Bookmark: "Visualizing the Length of the Fine Print, for 14 Popular Apps"

Sebastian Greger

Bookmarked:

Having referenced Dima Yarovinsky’s exhibition installation “I agree”, visualizing the overwhelming size of web platforms’ “terms and conditions”, on various occasions, this visualization by Nicholas LePan struck a nerve.

It naturally lacks the physical experience of facing texts bigger than human beings, a particular aspect of the original work that I find so appealing, but it makes the idea behind more accessible as a two-dimensional piece.

A visualization of very long
“Visualizing the Length of the Fine Print, for 14 Popular Apps”, republished here as per the indicated permission on VisualCapitalist.

The accompanying article provides a thorough background on how it was made, and highlights further just how unrealistic it is that an average user would read – and understand – such lengthy and complex legal texts.

I'm Sebastian, Sociologist and Interaction Designer. This journal is mostly about bringing toge­ther social science and design for inclusive, privacy-focused, and sustainable "human-first" digital strategies. I also tend to a "digital garden" with carefully curated resources.

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