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The scourge of subscriptions (discuss.tchncs.de)

Even simple apps nowadays have become subscription only. Whilst I used to pirate most stuff in the past, but if the app in question is a small one time purchase, it's not bad considering you don't need to sideload updated apk's from Mobilism each time a new version is released (looks at some great cheap apps like Pano Scrobbler).

However, the trend has shifted towards the other side with everything from video recording apps(AZ Recorder), Weather apps(Today Weather) and Battery monitoring apps(Battery guru) offering subscriptions. Some have a high one time purchase option but some like the latter don't.

Battery Guru is an example of enshittification. If phones still came with removable batteries and companies supported them, then for the price of say, a 4 year subscription to the app, I could have just gotten a new replaceable battery. It's not like the app will magically stop my battery from degrading.

Whilst I have done piracy ( and still pirate stuff like films because no alternative, screw you Netflix), I tried to go the legal route for some apps since then updation and management of them becomes easier. But with the subscription scourge, I doubt devs are going in the right direction.

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[-] harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 5 days ago

I've been downloading more and more FOSS apps either from GitHub or F-Droid. I've been trying to avoid anything Google or from the Play Store.

Like others have said, I don't mind paying a subscription if there's a service on the backend that I find useful, such as SoundCloud or Burner.

Even then, I'm thinking I might end my SoundCloud subscription. I use it and Spotify to get listening suggestions but I'm hoping to find a better way to find music I might like but don't know anything about.

this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
57 points (95.2% liked)

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