreasing…

Advertising overload refers to the practice of not only integrating advertising as a source of revenue in software and websites, but also increasing the number of ads within platforms that consumers…

Adware (combination of words advertisement and software) is a piece of software that is designed to display advertisements. This description is used for software that is displaying ads excessively…

Age Verification (AV), also referred to as Age Affirmation (AA) and Age gating, is the process in where a business requires some form of identification to verify your age. This is usually done for…

Anti-rollback, or ARB, for device firmware is a feature of some devices that prevents the device from booting if it detects that the device has been downgraded to an older, unapproved software build…

Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) is a feature in certain kinds of devices manufacturers use to collect consumer data, visuals and audio, at periodic intervals, which grants the manufacturing…

Main article: Digital rights management Digital Rights Management (DRM) in automotives is a practice in which automotive manufacturers restrict some of the functionalities of their products by using…

A backdoor is a method of covertly bypassing authentication, often in a digital system. A backdoor can be placed intentionally by a party to secretly access the system, or can be the result of a bug…

Bait-and-switch is the action of advertising goods that are an apparent bargain, with the intention of substituting inferior or more expensive goods. The measures against this practice depend greatly…

Most devices with rechargeable batteries have a battery management system (BMS) module. This module monitors and regulates key variables and is capable of communicating with the device and preventing…

Bloatware can be defined in 2 main classes: Pre-installed or bundled: features not required by a system (physical or digital) to work properly, and/or undesirable programs. Software that has become…

The bootloader is a special program on a device that loads the operating system when the device is turned on. Bootloaders are typically set by the manufacturer and shipped to retailers and consumers…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a financing option for online purchases that allows consumers to pay for items in four installments. Companies such as Klarna, Affirm, PayPal, and Apple Pay offer Buy…

A "buy one, get one free" deal (abbreviated BOGO) is a form of sales promotion wherein a second unit of a good is sold for free only if the first unit is bought at full price. This can be used as a…

Circular Economy ideas and concepts have been studied extensively in academia, business, and government over the past ten years. It has been gaining popularity because it can help to minimize carbon…

A class action (or class-action lawsuit) is a type of civil lawsuit that allows a group of individuals (the "class") to make a collective civil case against an entity. European countries use the…

The click-to-cancel (CtC) rule is a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule, specifically 16 CFR Part 425.6, which requires that subscription services make it as easy to cancel the service as it was to…

In consumer technology, a cloud service typically refers to a data processing service provided by a service provider (often product manufacturer), often for a periodic fee, without control over or…

Consent-or-pay, also known as consent-or-okay, is a business model implemented in response to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under this model, users of a website are…

Corporate greed, or simply greed, is a modern phenomenon In which corporations pursue goals for profit and shareholder-value without valuing customer thoughts and consumer rights.

CSS-based tracking and CSS fingerprinting consist of abusing the semantics of CSS, a styling language used to present virtually all web-pages, in order to trick web-browsers to send data to servers.

Daily Wire+ advertises “lifetime Membership” access, but the term may not match typical expectations of lifetime service.

A dark pattern is a manipulative design practice that tricks or influences users into making decisions that may not align with their true preferences or interests. These techniques exploit cognitive…

Data brokers are companies that collect, aggregate, analyze, and sell personal information about consumers without having a direct relationship with those individuals. These companies operate largely…

Data lock-in limits how device owners can access and manage data stored on the device they own. For example, some mobile applications store user data in a way they can only be viewed from inside the…

De-anonymization is the process or final state of revealing the true identity of an anonymous or pseudonymous person. All data linked to the anonymous or pseudonymous entity can then be connected to…

Deceptive language used by companies to impede the rights of consumers while appearing benevolent comes in many forms. Many of them can be boiled down to a few principles.

Lifecycle means series of stages which something (services, products, ..) passes during its lifetime. This article is aimed primarily for physical products at the moment.

Disabling online features in retaliation is a practice in which businesses deny access to online functionality because the user of a product did not adhere to terms or policies unrelated to the…

Discontinuation bricking occurs when a product is rendered non-functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking usually occurs in products that…

Downloadable Content (DLC), also referred to as Expansions or Expansion Packs, are a method for developers and/or publishers to extend the monetization of their products. This practice is not…

Dynamic pricing is an umbrella term, which refers to a pricing strategy of modifying the price of a product or service according to market demands and/or consumer-identifying information. This…

Electronics leasing is an emerging business model in which consumer electronics such as phones or games consoles are leased to consumers for extended periods, rather than sold either by direct…

An end-user license agreement (EULA) is a legally binding contract between the licensor (often a software or technology provider) and the end user (the consumer or business licensing the product). It…

Platform decay, commonly known as Enshittification or crapification, is a practice in which companies (usually large ones) allow the quality of the products or services they provide to decline over…

Fake lifetime license is a marketing scam in which customers are misled and/or blatantly lied to, with respect to the expiration date of a license they acquired. This is distinct from post-purchase…

False advertising is an illegal business strategy where a consumer is lied to or otherwise mislead with the intention of increasing the probability that they will purchase a product.

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a psychological phenomenon where a person feels like they are missing out on something that could improve or make life more enjoyable. As it relates to negative business…

Feature Ransom is a form of rights stripping when core functionality is restricted or removed unless users accept new terms or conditions.

Features on Demand (FoD), also called On-Demand Features (ODF) or Functions on Demand, refers to the process in which businesses provide a particular function or feature that can be added whenever…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), established in 1914, is a federal agency enforcing anti-trust laws and consumer protection measures in the United States. The agency consists of five commissioners…

Financial censorship is the practice of major payment processors refusing to process transactions for individuals or entities that do not align with their values. Although some banks and processors…

Fingerprinting consists on attempting to uniquely identify someone or something, so that it becomes easier to track. A device fingerprint is a collection of information about a device's hardware and…

The First Sale Doctrine is a fundamental principle in U.S. copyright law that ensures consumers retain essential rights to resell, lend, or otherwise transfer ownership of legally acquired goods…

Forced account registration/sign-in/log-in is a practice committed by entities, where users must have (and use) a digital identity to perform simple tasks that may have otherwise been possible…

Forced app download is a practice committed by businesses and government entities where users must download an app on their smartphones to perform simple tasks that may have otherwise been possible…

Forced arbitration is a practice in which businesses can require their customers to resolve disputes through arbitration, instead of a traditional court system.

Basic Input/Output System, also known as BIOS, is a type of firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the booting…

Forced cloud, forced internet, forced remote connection, etc... is a practice in which software or hardware requires a continuous/constant (or, at least, regular) device connection to remote servers…

Forced Identification is the practice of forcing the user to unnecessarily provide their ID in order to access a product or service. The primary concern for forced identification comes from how…

Forced indemnification is a practice in which a business, such as a bank, refuses to take an action, such as transferring funds, unless and until its customer signs a document that includes an…

Forced retention of payment methods is when online platforms and payment processors store user payment credentials, often without a clear or easily accessible way to revoke them. In many cases, cards…

The Free Software Movement is a movement that aims to create and distribute software that is free in all sense of the word, not just monetarily. The movement was formally initiated by Richard…

A game-of-telephone is a children's game that originates from China; where a starting message is passed through to multiple people. Then once the final message has been passed it's compared against…

Main article: Artificial intelligence Generative AI, also referred to as GenAI or simply "AI" in colloquial English, is a program or service with the purpose of "generating" pieces of media (text…

Greenwashing is a form of advertising or marketing that deceptively uses social and environmental public relations (PR) in order to persuade the public, investors, and consumers that a company's…

Hardware as a service (HaaS) (not to be confused with Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)), is a subscription model for physical appliances, such as cars. Unlike IaaS, which consists on…

Main article: End-user license agreement End-User License Agreements are often purposefully obfuscated through legal and technical language to hide terms and permissions that negatively affect the…

Inactive account deletion is where accounts get deleted after being unused, with the time-frame often being from 6 months to 5 years.

Interchangeable parts are components designed for wider compatibility beyond the original product. Components ranging from Phillip or Torx screws in a laptop to hubcaps for the wheels of a car engage…

Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other…

Jailbreaking consists of removing restrictions (or "locks") in order to be able to make changes to a piece of technology (e.g. running modified software), in a way that is unintended by the company…

Kernel-level anti-cheat (KLAC) is a subset of anti-cheat dedicated towards running above the user level. These types of anti-cheat, such as Easy Anticheat (EAC), have grown in popularity among large…

Kernel drivers, kernel modules, or drivers are programs that run inside the kernel of an operating system. The kernel is the most fundamental part of the operating system, it provides basic services…

In a class action, the lead plaintiff is the named individual who files the suit on behalf of all the claimants.

Legal Lockout is a form of rights stripping where terms are implemented that modify users' legal rights or access to legal remedies. A common legal lockout practice is to implement forced arbitration…

Lifetime licenses (also known as perpetual licenses, or one-time purchases) are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable…

Malicious compliance is an action where one complies with a request or demand, but in such a way that it follows the wording, but not the spirit or intent of the mandate. Applied to consumer rights…

Monetization overload, or over-monetization, occurs when a company prioritizes heavily monetizing a product or service, often at the expense of consumer engagement or even the product's…

Negative option marketing is a commercial practice in which a seller treats a consumer's silence or failure to act as acceptance of an offer, resulting in automatic charges. In the United States, the…

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share…

Non-fungible tokens (also referred to as 'NFTs' or simply 'tokens') are a type of media centered around purely digital ownership backed through cryptocurrency infrastructure. Ownership of NFTs are…

Opt-outs are a way for companies to make it harder for consumers to control their data. With opt-out, the consumer has to notice that they have a choice, understand the choice, and do some action to…

Part pairing is a practice in which manufacturers serialize individual components to effectively mandate the use of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and approved technicians for repairs…

Pay-walling or paywalling consists of the action of setting a restriction to part of the content from a software or a service that can be only accessed if the user pays a one-time purchase or a…

Personalized advertising, custom advertising or targeted advertising is a form to provide certain ads to the user, based on the data gathered of them. This allows to target the user with ads of…

Planned obsolescence is a business strategy where products are intentionally designed to become obsolete, undesirable, or to stop functioning within a predetermined time-frame, forcing consumers to…

Podkicker is an Android podcast manager and player. The non-pro version was available free in the Android app store from 2013, with the Pro version Podkicker Pro purchasable for a fixed price.

Positive practices are pro-consumer business approaches that prioritize the interests, rights, and well-being of customers. They are designed to empower consumers and offer fairness, transparency…

Main article: End user license agreement Post-purchase end-user license agreement (EULA) modification is when the terms that govern a customer’s use of a product or service are modified after the…

Microtransactions (MTX) act as a format of additional monetization within games. This can range from purchasing in-game currency, to cosmetics, boosts, and more.

Price fixing is determined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asAn agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors to raise, lower, maintain, or stabilize prices or price…

Device deauthorization and remote disabling refers to the ability of technology companies like Apple and Microsoft to remotely lock, disable, or revoke access to consumer devices such as laptops…

Retailers requiring police reports for missing items in orders is a practice in which businesses ask customers to file a police report before they will process a refund or replacement for goods…

Retroactive policy enforcement is a subset of the behaviors of EULA modifications after purchase. It occurs when companies or platforms introduce new rules, policies, or enforcement mechanisms and…

This article addresses the widespread, harmful misconception that breaking a digital lock or modifying software behavior is always considered "illegal hacking." In truth, U.S. law, while flawed…

The right to own (also right of ownership) is the expectation of the buyer of a product to be its owner in a general sense. This concept is a response to various actions by product manufacturers that…

Rights stripping is the systematic removal or reduction of consumer rights through agreement modifications.

Screenshot blocking prevents the owner of a computing device from capturing screenshots and screen recordings. Some operating systems such as Android and Apple iOS let app makers block the device…

Secure boot, also known as verified boot, is any technology that prevents the execution of non-trusted programs during the startup sequence of a computer system, such as a desktop PC or a smartphone…

Security is an engineering principal whereby the risk of an unauthorized malicious agent gaining control of a product, its information, or its environment is minimized. Security of programs and…

Main article: Security Security through obscurity is a practice where companies obfuscate or hide the logic behind their product to supposedly enhance their security. It also includes practices like…

Self-destructive design is a generic form of product design whereby it is possible that some if not all functions of the device will cease functioning. Self-destructive design can occur…

Self-hosting is the practice of implementing digital services with server applications under one's own control. This is opposed to relying on large public services or cloud services, compared to…

Shrinkflation (from "shrink" and "inflation"; Dutch: krimpflatie), additionally referred to as package downsizing, weight-out, and price pack architecture, is a corporate strategy where manufacturers…

Sideloading is a term suggested by product manufacturers that refers to a secondary method of software installation, typically one with more user control compared to the primary one(-s) that are…

A SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a lawsuit filed with the primary intent of suppressing public discussion of, or exposure to, a specific view. In a consumer context, this…

Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is…

A piece of software being referred to as "bricked" simply means the program has been rendered unusable. Software bricking is a malicious practice in which a company revokes user access to a…

Related to forced app download, software-gating or software companion is a method to control device features through external means in consumer electronic hardware. It is characterized by a…

Spyware is a form of malware designed to gather information from the infected device. Spyware comes in many different shapes and forms and may be installed intentionally or unintentionally.

Digital storefront shutdowns, or the practice of discontinuing online storefronts for consoles and other devices, has become increasingly common. This often results in the removal of games exclusive…

A subscription service is an ongoing transaction agreement between the customer and the company, where a user usually pays on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis to receive the services provided by…

TeamViewer is a free proprietary remote access and remote control software made by TeamViewer SE, which has their headquarter in Germany.

Terms of service (ToS), also known as terms of use (ToU) and terms and conditions (T&C), are the legal agreements between service providers and their consumers. The person must agree to the ToS in…

Trusted Computing is a technology developed by the Trusted Computing Group. It aims to restrict the workings of a computer so that it may only behave in ways allowed by the trust provider.

Value Based Pricing (VBP), also known as Value Optimized Pricing (VOP), or Surge Pricing, is the practice of setting the price of a product or service based on its estimated value to a specific…

Video game preservation, which falls in the broader category of media preservation, is the act of ensuring the accessibility and playability of older video games for the future. There are many…

A web cookie, is a small chunk(s) of data served(shared) to the client(browser) that can be used for a variety of purposes. One of the most common being a website login identifier that serves a…