Tiered pricing is EVERYWHERE now. In supermarkets, if you don’t have their app/loyalty card you have to pay higher prices. They frame it as a “discount” or “savings” for having the app, but clearly it’s just a punishment for not giving them your info and allowing them to track/advertise at you.
In restaurants/fast food places, you get “discounts” (i.e. regular prices) via the app/email list, and if you don’t have the app or give them your email address you don’t get the discount (read: you have to pay higher prices). And of course they can “tailor” personalised “deals” directly at you based on your past behaviour to optimise how much money they get out of you.
I just looked at a hotel and they’re advertising a “discount” if you give them your email address (read: a higher price if you don’t allow them to advertise at you).
I absolutely hate this behaviour. I know exactly why it’s there: some people are willing to pay more for convenience/no ads, and some are willing to go to more effort / put up with ads for a lower price. Either way they get more money out of you: the logical conclusion of capitalism and chasing higher profits.
It feels like this should be illegal. It feels like a cousin of price gouging, which is already illegal. Ofc it never will be outlawed in america - idk how much this happens across the pond though - but I hope one day this could be outlawed in europe.
I hate it, too. It’s not a total solution, but I keep a separate email just for things like this. Send all their spammy nonsense to a dead end email. It doesn’t work for text messages though. I’m not going to pay for a separate line for that.
I only wish I’d started the separate email earlier. I’m still inundated with spam email on my main account.
You may be able to get a Google Voice number. Or if you have a friend that doesn’t mind giving their info to stores, with their permission use their number. That has the bonus of polluting the data a bit.
I forgot about the Google voice thing. I’ve never used it, so I don’t know how it works. Will it accept texts? They often want to verify a phone number before giving you what you want, and if the text can’t go through, and you can’t get your verification number, then you’re screwed.
You can send and receive texts, yes
Okay, got to look into that.
Then I have to unsubscribe from a LOT of stuff, like political spam. I gave $10 to Bernie years ago, and I’ve regretted it ever since. Numerous political solicitation texts, every day.
Dude, same. Getting shit from republicans since I did it as well. Dont use your real number donating, you will regret it.
Last time I tried to get a Google voice number they said all the numbers were taken and none were available. I tried every area code possible.
I use Proton and their “email alias” feature which is sort of like Apple’s “hide my email” - generates you a receive only email address that you can hand out and turn off whenever you want.
Of course, the trade off here is that if I ever wanted to leave Proton (or Apple if I were using Hide My Email) migrating each of these addresses one by one would be a bitch and a half.
Get your own domain name. You can have Apple or Gmail or Proton host it, but if you ever decide to leave them all your emails still work.