This has happened to me at least 3 times with Google.

[mcc@mastodon.social]

This has happened to me at least 3 times with Google.

- They offer a free service.
- I sign up for the free service.
- A couple years later, they say to continue with the free service you must now do something I don't want to, like pay monthly or agree to put my home address publicly on the Android store.
- I decline, and my account on the service is deleted.
- For literally the next 15 years, I periodically get inscrutable emails about service changes or minor pricing changes in Bhutan

[mcc@mastodon.social]

Like, as a software and web developer. I would prefer if possible to serve the Bhutanese community in a useful way. Just because it's a small country doesn't mean it's not important. If I found out there were a language or localization issue in an app I wrote impacting only Bhutan, I'd fix it even if it helped only a single user. But finding out that sales tax will now be collected, or not collected, in Bhutan, for my published Android apps. Even if I had an app. It wouldn't impact my behavior.

[georgeharry169@mastodon.social]

@mcc that's awful

[dysfun@social.treehouse.systems]

@mcc i'm quite happy to serve a more diverse userbase, just don't ask me to find all the countries on a map

[robin@gts.icewind.me]

@mcc
They keep mailing me about billing issues (expired CC) for an account that has been unused for 10+ years (and without open invoices).

[bob@feed.hella.cheap]

@mcc the best one of these was custom domains for gmail. they rebranded that feature as "Apps for My Domain", then merged it with google apps, then merged that with google workspace, then eliminated the workspace free tier. so if you ever used that feature and you didn't subscribe to Workspace when you try to use any google service (except for youtube) you get this

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@aparrish "A system is what it does"

"But this system doesn't do anything"

"😐"

[jonfr600@mastodon.social]

@mcc Google did this with Google reCAPTCHA. Moved it from free to priced cloud service. I stopped using them.

[ireneista@adhd.irenes.space]

@mcc with any other company we'd say report it as spam because that does materially hurt them, but google is likely above that

[ryan@m29.us]

@mcc I've been an "Amazon Associate" since circa 2010, which I tried embedding in some sites at the time. Never made a referral sale. No idea how to cancel, but every few weeks they email me about an exciting TOS update or to admonish me for not having a payment method on file.

[spacelifeform@infosec.exchange]

@mcc

If it is free, you are the product.

[klara@wandering.shop]

@mcc Oh, yeah, I tested out AWS for a job interview once (I don't think one that even led to anything in-person) and now I'm forever on the mailing list for subtle changes in payment flows or somesuch.

I have never actually used AWS for anything and hope I never have to.

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@SpaceLifeForm True, however it's worth remembering that even if you are paying you sometimes find out you are the product