cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/64574915
How about companies have to pay a monthly subscription fee for our data.
this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2026
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They do if you're using their service without paying for it.
No, they don't. You give them data by using their service. They then earn money with that data.
Which pays for the costs associated with providing you the service without you directly paying for it.
This has been the tradeoff for a long time. If the terms aren't acceptable, then don't use the service.
So do they or do they not lose money if I use their service without paying for it?
Without them having a different source of income, yes. Web hosting, IT staff, etc. cost money. Or if the free users outnumber the paid users to the point where the costs aren't covered by paid users.
If you run a gas station and the only people who visit just need to use the bathroom, the business loses money.
I'm not a fan of sites funded by advertising and data collection, so I don't use them. But let's not pretend that users of such sites get nothing from the arrangement.
You're implying that this is about small businesses. Big corporations don't compare with a gas station. They make ridiculously large amounts of money off of ignorance, apathy, or us being too distracted by struggling to survive.
No, you're inferring that I'm talking about small business by mistaking my analogy.
My point was that providing a service free of charge means the company pays the costs of the service. Some companies offset this by collecting data and providing ads.
You're free to not use services that use this business model.
You’re free to not use services that use this business model.
Let's not act as if this prevents them from collecting my data anyway.
My point was that providing a service free of charge means the company pays the costs of the service. Some companies offset this by collecting data and providing ads.
So you agree that these companies earn money despite me not paying them a subscription. Going back to my initial point: Do they lose money if I use their service without paying for it? Answer: No, they don't. Wasn't so hard, was it?
Wasn't so hard, was it?
Apparently it's hard to understand that running a website costs money.
If I were to state the obvious and acknowledge that running a website costs money, would you in return stop dodging my initial point too?
I'm not dodging your initial point. Companies compensate you for the data and advertising with free access to the website. The money they earn this way is used to pay for the service they're providing.
That's why them paying you a subscription for the data isn't a thing. You've already agreed to the trade.
Great, we agree that these companies aren't profiting off of monthly subscriptions but data collection instead. Allow me to rewind:
@harmbugler@piefed.social said:
How about companies have to pay a monthly subscription fee for our data.
A funny comment implying the companies are making an unfairly high amount of profits off of its users' data. Your reply:
They do if you’re using their service without paying for it.
You strike me as someone who understands that it's impossible to use such services without paying with data. So an appropriate response would be "No, they don't". Agreed?
I feel like you're failing to grasp the core concept here.
Yeah yeah, those poor tech companies are struggling to keep their website online because all we give them is all of our data. Just downvote me and feel victorious, corporate simp.
No. Ads are not the same. We never saw a dime
Yes you did, in the money you didn't spend to use the service.
Them spying on us and also selling our personal information is the same as them paying us? Wild take. "We spent money on this bait so you would walk into this trap. Say thank you."
Yes. You agree to it in exchange for not paying for the service.
If the terms of that agreement aren't to your liking, don't use the service or obfuscate your data.
This isn't a comment on the morality of the situation, btw. I don't find it moral so whenever possible I don't use services that do this, and when I do it's through a VPN, uBlock, pihole, and email aliases with bogus personal info.
It's more cumbersome, sure, but it's entirely possible.
I agree, but what does it have to do with "memes"?
I guess privacy in the US could be considered a meme by some.
Yeah I call bullshit
I do too. Seems like a red herring. Media is saying "look everyone! It's not that bad, no one is being tracked! Relaxxxxx, have a smoke and a pancake."
Why a request? Why not a button and EVERY TRACE OF YOU VANISH.
Because data brokers want their shit to sell to the IC.
When we all know the request and the button both won't actually do anything, feels silly to ask.
Damn it, based on past news i read, you are right!
i mean, how are they supposed to not keep track of you if they're not keeping track of you? just change line 27 from 0 to 1.
Everyone clapped
When deleting you receive a list of all servers/companies your data existed on and you'll get fifty dollars per list item so you can at least get some of your cut of the cash, as it was your name they were selling back and forth to each other. /s
All that data now marked with a 'requested-delete-haha' flag, so hidden, for now.
If they pay me $100, I'll sell my soul to the devil.