How many of us could accurately say what is happening with our data right now? Are we aware of how Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others use the data we share online every day? I suspect the vast majority of us skip past the privacy policy when signing up for websites and are therefore largely in the dark as to how our data is used. It's a quandary that prompted a team of researchers from EPFL, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Michigan to develop an AI-driven program to check privacy policies for us. The work, which was documented in a recently published paper, aims to make it easier for users to understand the privacy policies they so often skip past. The team has developed a tool, called Polisis, which can be used for free either as a browser extension or from their website.

Scientists have developed a programme that uses artificial intelligence to decipher a website's data protection policies in the blink of an eye, and can help you protect your personal information. The programme developed by researchers, including those from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, can let people know which websites and apps collect and subsequently sell their personal data. People do not always take the time to read website terms and conditions before accepting them. Not only are they extremely lengthy, they are also convoluted and written in opaque legalese, researchers said. However, they can contain surprising clauses about a website's or app's right to use the data it collects, such as the user's IP address, age and online preferences.

GENEVA: Scientists have developed a programme that uses artificial intelligence to decipher a website's data protection policies in the blink of an eye, and can help you protect your personal information. The programme developed by researchers, including those from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, can let people know which websites and apps collect and subsequently sell their personal data. People do not always take the time to read website terms and conditions before accepting them. Not only are they extremely lengthy, they are also convoluted and written in opaque legalese, researchers said. However, they can contain surprising clauses about a website's or app's right to use the data it collects, such as the user's IP address, age and online preferences.

It's a safe bet that some of the websites and apps you use collect and subsequently sell your personal data. But how can you know which ones? An EPFL researcher has led the development of a program that can answer that question in just a few seconds, thanks to artificial intelligence. If you're like most people, you don't always take the time to read website terms and conditions before accepting them. Not only are they extremely lengthy, they are also convoluted and written in opaque legalese.

But how can you know which ones? An EPFL researcher has led the development of a program that can answer that question in just a few seconds, thanks to artificial intelligence. If you're like most people, you don't always take the time to read website terms and conditions before accepting them. Not only are they extremely lengthy, they are also convoluted and written in opaque legalese. However, they can contain surprising clauses about a website's or app's right to use the data it collects about you, such as your IP address, your age and your online preferences.