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  "path": "/t/do-you-regularly-pay-for-any-privacy-enhancing-tools/37524?page=2#post_23",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-03T19:12:42.000Z",
  "site": "https://discuss.privacyguides.net",
  "textContent": "Yes.\n\nIf corporations are able to offer a free service without you paying for the money, that doesn’t mean no revenue is made.\n\n  1. A non profit relying on grants and donations (Signal)\n  2. You paying for their service (Proton)\n  3. Freemium with paid Enterprise (not as frequent, but WinRar is a classic example, and Obsidian before they made it free to use for all)\n  4. Freemium with upgrade to better tiers (Obsidian - free local use, paid online backup)\n  5. Surveillance capitalism (social media, by and large)\n  6. Bait & Switch / Embrace Extend Extinguish (free now, or at a loss, but free lunch doesn’t come forever, looking at ChatGPT and AI is today)\n\n\n\nAnd these are not necessarily a discreet set, plenty of these can be happening at the same time. If you aren’t sure where the money comes from, then you should be questioning if you are the product, and if that matters for you.",
  "title": "Do you regularly pay for any privacy-enhancing tools?"
}