Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Glasswire

2025-01-29T13:22:14Z

Martinligabue: fixed formatting

= GlassWire: A Master Class in Bait-and-Switch =

== Overview ==
GlassWire initially launched as a freeware network monitoring tool, gaining widespread recognition and user trust due to its free access and useful features. However, over time, its business model underwent a significant shift, culminating in a fully subscription-based service. This transition is widely regarded as a textbook example of bait-and-switch tactics in software monetization.

== Timeline of Changes ==
# '''Freeware Launch''' – GlassWire was originally free, attracting extensive media coverage and word-of-mouth promotion.
# '''Introduction of Paid Features''' – Paid tiers were introduced, while the free version still remained available.
# '''Subscription Model''' – Over time, the shift towards subscriptions began, with more features locked behind paywalls.
# '''End of Lifetime Licenses''' – Users who had legally purchased lifetime licenses started receiving intrusive notifications pushing them to upgrade.
# '''Full Subscription Enforcement''' – GlassWire 2.0 officially became subscription-only, removing all non-subscription options.

== Intrusive Popups and Forced Upgrades ==
Users of GlassWire 1.2.121, the final update before version 2.0, even those who purchased lifetime licenses, now experience unavoidable popups that force an alt-tab interruption, stating:

GlassWire 1.0 is no longer supported. Please upgrade to the latest version.

There is no way to disable this popup, effectively rendering older versions of the software disruptive to use, even though perfectly functional.

== GlassWire's Justification for Subscriptions ==
GlassWire provides the following reasoning for its transition to a subscription model:

GlassWire is an ad-free and tracking-free app, so we rely on our customers to fund our work (please check our privacy policy for details). We are grateful to supporters who purchase our software and allow us to keep working on this project!

Some other types of software charge “upgrade fees” between versions of their apps. If you purchase that type of software, they usually say their software is a one-time fee, but unfortunately, they almost always charge for upgrades, and these upgrades can be more costly than subscriptions. With GlassWire, we sell a yearly subscription so you can continue to get free feature upgrades all the time as we update our software. As long as you are a GlassWire subscriber, you will never get an upgrade fee or be unable to download a GlassWire upgrade.

Your financial support allows us to continue working on GlassWire and create GlassWire for other operating systems like Mac, Linux, etc. Thanks for your support so we can continue working on this project to help people protect their data and privacy. We could not work on GlassWire without our loyal customers.

== Community Backlash ==
The transition to a subscription-only model has been met with widespread criticism, particularly from early adopters who supported the software under the impression that lifetime licenses meant perpetual access. The forced upgrade popups and lack of an opt-out mechanism have further fueled frustration among users.

== Conclusion ==
GlassWire’s transformation from a well-regarded freeware tool to a mandatory subscription model exemplifies the bait-and-switch strategy that many modern software companies employ. While the developers argue that subscriptions provide continuous updates and funding, many users feel deceived, especially those who paid for a "lifetime" product only to find themselves forced into a recurring payment model.

DAZN

2025-01-29T11:27:42Z

Martinligabue:

{{Incomplete}}
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAZN DAZN] is a British owned sports broadcasting/streaming website

==Cancellation Difficulties==
DAZN proposes that you can both sign up and cancel your subscription to streaming services at any time. This is in contrast to the fact that once the 30 day trial is up, the members are kept locked into a subscription service as credit card information is required at the time of initial sign up for services. The ToS of DAZN contain a forced arbitration wherein by subscribing you wave all rights to any compensation by any class action lawsuit. [https://help.dazn.com/hc/en-us/articles/16391473315101-Terms-of-Use]

Signing up for the service is a few minute process. Trying to unsubscribe from the service requires you to talk with an in-house agent. Said agents appear to never be available. The only recourse one has to keep DAZN from charging your card monthly is to cancel all charges being put on the account from that vendor.

Cerberus

2025-01-29T11:26:44Z

Martinligabue: could be this considered a draft or not even that?

{{Incomplete}}
https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/12/21/cerberus-paid-lifetime-license-expiration/

LG G4 malfunctions

2025-01-29T10:49:18Z

Martinligabue:

{{Incomplete}}
{{ToneWarning}}

The LG G4 phone is an android smartphone developed by LG Electronics as part of the LG G series of phones. It was discovered to have defects which caused it to become unstable or inoperable. Despite the widespread problems in the phone, LG did not issue a recall when millions of customers were affected.{{Citation needed}}

This issue in the phone was caused by heat which would detach the soldering, with the most common result being a bootloop issue where the device would be stuck in a cycle of booting but never post.<ref>[https://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/lg-g4-bootloop-problem-how-to-diagnose-and-fix-2946272 LG G4 Bootloop Problem: Global Software Upgrade Centre the final fix? written by Andrew Williams on Trusted Reviews]</ref> This would result in all user data being lost, and the device being unusable.{{Citation needed}}

Other problems included touchscreen issues, where the screen would stop responding permanently (or until restart for some users), charging port death, speaker function damage, and double tap features no longer functioning, which was an early precursor to the touchscreen issues. When abnormally high failure rates were reported in the first few months,{{Citation needed}} LG hid the issue and refused warranties. When public outcry increased, they told news outlets it was a very small subset they would look into it, while having confirmed many months prior that it was a universal issue.

The issue was exasperated by the device's Snapdragon 808 processor, which famously had overheating issues (along with the 810), but it was LG's devices (including the G Flex) that suffered these desoldering issues en masse.

LG did not recall the devices, opting to instead continued to market the device (the G4 was marketed for over two years at bus stations in Canada, well after the release of the G5).{{Citation needed}} The company later launched a replacement scheme with US carriers,{{Citation needed}} which did not address the phone's systemic problem of breaking down and losing all user data.

Users who had their phone replaced reported it dying a second or third time due the heating issue not being fixed. All data is lost upon bootlooping and LG continued selling it for over a year after finding out.{{Citation needed}}


The phone received Android 5.0 roughly two months after release, and was expected to get two major updates. It was confirmed through an LG spokesperson in South Korea (twice) that the device would be receiving Android 6.0 Marshmallow,{{Citation needed}} but the update was never globally released, despite LG's promise that the phone would receive updates. At the time Android updates were not yet segmented (link to video on this topic), so updates took much longer to develop, and the decision to do so would have been made well in advance. The device was still being advertised for over 6 months after Android 6.0 was slated for release. The update was eventually released, but only in South Korea.

LG ended up settling one class-action lawsuit on the issue exclusively in the USA.{{Citation needed}} They avoided a recall that executives knew would be needed months after release. (source on LG knowing the bootloop issue existed 3 months after release).

LG left the phone market in 2021.<ref>
[https://www.lg.com/global/newsroom/news/corporate/lg-to-close-mobile-phone-business-worldwide/ "LG to Close Mobile Phone Business Worldwide"],www.lg.com, 2021-04-05,retrived 2025-01-18,archive date 2025-01-18 21:03:36 (utc-5) ,https://archive.ph/xK5is
</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:LG]]

Final Draft software activation

2025-01-27T12:25:08Z

Martinligabue: corrected indentation, removed (hidden) double title, minor typos

[[Final Draft (software)|Final Draft]], an industry-standard screenwriting software company, announced in January 2025 that they were discontinuing activation services for Final Draft 10.

==Details of the Change==
Final Draft announced they would discontinue activation and deactivation capabilities for Version 10 on June 30, 2025. This change means:<ref>Final Draft Company Email to Version 10 Users, January 15, 2025</ref> <ref>[[:File:FInal draft.pdf]]</ref>

* Users can't reinstall the software on new computers;
* Software can't be reactivated after operating system updates;
* Technical support ends February 1, 2025;
* Existing installs will continue working until the computer or operating system is updated.

The company offered users an upgrade path to Version 13 at a reduced price of $59.99 (from $99.99) as a solution for affected users.

==Meaning for Consumer Rights==
This case shows key issues with modern consumer rights:

===Loss of Perpetual License Rights===
While users bought perpetual licenses for Version 10, the deactivation of authentication servers effectively removes their ability to use the software on new systems or after updates. This changes what was sold as a permanent purchase into a time-limited license without explicit user agreement.

===Forced Obsolescence===
The company's decision to disable activation creates artificial barriers to continued use. While the software remains functional and could theoretically continue running on existing systems, the authentication requirement forces users toward paid upgrades, regardless of their needs or the software's actual functionality. For instance, an operating system reinstallation can require reinstalling the software, which, even though the user has paid for a license, will not work.

===Industry Standard Lock-in===
Final Draft's position as the industry standard for screenwriting software means users face limited alternatives if they want to maintain compatibility with others in the industry. This market position worsens the impact of their licensing decisions on consumers.

==Broader Implications==
This represents a growing trend in software licensing where companies can unilaterally alter the terms of the sale, taking away perpetual licenses through technical mechanisms rather than legal means. While the company cites security concerns and operating system compatibility, the core word processing functions of the software work fine, raising questions about the necessity of disabling activation.

==Alternatives==
A recent alternative for screenplays is the Markdown-like [https://fountain.io/ Fountain], an open standard supported by most screenwriting and production tools. However, it cannot fully replace Final Draft files for exchange with production software because, in Fountain, text wrap is app-dependent and thus page breaks are not guaranteed to be consistent.

== Notes ==
<references />

User:Martinligabue

2025-01-24T12:54:20Z

Martinligabue: Created page with "I'm not good with content, I like to fix and organise things."

I'm not good with content, I like to fix and organise things.

User talk:Tob

2025-01-24T12:52:16Z

Martinligabue:

heroic user
----
Hey, in regards to the categories, while I agree that product might sound better, since we started organizing with the Product Line category please keep it in the article for now. This might change in the future but it helps moderate right now. Also, if you want to track the pages you create you can go to Special:Contributions/Tob and filter by page creation for examlple.
I understand that the naming is not consistent right now but while we are figuring things out it helps to have a standard category at least (however bad it may sound) [[User:Kostas|Kostas]]

Sounds good to me. My intention wasn't to remove the other categories, only to include the originals. I should have noted that. Additionally, if the common consensus is to use pluralized category names I'm also cool with that. [[User:Tob|Tob]] ([[User talk:Tob|talk]])

All good, I should have checked the revision history rather than just the message. Honestly I made the pluralized name and I kind of regret it now but I was in a rush to have at least something to categorize by. Whenever it is apparent which one people prefer or if another scheme is decided upon I expect we will set up redirects. [[User:Kostas|Kostas]]
----
== RE: customer protection format ==

Hey [[User:Tob|@Username]], I left a reply and made some change/suggestions on your format [[Consumer Protection Format (Unofficial)|here]].
[[User:Kostas|Kostas]] ([[User talk:Kostas|talk]]) 00:04, 21 January 2025 (UTC)
==tl:ProductPage==
I'm not sure why that template is using a parameter for the key, and one for the value... Wouldn't it be much more easier to have a parameter that's the key, directly connected to the value?

Instead of

<code>|infobox_1_key=Release Year</code>

<code>|infobox_1_value=2003</code>

it would be

<code>|release_year=2003</code>

--[[User:Martinligabue|Martinligabue]] ([[User talk:Martinligabue|talk]]) 12:52, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

Template:ProductPage

2025-01-24T00:51:44Z

Martinligabue: added infobox for better clarity

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</div>{{{description|}}}

== Consumer Impact Summary ==

==== Privacy ====
{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_1|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_1}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_2|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_2}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_3|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_3}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_4|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_4}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_5|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_5}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_6|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_6}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_7|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_7}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_privacy_8|}}}|* {{{summary_privacy_8}}}<br/>}}

==== Freedom ====
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==== Transparency ====
{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_1|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_1}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_2|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_2}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_3|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_3}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_4|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_4}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_5|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_5}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_6|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_6}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_7|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_7}}}<br/>}}{{#if:{{{summary_transparency_8|}}}|* {{{summary_transparency_8}}}<br/>}}

== Consumer Protection Incidents ==

{{#if:{{{incidents_1_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_1_title}}} ({{{incidents_1_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_1_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_2_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_2_title}}} ({{{incidents_2_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_2_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_3_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_3_title}}} ({{{incidents_3_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_3_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_4_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_4_title}}} ({{{incidents_4_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_4_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_5_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_5_title}}} ({{{incidents_5_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_5_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_6_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_6_title}}} ({{{incidents_6_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_6_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_7_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_7_title}}} ({{{incidents_7_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_7_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_8_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_8_title}}} ({{{incidents_8_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_8_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_9_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_9_title}}} ({{{incidents_9_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_9_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_10_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_10_title}}} ({{{incidents_10_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_10_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_11_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_11_title}}} ({{{incidents_11_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_11_text|}}}}}{{#if:{{{incidents_12_title|}}}|</ul><h4>{{{incidents_12_title}}} ({{{incidents_12_date|}}})</h4>{{{incidents_12_text|}}}}}

== References ==
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Consumer Rights Wiki talk:Moderator guidelines

2025-01-20T11:14:28Z

Martinligabue:

== Just a few typos ==

#* Note: it is permissible for an incident to be positive, as long as it is both noteable <-notable

# The company does not have an existing page, which the artice <- article

#* The level of managerial independance <- independence

#* The level of managerial independance - how independant <- independent

* Stub (for an article which is simply underdeveloped: the content currentlyu <-

lead to deletion if it's in massive violation of the No Original Reaearch <-

Basically a limbo to put articles in where their merits can be discussed before a descision <- decision

* Demonstrate (through evidence, and assertion by sources, not thorugh <- through

* If the Incident affected only a small hanfdful <-

* '''The article should be neutral and factual,''' without unneccesarily -< unnecessarily

A user reported that an Amazon delivery driver accessed their garage through their phone without authorization
#* Demonstrate a pattern of similar incidents or systemic flaws in Amazon's delivery authorization <- authorisation?

#* Remove aricle, <-

A person brought a 5-year-old iPhone 11 for battery replacement at official Apple Store in Rio. After a $170 service, both cameras stopped working. Apple blamed previous unauthorized <- unauthorised?

-- Preceding unsigned comment by DavidBenJr at 04:21, 15 January 2025‎