Fine print will be the end of us all.

Companies like Apple and Microsoft have put teams and large amounts of money into their privacy policies, terms of agreement (ToA) and end-user license agreement (EULA) but does anybody even spend the time to read the fine print?. Most of us just click accept and move on without caring what we’ve just agreed too.

A recent April fools prank by UK game website Gamestation has highlighted how easily users and buyers will accept a company’s EULA. Gamestation did this by claiming thousands of their customers souls with an addition to their ToA and EULA on April 1st. The "Immortal Soul Clause" states that "By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul." An estimated 7,500 customers handed over their souls to Gamestation through this clause when purchasing items online.

When commenting on this prank Gamestation claimed they used the clause to illustrate problems with ToA, privacy polices and EULA’s as ways for companies to hide unfavorable polices from their customers. Figures from this incident report 88 % of people who bought products that day didn’t read the small print. 12 % of people did notice the trick in the clause and were given a 5 £ gift certificate and were entered in a draw for a game prize pack. When news of this prank hit the media Gamestation graciously gave back the souls they had in their ‘possession’

So next time you click accept on a companies EULA without reading the fine print, just be careful, you might be making a deal with the devil