https://enshit.club/ Independent reporting on enshittification, subscription traps, digital ownership and customer-hostile product decisions. en Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://enshit.club/articles/connected-hardware-data-and-subscriptions/ https://enshit.club/articles/connected-hardware-data-and-subscriptions/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Locked hardware Connected hardware can turn a durable object into an account, advertising and data-collection relationship. A recent FTC order involving GM and OnStar shows why the physical product is no longer the whole product. https://enshit.club/articles/streaming-reassembled-cable/ https://enshit.club/articles/streaming-reassembled-cable/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Subscriptions The cheap, ad-free all-in-one pitch gave way to fragmented libraries, price rises, advertising tiers and accounts that provide access rather than ownership. https://enshit.club/articles/dating-apps-subscription-incentive/ https://enshit.club/articles/dating-apps-subscription-incentive/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Subscriptions Dating services sell hope, attention and subscriptions at the same time. The product test is whether the bill, cancellation route and claims about connection remain honest when the user is vulnerable to urgency. https://enshit.club/articles/social-media-rented-reach/ https://enshit.club/articles/social-media-rented-reach/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dark patterns Social platforms began with people choosing who to follow. The mature model increasingly routes attention through recommendation systems, advertising inventory and platform-controlled distribution. https://enshit.club/articles/google-search-doorway-to-tollbooth/ https://enshit.club/articles/google-search-doorway-to-tollbooth/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI everywhere Search began as a concise route to other sites. Its current incentives include advertising, proprietary answer surfaces and AI features that can reduce the reason to continue to the source. https://enshit.club/articles/amazon-marketplace-pay-to-be-seen/ https://enshit.club/articles/amazon-marketplace-pay-to-be-seen/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Platform economics The FTC’s antitrust case alleges that Amazon’s growing seller, fulfilment and advertising fees turned paid placement into a practical cost of reaching shoppers. The case remains unresolved. https://enshit.club/articles/android-developer-verification-sideloading/ https://enshit.club/articles/android-developer-verification-sideloading/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership Google’s developer-verification system changes how apps from outside the Play Store install on certified Android devices. The first enforcement phase begins in selected countries in September 2026, with a wider rollout planned for 2027. https://enshit.club/articles/chatgpt-reddit-roblox-dsa-designation/ https://enshit.club/articles/chatgpt-reddit-roblox-dsa-designation/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI everywhere The European Commission has designated ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as very large services under the Digital Services Act, bringing new risk, transparency and user-choice obligations. https://enshit.club/articles/eharmony-renewal-price-court-finding/ https://enshit.club/articles/eharmony-renewal-price-court-finding/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk Australia’s Federal Court found eHarmony misled consumers about subscription prices, duration, cancellation and renewals that could cost far more than the first term. https://enshit.club/articles/trainline-virgin-atlantic-red-drip-pricing/ https://enshit.club/articles/trainline-virgin-atlantic-red-drip-pricing/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT UK desk The UK competition regulator is investigating Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School over whether mandatory fees appeared too late for customers to compare the real cost. https://enshit.club/articles/smart-glasses-bystander-privacy-australia/ https://enshit.club/articles/smart-glasses-bystander-privacy-australia/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk Australia’s Privacy Commissioner says smart glasses and other surveillance wearables raise hard questions about notice, consent and what happens when bystander data reaches a technology company. https://enshit.club/articles/microsoft-365-copilot-uk-renewal-investigation/ https://enshit.club/articles/microsoft-365-copilot-uk-renewal-investigation/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT UK desk The UK competition regulator is investigating whether Microsoft 365 customers received clear information about cheaper Classic plans before Copilot subscriptions renewed at higher prices. https://enshit.club/articles/aliexpress-dsa-unsafe-products-fine/ https://enshit.club/articles/aliexpress-dsa-unsafe-products-fine/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Trust file The European Commission fined AliExpress €550 million after finding that it failed to assess and reduce systemic risks from illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products. https://enshit.club/articles/windows-diagnostics-personalized-offers/ https://enshit.club/articles/windows-diagnostics-personalized-offers/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership Microsoft documents that Windows collects required diagnostic data and that, when personalised offers are enabled, it can use diagnostic data to show tips, ads and recommendations—including suggestions for OneDrive or more storage. https://enshit.club/articles/australia-dark-patterns-in-the-priority-list/ https://enshit.club/articles/australia-dark-patterns-in-the-priority-list/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk The ACCC’s 2026–27 enforcement priorities explicitly call out subscription traps and other dark patterns in digital markets. Naming the tactic is the beginning, not the remedy. https://enshit.club/articles/microslop-windows-ai-backlash/ https://enshit.club/articles/microslop-windows-ai-backlash/ Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI everywhere Microsoft’s AI-everywhere strategy gave its own customers a new word for software decay. The nickname is crude. The product lesson is not. https://enshit.club/articles/meta-addictive-design-preliminary-finding/ https://enshit.club/articles/meta-addictive-design-preliminary-finding/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dark patterns The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta’s design of Instagram and Facebook to be in breach of the Digital Services Act, focusing on infinite scroll, autoplay, notifications and highly personalised recommendations. https://enshit.club/articles/justanswer-two-dollar-subscription-trap/ https://enshit.club/articles/justanswer-two-dollar-subscription-trap/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk Australia’s Federal Court ordered JustAnswer to pay $10 million and provide refunds after consumers were signed up to monthly fees they had not expected from a $2 question-and-answer offer. https://enshit.club/articles/virgin-media-cancellation-fine/ https://enshit.club/articles/virgin-media-cancellation-fine/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT UK desk Ofcom fined Virgin Media £28 million over alleged failures that made it harder for customers to cancel broadband and phone contracts. https://enshit.club/articles/sony-removes-purchased-movies/ https://enshit.club/articles/sony-removes-purchased-movies/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership PlayStation customers in the UK were told that 551 StudioCanal films would disappear from their libraries in September 2026 after licensing agreements expired. https://enshit.club/articles/hopper-hidden-fees-settlement/ https://enshit.club/articles/hopper-hidden-fees-settlement/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Subscriptions The companies behind the Hopper travel apps agreed to pay US$35 million to settle US allegations that they pre-selected fees described as optional and misrepresented some travel-product benefits. https://enshit.club/articles/sony-kills-the-playstation-disc/ https://enshit.club/articles/sony-kills-the-playstation-disc/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership From January 2028, new PlayStation games will be sold digitally only. Retail boxes may still exist—but as download codes, not copies you can lend, resell or preserve. https://enshit.club/articles/amazon-prime-video-ads-australia/ https://enshit.club/articles/amazon-prime-video-ads-australia/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk Australia’s consumer regulator alleges Amazon relied on unfair Prime contract terms to add advertising to Prime Video, then asked subscribers to pay extra to keep the service ad-free. The claims have not been decided by a court. https://enshit.club/articles/app-store-steering-payment-restrictions-uk/ https://enshit.club/articles/app-store-steering-payment-restrictions-uk/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership The UK Competition and Markets Authority is consulting on requirements that would let app developers tell customers about payment options outside Apple and Google’s platforms. https://enshit.club/articles/click-to-cancel-lost/ https://enshit.club/articles/click-to-cancel-lost/ Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Subscriptions America’s federal click-to-cancel rule was struck down days before taking effect. The dark pattern survived the reform designed to kill it. https://enshit.club/articles/australia-health-tracking-pixels-privacy/ https://enshit.club/articles/australia-health-tracking-pixels-privacy/ Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Australia desk Australia’s Privacy Commissioner found that tracking pixels on Medmate and Monash IVF websites collected sensitive information for social-media advertising without the required consent. https://enshit.club/articles/stubhub-uk-hidden-fees-refunds/ https://enshit.club/articles/stubhub-uk-hidden-fees-refunds/ Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT UK desk The UK Competition and Markets Authority ordered StubHub UK to refund more than 50,000 customers and imposed a fine after finding mandatory ticket fees appeared late in the checkout process. https://enshit.club/articles/genesis-tech-multi-brand-subscription-schemes/ https://enshit.club/articles/genesis-tech-multi-brand-subscription-schemes/ Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Subscriptions The US Federal Trade Commission alleges a network behind fitness, productivity, PDF and astrology products used hidden renewals, unauthorised charges and difficult cancellation across changing brands. https://enshit.club/articles/stop-destroying-videogames-eu-response/ https://enshit.club/articles/stop-destroying-videogames-eu-response/ Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Digital ownership The European Commission will engage with consumers and game publishers after the Stop Destroying Videogames initiative, while saying it cannot currently require publishers to keep games playable after commercial support ends. https://enshit.club/articles/ryanair-family-seat-fee-investigation/ https://enshit.club/articles/ryanair-family-seat-fee-investigation/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT UK desk The UK Competition and Markets Authority is investigating whether Ryanair’s family-seat charge and its presentation at checkout comply with consumer-protection law. It is an investigation, not a finding.