Weasel words
The monitor flags a fixed list of hedging phrases every time it scans a policy rewrite. None of them is proof of anything by itself, but a rewrite that adds several of them in one pass is usually widening scope, not narrowing it. Every phrase below links to the real changes where we found it.
"such as"
Introduces examples, not a complete list. The named items are illustrative. The policy still covers whatever isn't named.
"as described"
Points elsewhere in the same document. Only as precise as whatever it's pointing to. Worth checking that the referenced section actually says something specific.
"may use"
Permissive, not a commitment either way. "May use" grants a right without confirming the company currently exercises it, or always will.
"appropriate"
A discretion word. "Appropriate" measures, "appropriate" safeguards: appropriate by whose judgment, and against what standard, is left to the company.
"aggregated"
Data combined across many users. Aggregation can genuinely reduce privacy risk, but the policy rarely says how many users, or how the aggregate could still be reversed.
"may include"
Signals the list that follows is non-exhaustive, without saying what's left out.
"improve our services"
A broad, catch-all purpose. Training a model that powers the product is, by definition, "improving the service". This phrase alone can cover it without saying so.
"reasonable"
Another discretion word, doing the same job as "appropriate": setting a standard without stating what would fail to meet it.
"de-identified"
Personal identifiers removed by some process the policy doesn't specify. "De-identified" isn't a fixed legal standard. How thorough it is varies by company and jurisdiction.
"may share"
Same permissive structure as "may use," applied to third-party disclosure instead of internal use.
"from time to time"
A vague frequency with no defined interval. Could mean quarterly, could mean once.
"may process"
The GDPR-flavoured version of "may use": permissive, not a confirmation of current practice.
"in certain circumstances"
An unspecified carve-out. The circumstances aren't listed, so the exception's real size is unknowable from the text alone.
"where permitted"
A hedging phrase flagged by the monitor's word list.
"including but not limited to"
States its own non-exhaustiveness directly. Whatever follows is illustrative, not the boundary.
"deidentified"
A hedging phrase flagged by the monitor's word list.
"as otherwise described"
A hedging phrase flagged by the monitor's word list.