Enshittification Pattern Overview

• Big tech companies follow identical pattern termed "enshittification" by Cory Doctorow
• Stage 1: Companies solve key problems for users, go above and beyond
• Stage 2: Lock in users, then focus on suppliers/drivers to build monopoly
• Stage 3: Extract all surplus for themselves once both sides locked in
• Public companies driven by shareholders wanting quick profits vs long-term health
• Objective becomes: charge users maximum they'll pay, pay suppliers minimum they'll accept

Uber Case Study

• 2009 Launch: 50-30% cheaper than traditional taxis, cleaner cars, friendlier drivers
• User Lock-in: Within 1 year became essential app, users completely locked in
• Driver Incentives: Sign-on bonuses, cashback on fuel, car maintenance discounts, 80% revenue share
• Surge Pricing: Drivers earned 2-3x more during high demand (example: £100 for 15-minute ride after music festival)
• Current State: 120-mile journey cost £120 initially, now £300 (2.5x increase)
• Tiering System: Normal tier gets 8+ year old cars, drivers with <100 trips or poor ratings
• Hidden Surge: No longer shows 3x pricing, just inflates base price without transparency
• Uber One Subscription: 5% discount on inflated prices + free Uber Eats delivery

Netflix Transformation

• Original: £5.99/month, cheaper than movie tickets, revolutionary value
• 4K Tiering: Moved to separate tier at £17.99/month instead of base service addition
• Ad Introduction: Added ads back after promising ad-free experience
• Current Structure: £10.99 middle tier to avoid ads, £17.99 for 4K
• Competitor Comparison: Now TV and Amazon Prime added ads to normal tiers without price reduction

Subscription Problems

• Double Charging: Paying monthly subscriptions AND upfront costs for worse service
• Amazon Prime: Originally unlimited one-day delivery, now often requires minimum spend + extra fees for fastest delivery
• Service Degradation: Getting worse service while paying subscription vs original free service

Platform Fees and Extraction

• Uber Eats Example: McDonald's 20 nuggets £6.99 vs £4.49 on McDonald's app
• Fee Breakdown:
  • Inflated menu prices (10-100% markup)
  • £8.81 minimum for "free" delivery with Uber One subscription
  • Priority delivery £2.49 (just means no stops, how delivery used to work)
  • Base delivery fee £2.29
  • Small order fee for orders <£10
  • Service fee (Uber's visible cut)
  • Total: 70% of order value goes to Uber
• Guarantee Deception: Priority delivery "10-20 minutes" but only refunds if takes 45+ minutes
• Amazon Pricing: £12.99 hampers on Amazon found for £4 elsewhere within 1 minute

Social Media Monetization

• Facebook Strategy: Created open haven for social connections, then exploited inability to leave
• Revenue Maximization: Filled with ads, charged companies for targeting
• Feed Curation: Follower posts become suggestions, discarded for higher-revenue content
• Lock-in Effect: Leaving becomes "social suicide"

Dark Patterns

• Piccolo App Example: £4.49/week for game designed for monthly use, forgot to cancel = £110 over 6 months
• Subscription Traps: Fair price would be £4.49 one-time, but relies on people forgetting
• Default Option Manipulation: Amazon pre-selects slower delivery despite Prime subscription
• Cancellation Obstacles:
  • Multiple pages to navigate
  • Flipped continue/back buttons between pages
  • Aggressive discount offers only when canceling
  • Pause vs cancel options to auto-resume
  • Guilt tactics ("only boring people cancel")
• Study Finding: Average consumer encounters 6+ dark patterns when canceling subscriptions
• PlayStation Example: No one-month option, cancel hidden in Users→Account→Payment→Subscriptions→PlayStation Plus, multiple confirmation screens

Subscription Proliferation Impact

• Content Fragmentation: Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock each taking exclusive content
• Cost Escalation: From £5.99 Netflix (75p/movie) to £10-20/month each service (£1/movie)
• Personal Subscription Audit: £1,212/month total across work and personal subscriptions
• Work Subscriptions: Epidemic Sound, Slack, Trello, Adobe Creative Suite, Frame.io, Surfshark, Twitter Blue, Google Drive, Uber One, plugins
• Personal Subscriptions: Netflix, Spotify, Vodafone, Tidal, Apple TV+, Apple iCloud, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium, Deliveroo Plus, PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live, Nintendo Switch Online

Business Model Benefits

• Predictable Revenue: 950/1000 users paying next month vs hoping for new customers
• Easier Upselling: Cheap entry point, then add-ons and expensive tiers
• Customer Lock-in: Subscribers likely to spend more to maximize subscription value
• Revenue Growth: £2/month subscription overtakes £10 one-time purchases quickly and accelerates

Solutions and Recommendations

• Individual Actions:
  • Cancel subscriptions immediately after signing up for one-month trials
  • Rotate TV service subscriptions monthly instead of maintaining all
  • Binge content on one platform then move to next
• Policy Solutions:
  • Smoother platform switching (contact Facebook friends without active account)
  • Enforce delivery on initial promises beyond honeymoon phase
  • Social media should show what users signed up for, not retention-driving content
  • Amazon should show genuinely best-matched products, not highest-paying advertisers
  • Google should prioritize best review answers, not Google's own reviews
• Consumer Protection: Consider fragmentation impact on consumers, not just company size

Surfshark VPN Endorsement

• Counter-Example: Fixes Netflix geo-restrictions across countries
• No Household Limits: Works for unlimited users
• Pricing: <$3/month with code "boss", 3 months free, 30-day money-back guarantee
• Improvement Over Time: Cleaner app, no ads, no price increases, more features added