Contract trap · Any contract
Deemed acceptance / browsewrap
You are said to be bound merely by visiting or using the service (or by someone else's click on your account), cookies and tracking are 'consented' by scrolling, other documents are pulled in by hyperlink, and in leases and B2B contracts declarations, acts or invoices are 'deemed accepted' unless disputed within days.
- Severity
- Serious
- How often it turns up
- Almost always
- Holds up?
- Depends where you are
- Clause phrases
- 34
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- continued use after changes
- if you do not agree, you must stop using
- deemed to have accepted
- your use of the service constitutes
- by continuing to use
- by accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound
- whether or not you have read them
- incorporated herein by reference
- by continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies
- your use of the site signifies your consent
- you represent that you have the authority to bind
- deemed accepted
- unless Client notifies Contractor in writing within five (5) business days
- failure to respond shall constitute acceptance
- tenant acknowledges having read and understood
- entire agreement
- available on request
In Russian-language contracts
- молчание считается согласием
- если вы не согласны, прекратите использование
- факт использования является акцептом
- считается принявшим
- продолжение использования означает
- использование Сервиса означает безоговорочное принятие условий
- акцептом настоящей оферты является
- регистрация означает полное и безоговорочное согласие
- Продолжая использовать сайт, вы принимаете условия
- На сайте используются cookies. Продолжая использовать сайт
- Используя Сайт, Пользователь выражает согласие на обработку
- конклюдентные действия Пользователя
- являются неотъемлемой частью настоящего Соглашения
- акт считается подписанным
- при отсутствии мотивированного отказа в течение 3 (трех) рабочих дней
- услуги считаются оказанными надлежащим образом
- Наниматель ознакомлен и согласен
Check your own contract
Paste a clause, a page or the whole document. Nothing leaves your browser: the matching runs here, on this page, against the phrases above.
Why it bites
You can be bound to arbitration, content licences and fees you never saw — a 2019 Disney+ trial was invoked against a wrongful-death claim and a minor's Uber Eats click bound her parents; 'continued use' is not valid consent for tracking but the operator relies on it; a missed email turns defective work into an accepted invoice.
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
In the US, unconscionability and the FTC Act §5 bar on unfair and deceptive practices are the general backstops; in the EU and the UK, consumer standard terms are tested under Directive 93/13 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
United States
Pure browsewrap (terms only via a passive link) is often unenforceable; clickwrap / sign-in-wrap with a conspicuous notice is usually enforced (Meyer v. Uber, 2d Cir. 2017), while an inconspicuous hyperlink notice fails (Berman v. Freedom Financial, 9th Cir. 2022). Continued-use acceptance of changed terms generally needs actual notice.
- Cited
- Berman v. Freedom Financial
- Meyer v. Uber
European Union
93/13 Annex (i) — binding to terms with no real opportunity to read; e-Commerce Directive Art 10(3); DSA Art 14(1); consent requires a clear affirmative act — CJEU Planet49 (C-673/17, 2019), EDPB Guidelines 05/2020 (scrolling is not consent); German §308 Nr. 5 BGB on fiction-of-acceptance clauses.
- Cited
- §308 Nr. 5 BGB
- 93/13 Annex (i)
- C-673/17
- DSA Art 14(1)
United Kingdom
CRA 2015 Sch 2 para 10 and s.68; CMA37 treats EULAs as assessable consumer notices; OFT/CMA: 'read and understood' and entire-agreement declarations in tenancies are unfair; ICO (Nov 2023): 'reject all' must be as easy as 'accept all'.
- Cited
- CMA
- CMA37
- CRA 2015 Sch 2 para 10
- ICO
Russia
ст. 428, 435-438 ГК; ст. 8, 10 ЗоЗПП (информация в доступной форме); ст. 9 ч. 1 152-ФЗ — согласие конкретное, предметное, информированное и однозначное, Роскомнадзор (2023) не признаёт баннеры «продолжая использовать»; штраф ст. 13.11 КоАП; в B2B односторонний акт при отсутствии возражений в срок принимается судами (ст. 753 ГК по аналогии).
- Cited
- 152-ФЗ
- ст. 13.11 КоАП
- ст. 428
- ст. 753 ГК
- ст. 8
- ст. 9 ч. 1
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- Piccolo v. Disney (Florida, 2024) — Disney+ trial arbitration clause invoked in a wrongful-death suit, then waived
- McGinty v. Uber Technologies (N.J. App. Div., Oct 2024) — parents bound via daughter's Uber Eats acceptance
- Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble (9th Cir. 2014) — browsewrap not enforceable
- CJEU Planet49 (C-673/17, 1 Oct 2019) — pre-ticked box is not consent
- lenta.ru cookie notice: «На сайте используются cookies. Продолжая использовать сайт, вы принимаете условия»
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- Screenshot the sign-up screen and every linked document
- Never let family members or minors accept terms on your account
- Reject non-essential cookies and object in writing
- B2B: extend deemed-acceptance windows to 10-15 business days from receipt and calendar every delivery. US: contest assent (browsewrap generally unenforceable)
- EU/UK: terms you had no real opportunity to read are unfair (Annex (i))
- RU: договор присоединения — ст. 428 ГК
- Согласие на обработку должно быть однозначным (ст. 9 152-ФЗ).
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.