Privacy policies are some of the most important documents that most of us never read. One of the main reasons that most of us ignore them is that they can be long and difficult to understand.Twitter has attempted to address that with a new privacy policy that’s shorter, easier to read, easier to navigate, and can be skimmed in the form of an online game.

Twitter's New Policy Aims for Simplicity

The new Twitter privacy policy, which was posted on May 11 and comes into effect on June 10, begins with an explanation that reads almost like an apology:

“While we wish we could fit everything you need to know into a Tweet, our regulators ask us to meet legal obligations by describing them in a lot of detail. With that in mind, we’ve written our Privacy Policy as simply as possible to empower you to make informed decisions when you use Twitter...”

From there, the page presents the six things that they want you to understand without reading the whole policy. Each of these items is presented in a single phrase, but there is also a link to the complete form of each item in the full privacy policy.

Twitter's TLDR of its privacy policy

But the most surprising development of the new policy is the fact that Twitter has also created an online game for it.

Why Did Twitter Make a Privacy Policy Game?

Twitter has also created a web game that walks users through some of the key points of the privacy policy. The Twitter Data Dash game is a multi-level 8bit-style platformer.

According to Twitter, the game is aimed at helping users understand the more complex parts of its policy. It also is meant to teach users about how they can take control of their Twitter experience by using a variety of settings.

As a game and as a privacy policy, it has its hits and misses. You're tasked with navigating the dangers of PrivaCity. Each level has different enemies, obstacles, and environments to navigate through.

The game isn’t exactly difficult—the enemies slow you down a little, but you don’t have a health bar or a limited number of lives. The challenge comes from collecting items throughout each level, which you need to progress to the next level.

The opening level prompt of Twitter's privacy policy web game.

But from our experience, the gameplay itself doesn’t help you understand the privacy policy in detail. The items and enemies are themed around main ideas from the document, and you get a tip about how to safely use Twitter at the end of each level, but that’s about it.

A Twitter policy tip unlocked by beating a level of Twitter Data Dash

The way that these end-of-level tips are phrased is more helpful than the way that they're presented in the simplified privacy policy.

However, if you never read the privacy policy because of how busy you are, playing through the privacy policy as a web game is not going to solve that problem.

Has the Policy Actually Changed?

There don’t seem to be any noticeable changes in the policy, at least at first glance. But, the policy doesn’t come into effect until June, and it seems strange that a policy that didn’t change in any meaningful way would have a delayed effectual date.

The only thing that might be notable? The policy explicitly states that how Twitter handles private data may be subject to change in the event of an ownership transfer. This could be a disclaimer made in anticipation of Elon Musk purchasing Twitter – an action that has been negotiated but not yet finalized.

Will You Read the Policy or Play it?

The privacy policy isn’t fun, but it’s important. The game isn’t important, but it’s fun. If you feel you have a grasp on Twitter’s privacy policy, or if you don’t care, this initiative won’t interest you.

If you feel passionate about Twitter’s privacy policy but could never understand it, this initiative was meant for you.