#subscriptionservices — Public Fediverse posts

The War on Gaming (My Title)

https://youtu.be/PVb49RMWNrE

#AI #Gaming #GOG #RAM #SubscriptionServices

New York Times: I Tested a Popular A.I. Slop Detector. It Felt Empowering. This link goes to a gift article. “I tested Pangram, which costs $20 a month, for about a week and tried all sorts of experiments to challenge the system. I fed it personal essays alongside text generated with chatbots instructed to imitate my writing. I also uploaded social media posts from LinkedIn and Reddit that I […]

Associated Press: Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president’s posts on US policy. “The lawsuit alleges the service offering paying customers sneak peeks of his posts about U.S. policy on war, tariffs and other issues violates the Constitution and that official announcements should be made available to everyone at the same time. The new subscription service […]

ZDNet: I replaced my paid streaming apps with free ones – here’s what surprised me. “As comfortable as I am with my subscriptions, I never stop looking for ways to save money. So, I figured I’d try some free video and music streaming apps to see if any could replace my big four services. Here’s how it went.”

Snapchat+ gains 25 million subscribers four years after 2022 launch: Figure spans Lens+, Platinum, Memories Storage and Creator Subscriptions, the paid stack Snap keeps building while brand advertising revenue softened alongside. https://ppc.land/snapchat-gains-25-million-subscribers-four-years-after-2022-launch/ #Snapchat #SocialMedia #DigitalMarketing #TechNews #SubscriptionServices

AM NY: NYC’s new ‘click-to-cancel’ rule takes effect this fall to help New Yorkers get out of a bad subscription. “New Yorkers who sign up for gym memberships, streaming services, and other recurring subscriptions must soon be allowed by law to cancel them just as easily — and through the same method they used to enroll — under a new city rule taking effect Oct. 1.”

9to5 Google: Google Voice now offers paid tiers with call recording & Gemini for personal accounts. “Historically, Google Voice’s paid offerings were meant for enterprise customers, but Google is now letting you upgrade to a paid calling experience without needing a Workspace subscription.”

CNBC: OpenAI mulls slashing prices as it competes with Anthropic for users: WSJ. “OpenAI is mulling sharp price cuts to its artificial intelligence offerings, as it looks to woo consumers away from rival Anthropic, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening stateside, citing sources familiar with the matter.”

Engadget: How to get your money’s worth from YouTube Premium. “Whether you’re likely to find a YouTube Premium subscription valuable depends largely on whether you’re taking full advantage of its benefits. The bundled perks range from a slightly improved video viewing experience to the aforementioned main draws. It can also depend on how much you’re paying, since it’s often possible to find […]

Engadget: Google cuts the price of its AI Plus plan and doubles the storage . “The Google AI Plus plan will now cost $5 per month, according to a post from Vikas Kansal, the company’s Product Lead focused on Gemini AI subscriptions, down from its original $8 per month price. It now also comes with double the storage, 400GB instead of 200GB.”

#Meta is testing #subscriptionservices for its #MetaAI app and website, aiming to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising. Despite past struggles with non-ad ventures like #Portal and #Oculus, analysts see potential in Meta’s #AIsubscriptions, predicting significant revenue growth by 2030. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/30/meta-struggled-selling-anything-other-than-ads-will-ai-be-different.html?eicker.news #tech #media #news

Tubefilter: YouTube increases the value of its Premium Lite tier through Background Play and Downloads. “Last year, YouTube launched its Premium Lite tier as a slimmed-down, cheaper alternative to the standard YouTube Premium subscription. Now, YouTube is looking to make that deal even sweeter by adding a pair of useful features for Lite subscribers: Say hello to Background Play and Downloads.”

TechCrunch: Snapchat launches creator subscriptions in the US. “Social network Snapchat announced today it’s launching creator subscriptions in alpha with select people in the U.S. starting on February 23. The company noted that users will be able to buy subscriptions to creators, including Jeremiah Brown, Harry Jowsey, and Skai Jackson.”

Engadget: Anthropic beefs up Claude’s free tier as OpenAI prepares to stuff ads into ChatGPT’s. “Anthropic is upgrading Claude’s free tier, apparently to capitalize on OpenAI’s planned integration of ads into ChatGPT. On Wednesday, Anthropic said free Claude users can now create files, connect to external services, use skills and more.”

Ars Technica: Google experiments with locking YouTube Music lyrics behind paywall. “Google continues to turn the screws on free YouTube users, expanding a test that restricts access to song lyrics on YouTube Music. Users without a premium subscription have found that Google’s streaming music service only shows song lyrics a few times before demanding money.”

YouTube Blog: Flex your options: YouTube TV plans launch this week. “TV should be easy, and with YouTube TV Plans launching this week, we’re giving customers more control over their subscriptions. Over the next several weeks we are rolling out 10+ plans across Sports, News, Entertainment and Family content, priced lower than the main YouTube TV Plan.”

Mashable: Alexa+ is now available to everyone in the US, and free for Prime members. “For ages, Alexa has been a staple of Amazon Echo devices, serving as the loyal voice assistant. But Amazon is upgrading Miss Alexa to Alexa+, an assistant that does far more than play music and answer your questions. Alexa+ is Amazon’s AI assistant coming to all Echo devices for Prime members. Not a Prime […]

Mashable: Grindr is testing a new AI plan that could cost $220 a week. “Grindr has been testing EDGE in Australia and New Zealand, and it’s now expanding the pilot to Canada and some U.S. cities. Because EDGE is an experiment, users may see different prices, the blog post states. On X, multiple posts show the EDGE price as $219.99 for one week or $349.99 for one month.” Holy mackerel.

Tubefilter: Streaming viewers have clear preferences: They want to watch older shows for free. “Since 2020, the shows that have captured the most U.S. streaming watch time — and the most placements in Nielsen’s associated top-ten rankings — are familiar favorites from network and cable TV.”

TechCrunch: Facebook is testing a link-posting limit for professional accounts and pages. “The company confirmed the test to TechCrunch and said it impacts those people using professional mode and Facebook Pages. Professional mode lets you convert your personal profile into a creator profile while making your content eligible for discovery by a wider audience.”

Coywolf: A free app to visualize your subscription costs. “Whether we like it or not, we are stuck with the subscription model, and one downside is that small monthly prices add up quickly. That’s why the web developer Vu Nguyen created an open-source subscription visualizer called SubGrid.”

Gizmodo: Opera Wants $20 a Month for Its New AI Browser. You Probably Shouldn’t Pay It.. “Opera just rolled out early public access for its new AI-powered web browser, Neon, and it comes with a pretty hefty price tag for what is typically a free software application. The Norway-based web company announced today that anyone willing to shell out $19.90 a month can start using Opera Neon.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/17/gizmodo-opera-wants-20-a-month-for-its-new-ai-browser-you-probably-shouldnt-pay-it/

GameSpot: Lost Sega Channel Games Saved In Latest VGHF Project. “Sega Channel launched in 1994 and was one of the first subscription-based, digital game services, beaming new games and content directly to players’ consoles through a television cable. The service shut down in 1998, and since then many of the exclusive games and content available on the service were thought to be gone forever. […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/16/gamespot-lost-sega-channel-games-saved-in-latest-vghf-project/

TechCrunch: YouTube TV to launch genre-based subscription plans in 2026. “YouTube TV is launching more than 10 genre-specific channel packages in early 2026, the Google-owned company announced on Wednesday. The move will mark the first time YouTube TV breaks up its cable-like channel bundle.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/11/techcrunch-youtube-tv-to-launch-genre-based-subscription-plans-in-2026/

Techdirt: Enshittification Ahoy: Streaming Video Price Hikes Show No Sign Of Slowing Down. “Paramount was the latest to boost streaming prices this month as the company tries to recoup debt created by its massive recent acquisition of CBS and Bari Weiss’ weird, overvalued right wing troll blog. In addition to price hikes, companies are intent on just generally being more annoying and making […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/27/enshittification-ahoy-streaming-video-price-hikes-show-no-sign-of-slowing-down-techdirt/

Ah, the classic tale of digital betrayal: buy an app, watch it morph into a sneaky subscription service with AI features you never wanted. 🤖💰 Enjoy the privilege of "owning" nothing while being digitally mugged for updates. 📲👎
https://racc.blog/you-will-own-nothing-and-be-unhappy/ #digitalbetrayal #appownership #subscriptionservices #AIfeatures #consumerrights #HackerNews #ngated

The Verge: X is launching a marketplace for inactive handles. “X is treating this not as a one-time perk, but as an ongoing service to lure in more paid subscribers. If you secure a new handle, your old one will be frozen. The company says it may eventually offer a redirect option as a paid add-on. But more importantly, if you ever downgrade your X subscription, your account will revert back to […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/20/the-verge-x-is-launching-a-marketplace-for-inactive-handles/

InPublishing: The Walrus chooses Exact Editions. “The Walrus, a Canadian independent magazine of ideas, has launched a fully searchable archive of over 130 issues stretching back to 2011 in collaboration with digital platform Exact Editions, which will grow with every new issue published. IP-authenticated subscriptions are available to libraries at universities, colleges and schools […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/12/inpublishing-the-walrus-chooses-exact-editions/

Engadget: Snapchat introduces a paid storage option for all the Memories hoarders out there. “Snap is imposing a new storage limit on Snapchat’s Memories feature, which has racked up impressive numbers since its introduction in 2016. According to Snap, users have saved more than one trillion Memories across its platform, and it’s now introducing ‘Memories Storage Plans’ for users who exceed 5GB […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/29/engadget-snapchat-introduces-a-paid-storage-option-for-all-the-memories-hoarders-out-there/

The free shared shipping gravy train on Amazon Prime is coming to a halt! CNET reports on the impending crackdown. Guess those 'borrowed' accounts are about to feel a lot less 'free.' Are you ready to pay up, or will you find another way to avoid shipping fees?

#AmazonPrime #TechNews #SubscriptionServices #MoochersBeware #ConsumerTech
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/amazon-prime-is-ending-shared-free-shipping-what-to-know-and-when-it-happens/#ftag=CAD590a51e