Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Inactive account deletion

2025-10-30T13:21:15Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B: /* Why it is a problem */

Inactive account deletion is where accounts get deleted after being unused, with the timeframe often being from 6 months to 5 years.

==How it works==
Often, companies delete or purge inactive accounts.

==Why it is a problem==

* In the case of email services, deletion of inactive accounts could result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple factor authentications for important services such as banking. Inactive account deletion policies will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalization, prison incarceration, and being in totalitarian countries (i.e. Afghanistan) which have prolonged internet shutdowns.

==Examples==

* [[Google]] has deleted inactive accounts, often citing 'privacy reasons' as a reason for doing it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barker |first=Shane |title=Google's Inactive Account Deletion policy: What You Need To Know |url=https://expertbeacon.com/googles-inactive-account-deletion-policy-what-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=29 Oct 2025 |website=Expert beacon}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Discord

2025-10-28T16:05:16Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B: /* Incidents */

{{ToneWarning}}

'''Discord''' is a proprietary VoIP and instant-messaging platform developed by Discord Inc. (formerly Hammer & Chisel, Inc.), co-founded by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Guadalupe |date=3 May 2018 |title=There Are 2.6 Billion Online Gamers in the World. This Startup Just May Connect Them All |url=https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/30-under-30-2018-discord.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503131556/https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/30-under-30-2018-discord.html |archive-date=3 May 2018 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |website=Inc.}}</ref> Launched in 2015, the service has grown to over 150 million monthly active users as of 2025. While initially marketed toward PC gamers, Discord has expanded to multiple platforms, serving various communities and use cases, such as education.<ref name="about-company">{{Cite web |date=15 Apr 2024 |title=About Discord <nowiki>|</nowiki> Our Mission and Values |url=https://discord.com/company/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250608013037/https://discord.com/company |archive-date=8 Jun 2025 |access-date=13 Jul 2025 |website=Discord}}</ref>

In April 2025, Humam Sakhnini (formerly King, Activision Blizzard) replaced Jason Citron as CEO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Discord Appoints Humam Sakhnini as Chief Executive Officer |url=https://discord.com/press-releases/discord-appoints-new-ceo-humam-sakhnini}}</ref> {{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Discord Inc.
| Type = Private
| Founded = 2015
| Industry = Software
| Official Website = https://discord.com
| Logo = Discord.svg
}}

==Consumer Impact Summary==

===Privacy<ref name="terms-of-service3">[https://discord.com/terms/ "Discord's Terms of Service"]. April 15, 2024. ''Discord''. Retrieved January 16, 2025.</ref>===
Mentioned within the '''Discord ToS<ref name="terms-of-service3" />''' and '''Privacy Policy''':<ref name="privacy-policy3">[https://discord.com/privacy/ "Discord Privacy Policy"]. April 15, 2024. ''Discord''. Retrieved January 16, 2025.</ref><ref name="community-guidelines2">[https://discord.com/guidelines/ "Discord Community Guidelines"]. April 15, 2024. ''Discord''. Retrieved January 16, 2025.</ref>
*Collects extensive user data, including messages, voice communications, and server participation.
*Claims broad rights to user-generated content.
*Deleted messages are stored for undefined periods.
*Retains personal information until deemed "no longer needed".
*Processes user content for "safety features and platform improvement".
*Shares data with related companies, vendors, and third-party service providers.
*Opt-out behavioral tracking across platform features for personalization.
*Maintains logs of IP addresses and device information for an undetermined amount of time, flags any user who has ever signed in with an EU IP address for inclusion within DSA transparency reports
*Sends a web request when any UI element is clicked & when typing
In 2019, Discord started randomly requiring phone verifications. Account will be locked until a phone number is added, regardless of account age or recent activity. The account will be automatically locked if the phone number is removed.<ref>[https://archive.today/2022.10.28-141642/https://wowana.me/blog/guess-im-done-with-discord.xht guess I'm done with Discord – wowana.me]</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/2025.08.31-190346/https://cadence.moe/blog/2020-06-06-why-you-shouldnt-trust-discord Why you shouldn't trust Discord - cadence's weblog (personal blog)]</ref>

===Freedom===
Mentioned within the '''Discord ToS<ref name="terms-of-service3" />''' and '''Privacy Policy''':<ref name="privacy-policy3" />
*Mandatory [[Forced Arbitration|binding arbitration]] with [[class action|class-action]] waiver for U.S. users (Started 19 October 2018).
*Users grant a perpetual, transferable license to their content.
*Users must accept the broad terms of service that allow unilateral changes.
*Accounts can be terminated without prior notice at Discord's discretion.

*No option to opt out of core data collection while using the service.
*Content may be retained by Discord even after deletion.
*Server owners have limited recourse if their servers are banned.
*Forced to use Discord's payment processing for all monetary transactions.

===Transparency===
Discord terms of service are lengthy and complex. In Oct 2025, just the base terms are 29 pages, 14th grade (Junior in college) reading level, with an estimated reading time of 42 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calculated using readabilitychecker.com based on current discord TOS. discord.com/terms |url=https://readabilitychecker.com/url |access-date=9 Oct 2025}}</ref> The 2021 version of Discord's ToS would take an estimated 275+ hours to read.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EULA of despair |url=https://www.pilotlab.org/eulas-of-despair |access-date=9 Oct 2025 |website=Penn State University Pilot Lab}}</ref>

Mentioned within the '''Discord Privacy Policy'''<ref name="privacy-policy3" /> and '''Community Guidelines''':<ref name="community-guidelines2" />
*Unclear processes for handling law enforcement requests.
*Vague about specific data retention time frames.
*Limited transparency regarding content moderation decisions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=BBB - Discord, Inc. |url=https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/computer-software/discord-inc-1116-918699 |access-date=Aug 2, 2025 |website=Better Business Bureau}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Trustpilot - Discord |url=https://www.trustpilot.com/review/discord.com |access-date=Aug 2, 2025 |website=Trustpilot}}</ref>
**In some instances, the offending content is not shown to the user, nor any metadata, filenames, timestamps, or even the originating channel.
**No limits or restrictions on the age of content (e.g., users can be suspended due to something sent 1500 days ago)
*Server ban appeals process lacks transparency.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
*Limited disclosure of recommendation algorithm factors.
*No clear disclosure of how the content is used for platform improvement.
==Incidents==
===Introduction of forced arbitration (Oct. 2018)===
In October 2018, [[Forced Arbitration|forced arbitration]] was added to the [[Terms of Service|terms of service]]. Users could opt out by sending an 'opt-out notice' to arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 90 days of the ToS going in effect or registering their first account.'''<ref name="terms-of-service3" />'''

===Child safety concerns (June 2023)===
An [[wikipedia:NBC News|NBC News]] investigation in June 2023 uncovered widespread child safety issues on Discord, revealing systemic problems with the platform's user protection measures.

Investigators identified 35 separate cases where adults were criminally charged with "kidnapping, grooming, or sexual assault" involving contacts initiated through Discord. Additionally, 165 criminal prosecutions involving the sharing of child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) on the platform were documented.<ref><templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles><cite id="CITEREFGoggin2023" class="citation web cs1">Goggin, Ben (21 Jun 2023). [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/discord-child-safety-social-platform-challenges-rcna89769 "Child predators are using Discord, a popular app among teens, for sextortion and abductions"]. ''NBC News''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230621152318/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/discord-child-safety-social-platform-challenges-rcna89769 Archived] from the original on 21 Jun 2023. Retrieved 13 Jul 2025.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=NBC+News&rft.atitle=Child+predators+are+using+Discord%2C+a+popular+app+among+teens%2C+for+sextortion+and+abductions&rft.date=2023-06-21&rft.aulast=Goggin&rft.aufirst=Ben&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Ftech%2Fsocial-media%2Fdiscord-child-safety-social-platform-challenges-rcna89769&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fconsumerrights.wiki%3ADiscord" class="Z3988"></ref>

===FTC data collection investigation (Sept. 2024)===
In September 2024, the [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC) released a comprehensive report examining Discord's data-collection practices as part of a broader investigation into social media platforms.<ref><templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles><cite class="citation web cs1">[https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Social-Media-6b-Report-9-11-2024.pdf "A Look Behind the Screens: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services"] (PDF). ''Federal Trade Commission''. 11 Sep 2024. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240919133855/https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Social-Media-6b-Report-9-11-2024.pdf Archived] (PDF) from the original on 19 Sep 2024. Retrieved 13 Jul 2025.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Federal+Trade+Commission&rft.atitle=A+Look+Behind+the+Screens%3A+Examining+the+Data+Practices+of+Social+Media+and+Video+Streaming+Services&rft.date=2024-09-11&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftc.gov%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fftc_gov%2Fpdf%2FSocial-Media-6b-Report-9-11-2024.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fconsumerrights.wiki%3ADiscord" class="Z3988"></ref>

The investigation revealed Discord collects extensive user data, including:
*Message content and metadata
*Voice-chat participation
*Server membership and activity
*Device and location information
Particular concern was raised about:
*[https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-312 Collection of data from users under 13]
*Handling of minors' user information
*Inadequate age-verification systems
The FTC identified multiple areas where Discord's practices put users at risk:
*Identity theft exposure
*Potential stalking risks
*Discrimination concerns
*Mental health and emotional impact

The FTC concluded that Discord's data practices created unacceptable risks for users, particularly minors, and called for significant reforms to the platform's privacy protection measures.<ref><templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles><cite id="CITEREFTolentino2024" class="citation web cs1">Tolentino, Daysia (19 Sep 2024). [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/social-media-companies-engaged-vast-surveillance-ftc-finds-calling-sta-rcna171814 "Social media companies engaged in 'vast surveillance,' FTC finds, calling status quo 'unacceptable'"]. ''NBC News''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240919171049/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/social-media-companies-engaged-vast-surveillance-ftc-finds-calling-sta-rcna171814 Archived] from the original on 19 Sep 2024. Retrieved 13 Jul 2025.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=NBC+News&rft.atitle=Social+media+companies+engaged+in+%27vast+surveillance%2C%27+FTC+finds%2C+calling+status+quo+%27unacceptable%27&rft.date=2024-09-19&rft.aulast=Tolentino&rft.aufirst=Daysia&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Ftech%2Fsecurity%2Fsocial-media-companies-engaged-vast-surveillance-ftc-finds-calling-sta-rcna171814&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fconsumerrights.wiki%3ADiscord" class="Z3988"></ref>

===Reinforcement of forced arbitration (Sept. 2025)===
Announced August 29th, 2025, and put into effect September 29th, 2025, Discord updated and re-iterated their [[forced arbitration]] clause, but gave users another option to opt-out of forced arbitration until October 29th, 2025 for existing accounts, or 30-days after initial agreement for new accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-29 |title=Discord's Terms of Service |url=https://discord.com/terms#16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251007023150/https://discord.com/terms#16 |archive-date=2025-10-07 |access-date=2025-10-07 |website=Discord.com}}</ref> Users are automatically opted into the forced arbitration clause if no action is taken to specifically opt-out of forced arbitration within 30 days. Instead, if the users chose to delete their accounts, the platform forced them to accept the terms in order to access their account, from which to delete it; making accepting the new terms mandatory.
[[File:Discord Forced Arbitration 1.png|alt=An example of Discord forcing users to agree to arbitration if they want to continue using the application.|thumb|(2025-09-29) An example of Discord forcing users to agree to arbitration if they want to continue using the application. The terms of service at the time of this screenshot includes forced arbitration and disallows users from filing a class-action lawsuit.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Discord |date=2025-09-29 |title=Terms of Service {{!}} Discord |url=https://discord.com/terms |url-status=live |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=Discord}}</ref>]]

===Third-Party Customer Service Data Breach (Oct. 2025)===
In October 2025, Discord issued a press release announcing a "Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service [5CA]", in which "the unauthorized party [...] gained access to a small number of government‑ID images (e.g., driver’s license, passport) from users who had appealed an age determination", as well as other personal data provided to support.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-10-03 |title=Update on a Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service |url=https://discord.com/press-releases/update-on-security-incident-involving-third-party-customer-service |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251006163040/https://discord.com/press-releases/update-on-security-incident-involving-third-party-customer-service |archive-date=2025-10-06 |access-date=2025-10-07 |website=Discord}}</ref> The number of ID images accessed was approximately 70,000, and the third-party in question was later named as 5CA.<ref name=":2" /> The hackers involved in the breach have revealed the data was accessed via Zendesk.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt |first=Troy |date=2025-10-04 |title=X |url=https://x.com/troyhunt/status/1974558088847102289}}</ref>
=== Inactive account deletions===
Discord has a deletion policy on inactive accounts in which accounts that are not used for 2 years or more may be scheduled to be deleted. Before the deletion of the inactive account, users may get an email or text message warning that their account is scheduled to be deleted.<ref>https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5106714856215-Inactive-Account-Deletion</ref>
===Vague moderation===
{{Main|Discord's irresponsible moderation}}
Reported often by users on the BBB<ref name=":0" />, Trustpilot <ref name=":1" />, and a dedicated subreddit<ref>{{Cite web |title=/r/BannedFromDiscord |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/BannedFromDiscord/}}</ref>, users have complained on Discord's moderation being vague. One such user reported their account being banned after being compromised on the BBB,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mir |first=Zain |date=Jul 23, 2025 |title=BBB Complaint |url=https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-francisco/profile/computer-software/discord-inc-1116-918699/complaints?page=2#1116_918699_23643523 |access-date=Aug 1, 2025 |website=Better Business Bureau}}</ref> with an automated system handling the entire process, replying only with templates, with no human involved in the appeal process.

==Solution to delete an account without agreeing to updated ToS==

*Visit [https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/212500837-How-to-Delete-your-Discord-Account How to delete Discord account] and scroll to "Having Trouble Deleting Your Discord Account?" Find the link titled "Reach out to our support team". Direct link subject to user instance - http://dis.gd/support

*Fill out the "Submit a request" form. (A web search for "Submit a request Discord" may help users find the form. Be sure to answer the question "What can we help you with" with "Help and Support" from the drop down.) '''Fill out the form with the same email address connected to the Discord account or this process may need to be restarted!''' In the form, under "Type of question" there is an option for "Account deletion request". Proceed to fill out and submit the form with any other relevant information. An email will then be sent with further instructions, including on how to proceed with account deletion, namely by responding to the email with "I confirm that I would like to delete the account associated with [user email]". '''This must be received from the same email as the associated Discord email.'''

[[File:Discord Vague Infringement example.png|thumb|An example of how Discord handles its moderation from a user's perspective.]]
==References==
<references />

[[Category:Discord]]
[[Category:Forced Arbitration]]

Article suggestions

2025-10-28T16:00:50Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B: /* List of themes not yet covered */

'This page is dedicated towards providing a communal list for users to submit potential articles to feature on the wiki, and to give editors inspiration on what pages they might want to add to the wiki. If you create an article based on an entry from this list, or see that someone else has done so, please make sure to delete the row from this page in order to prevent confusion.

Sources should be inserted within the 'refs' section of the table. If using the visual editor, take advantage of '<nowiki/>'''insert reference'''<nowiki/>' via ''''ctrl + shift + k'''<nowiki/>' so that the sources are quick to add to future articles. If you are using the source editor, feel free to copy and paste the formatting from other correctly formatted references on the page. The more sources you include with an article idea, the more likely it is that others will pick the article idea up and run with it, so please attempt to include a good variety of descriptive sources!

Please take note of the wiki's [[Consumer Rights Wiki:Inclusion guidelines|Inclusion criteria]] when submitting article suggestions. If you see article suggestions here which do not fit the Wiki, feel free to remove them, leaving your reasoning in an edit note.

If you are an editor looking for further inspiration to write an article, you can also check out the [[Louis Rossmann - Video Directory|Louis Rossmann video directory]] for a good collection of potential articles.

==Example==
Below is an example of what an entry should appear as:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Company
!Summary of Incident
!Refs
|-
|[[Nintendo]]
|In 2025, the company Nintendo stripped Switch 2 consoles that used the MIG switch cartridge of all online functionality
|<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Scattered Brain |date=Jun 16, 2025 |title=Soo... Nintendo banned my Switch 2 (Don't try the MIG Switch!) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgYTA18_vo&t=656s |access-date=Jun 18, 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=Jun 17, 2025 |title=Switch 2 users report online console bans after running personal game “backups” |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/06/playing-personal-game-backups-could-get-your-switch-2-banned-by-nintendo/ |access-date=Jun 19, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref>
|}

==List of incidents not yet covered==
{| class="wikitable"
!Company
!Summary of Incident
!Refs
|-
|[[ABC Financial Services]]
|Manages memberships and recurring service subscriptions for other companies. Prevents customers from being able to cancel a service by locking them into a never-ending cycle of auto renewals, and not allowing the customer to opt out of auto renewal.
|-
|[[Apple]]
|$17 000 Apple Watch 18 karat gold edition out of support only 8 years after its introduction (not end of sale!). This means no software support, and, crucially, no repair or replacement parts. If the battery dies, the watch is but a paperweight.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple will no longer fix the $17,000 gold Apple Watch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/2/23900158/apple-watch-edition-gold-2015-obsolete-unsupported-beyonce |website=The Verge}}</ref>
|-
|Apple, Beats
|No support for Powerbeats (4th generation) despite the headphones being under 5 years from when Apple last distributed the product for sale. The product is not listed as discontinued or vintage, and by Apple's own guidelines, should be eligible for replacement parts and repair. OEM replacement eartips cannot be purchased for any Beats earphones.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beats Repair and Service |url=https://support.apple.com/beats/repair |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple store search for eartips |url=https://www.apple.com/us/search/eartips?src=alp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18}}</ref>
|-
|Apple App Store
|Removal of likely legal apps designed to evade law enforcement agencies accused of illegal conduct and human rights violations upon request by authorities without court order, instead citing violations of store terms. This happened in Hong Kong in 2019 with Hong Kong Police during demonstrations and in the USA in 2025 with the ICE Block app.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple removes ICEBlock app from App Store|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iceblock-app-store-removed-2025-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple removes police tracking app used in Hong Kong protests from its app store |url=https://hksar.org/apple-removes-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-from-its-app-store}}</ref>
|-
|Atlassian
|Users forced from on-premise to cloud only subscriptions
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ascend to the cloud: The next chapter for Atlassian and our customers |url=https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/atlassian-ascend}}</ref>
|-
|[[Audi]]
|Subscription-based paywalling of basic features of the Audi A3 in the EU and the UK.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=MickDrivesCars |date=2025-07-28 |title=How to ruin your car brand |url=https://youtu.be/ueHgn6UTZjk |url-status=live |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Haefner |first=Morgan |last2=Hodge |first2=Lawrence |date=2024-03-14 |title=Audi wants buyers to pay for basic car features |url=https://qz.com/audi-a3-buyers-must-subscribe-to-use-basic-car-features-1851333470 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/B1SHT |archive-date=2025-08-25 |access-date=2025-08-25 |work=Quartz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hundal |first=Thomas |date=2024-03-13 |title=Audi Wants European A3 Customers To Subscribe To Features That Come Standard On A Base Toyota Corolla |url=https://www.theautopian.com/audi-wants-european-a3-customers-to-subscribe-to-features-that-come-standard-on-a-base-toyota-corolla/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208095611/https://www.theautopian.com/audi-wants-european-a3-customers-to-subscribe-to-features-that-come-standard-on-a-base-toyota-corolla/ |archive-date=2025-02-08 |access-date=2025-08-25 |work=The Autopian}}</ref>
|-
|Axon
|Tazers sold with lease agreement that makes purchase effectively a subscription.
|[https://norwoodrecord.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/norwood_record_pages_1_to_12__4sep2025.pdf <nowiki>[69]</nowiki>]
|-
|[[Cloudary Holdings Limited / Webnovel]]
|Terms of service with binding Arbitration.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Webnovel ToS |url=https://www.webnovel.com/terms_of_service}}</ref>
|-
|Devolo
|Devolo switches off servers and removes their app from stores for their "Home Control" system, thus severely reducing the functionality of their devices (apparently Z-Wave-based).
|<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.golem.de/news/weiterbetrieb-verursacht-weitere-kosten-devolo-macht-smart-home-system-zum-grossteil-unbrauchbar-2508-199409.html |website=Golem [German]}}</ref>
|-
|E621
|Terms of service that require agreement to forced arbitration to use the website.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-02 |title=E621 |url=https://e621.net/ |url-status=live |website=E621}}</ref>
|-
|EcoVac
|Vacuum cleaner robots produced by company 'EcoVac' were found vulnerable to hacking over bluetooth allowing for remote control and access to camera feed. Security researcher Dennis Giese notified the company in December of 2023. In August of 2024, the issue was described by the company as "extremely rare in typical user environments and require specialized hacking tools and physical access to the device."
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fell |first=Julian |date=2024-10-04 |title=We hacked a robot vacuum — and could watch live through its camera - ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/robot-vacuum-hacked-photos-camera-audio/104414020 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |date=2024-08-09 |title=Ecovacs home robots can be hacked to spy on their owners, researchers say {{!}} TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/09/ecovacs-home-robots-can-be-hacked-to-spy-on-their-owners-researchers-say/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |date=2024-08-15 |title=Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on X: "Finally, Ecovacs responds to the researchers' findings, saying it won't fix the bugs. |url=https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1823774980460388675}}</ref>
|-
|[[Elegoo Centauri Carbon|Elegoo]]
|The Elegoo Centauri Carbon 3d printer has been proven to use open source Klipper software which requires them to publish their changes to the code.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-28 |title=PSA: Elegoo Centauri Carbon & GPL Compliance |url=https://freethecode.lol/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=PSA: Elegoo Centauri Carbon & GPL Compliance}}</ref>
|-
|[[Embodied]]
|This is case of "software tethering". Embodied's $799 companion robot Moxie permanently shut down once the company decided to shut down cloud services. According to Embodied's own website "Moxie relies on cloud connectivity for its core features, and it will not function once services end ... Our Terms of Service specify that services may be terminated at any time without prior notice."
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Notopoulos |first=Katie |date=2024-12-11 |title=They bought an $800 AI robot for their kids. Now the company is shutting down — and children are having to say goodbye. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-toy-shutting-down-kids-embodied-goodbye-2024-12?op=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816193431/https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-toy-shutting-down-kids-embodied-goodbye-2024-12?op=1 |archive-date=2025-08-16 |access-date=2025-08-16 |work=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Closing FAQs – Moxie Robot |url=https://moxierobot.com/pages/closing-faqs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126054436/https://moxierobot.com/pages/closing-faqs |archive-date=2024-11-26 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=moxierobot.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Degeurin |first=Mack |date=2024-12-10 |title=‘I love you… goodbye:’ What will happen when this companion robot suddenly dies? |url=https://www.popsci.com/technology/moxie-robot-offline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212035257/https://www.popsci.com/technology/moxie-robot-offline/ |archive-date=2024-12-12 |access-date=2025-08-16 |work=Popular Science}}</ref>
|-
|Foxit Reader
|Updater uses dark pattern to trick unsuspecting users into installing a trial version of their paid product. The checkbox is enabled again by default with each update in the hope that the user misses it by accident at some point.
|
|-
|[[Google]]
|The shutdown of game streaming service Google Stadia on Jan 19th 2023 happened relatively gracefully, with remaining subscriptions refunded and further purchases made impossible. Controllers bought by consumers were offered a conversion process that repurposed them for use as generic Bluetooth game controllers, although the official conversion method at this time is actively provided by Google in form of a webpage and cannot be archived from that state, and on top of that only works in Chrome; at the time of writing the conversion page is expected to remain until December 31st 2025, and this is the date set by a second deadline extension. No official archivable means of conversion are offered at this time.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thank you for playing with us. Stadia was shut down on January 18, 2023. |url=https://stadia.google.com/gg/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=Stadia Announcement FAQ |url=https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/12790109 |url-status=live |website=Stadia Help}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mustafa |first=Mahmoud |date=2024-12-10 |title=You now have one extra year to update your Stadia Controller’s firmware |url=https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/mustafa-mahmoud/you-now-have-one-extra-year-to-update-your-stadia-controllers-firmware/ |website=KitGuru.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stadia Bluetooth mode |url=https://stadia.google.com/controller/index_en_GB.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref>
|-
|[[Google Chromecast]]
|Chromecast has transitioned from a standalone product to one that requires the Google Home app for setup and control. This change prevents customers who either don't own a smartphone or prefer not to use the app from accessing their Chromecast devices. As a result, certain televisions—such as the Caixon EC43S1UA, which relied on built-in Chromecast functionality—can no longer be used as intended. This effectively removes a key feature from a product that was already purchased, diminishing its value or rendering it unusable altogether.
|
|-
|Google TLS Changes
|Google's new requirements to certificate authorities require separate authority/signing chains to be used to issue Server Authentication and Client Authentication certificates. Therefore, starting 11 February 2026, Let's Encrypt will no longer include the Client Authentication EKU on default certificates
|
|-
|Google
|Google apparently plans to reduce the interval of publishing source code of security patches they consider non-critical. This is another blow to the custom ROM community.
Right now we don't have these incidents organised chronologically, maybe we should have a table with a timeline of measures Google takes to enshittify and close down Android (more APIs moved to Play Services, Developer verification, withholding AOSP device trees for Pixel devices to mess with Graphene OS, now delayed source code disclosure). What's worst, they always cite safety as a reason.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: Google wants to make Android phones safer by switching to ‘risk-based’ security updates |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/android-risk-based-security-updates-3597466/}}</ref>
|-
|Google, Mozilla, Apple, Microsoft, but largely Google-led
|Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari are removing XSLT 1.0 support, which could break critical parts of government's websites worldwide<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dimant |first=Dimitrii "Mamut" |date=2025-08-10 |title=XSLT removal will break multiple government and regulatory sites across the world #11582 |url=https://github.com/whatwg/html/issues/11582 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=Github (specifically the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group's HTML standards repo, controlled by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft and Apple)}}</ref>. There are valid security reasons for them to want to stop supporting this 1999-era standard, however they have had 26+ years to update to a newer standard (such as the 2017-era 3.1 standard, which is backwards compatible and would allow these sites to continue to work<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-21 |title="XML Path Language (XPath) 3.1: W3C Recommendation 21 March 2017" |url=https://www.w3.org/TR/xpath-31/ |url-status=live |website=https://www.w3.org/}}</ref>). The single unpaid developer maintaining these libraries has more or less retired after getting flooded with impossible to satisfy security requests from these companies<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wellnhoffer |first=Nick |date=2025-05-08 |title=Triaging security issues reported by third parties |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/issues/913 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=https://gitlab.gnome.org}}</ref>. There is an existing project called XRUST to implement the 3.1 standard<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-09 |title=XRust: XPath, XQuery, and XSLT for Rust |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Rust/markup-rs/xrust |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=https://gitlab.gnome.org}}</ref>, which is 2/3rds of the way through supporting all the features of 1.0 - the XSLT part fully supports all the 1.0 features at this point. XSLT is part of the W3C Consortium's open web standards for formatting and presenting XML, and is also how RSS works, so RSS feeds would stop working as well, disrupting the livelihoods of podcasters<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rijo |first=Luis |date=2025-08-20 |title=Google targets RSS feeds in new XSLT removal proposal |url=https://ppc.land/google-targets-rss-feeds-in-new-xslt-removal-proposal/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=PPC-Land}}</ref>. This has led to questions of who owns the web - the public (including the government) who paid for and laid down the highways / web infrastructure - or a handful of large corporations? <ref>{{Cite web |last=Branscombe |first=Mary |date=2025-09-01 |title=XSLT Debate Leads to Bigger Questions of Web Governance |url=https://thenewstack.io/xslt-debate-leads-to-bigger-questions-of-web-governance/ |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=The New Stack}}</ref>
|
|-
|[[GoPro]] Hero 12
|GoPro Hero 12 requires the GoPro app to be installed before you can use the camera. Many currently used devices are not compatible with the app, therefore making use of the camera difficult to impossible for new owners or upon camera factory reset. There's also the question of what data the app collects and whether it requires login and or camera activation.
|
|-
|[[H&R Block]]
|Marketing paid products as free, deleting users' tax data upon downgrading to free versions, and forcing users to contact support to get access to the free version of the tax filing software. FTC alleges coercive and obstructive techniques are used to make users pay for services they don't need as well.
|
|-
|Hewlett-Packard(HP)
|Hewlett-Packard(HP) is removing support pages for older products, making it more difficult to continue to use older products, generally making the support experience worse, and trying to coerce users to buy new products.
|<ref>{{Cite web |first=gremlin12345 |date=Oct 17, 2025 |title=HP will remove perfectly good documentation for products they no longer support. This seems very anti-consumer. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/1o91l44/hp_will_remove_perfectly_good_documentation_for/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251021202329/https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/1o91l44/hp_will_remove_perfectly_good_documentation_for/ |archive-date=2025-10-21 |access-date=2025-10-21 |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Oct 21, 2025 |title=HP Keeps Getting Worse - LMG Clips |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNM_xUcYpK0 |url-status=live |work=Linus Media Group}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HP support pae for the j4500-j4600 series |url=https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-officejet-j4500-j4600-all-in-one-printer-series/3645081 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Hikvision]]
|Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer complicit in Uighur genocide which used to advertise recognition of praying and ramadan fasting among its selling points. Similarly to [[Flock License Plate Readers|Flock]], they are in use world wide and likely feed directly into the Chinese government's surveillance infrastructure and could conceivably be used to find dissidents world-wide. Recently, [https://netzpolitik.org/2025/hikvision-hersteller-der-hamburger-ki-ueberwachungskameras-ist-fuer-menschenrechtsverletzungen-bekannt/ the city of Hamburg has installed them] ([https://netzpolitik-org.translate.goog/2025/hikvision-hersteller-der-hamburger-ki-ueberwachungskameras-ist-fuer-menschenrechtsverletzungen-bekannt/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp Google Translate Version in English]).
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|-
|[[Internet radios]]
|I'd like a page where I can share information about internet radios "openness." Few allow you to enter a radio station's URL (which I would consider the least intrusive option). Most depend on third-party websites or apps; [https://www.sangean.com/uk/blog/149 some of which have already bricked devices].
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|-
|[[IPVideo Corporation]] (owned by [[Motorola]])
|Manufacturer of surveillance hardware. The notable example that brought them to my attention is the Halo 3C/3C-PC Smart Sensor, which is deployed in places such as school bathrooms and subsidized/social housing. This system has a variety of sensors on it, from air quality ones (for detecting smoking/vape usage) all the way to microphones (ostensibly for audio analysis to identify aggression and gunshots, without the capability to stream the audio elsewhere, but this not a limitation built into the hardware and could be changed by a firmware update).
|<ref>{{Cite_web |last=Reynaldo |last2=nyx |name-list-style=amp |date=2025-10-10 |title=DEF CON 33 - Unmasking the Snitch Puck: IoT surveillance tech in the school bathroom |url=https://youtu.be/WCnojaEpF2I |publisher=DEF CON}}</ref><ref>{{Cite_web |access-date=2025-10-26 |url=https://www.pelco.com/sensors |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250922000017/https://www.pelco.com/sensors |archive-date=2025-09-22 |title=HALO Smart Sensor Suite |website=PELCO}}</ref>
|-
|iRobot
|Creator of Roomba automatic floor vacuums, CEO made statement in 2017 about selling customer's floor plan data. This company and the data was almost bought by Amazon, but fell through in 2024 after threats by EU Regulators
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jan |date=2017-07-28 |title=Roomba vacuum maker iRobot betting big on the 'smart' home |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-irobot-strategy-idUSKBN1A91A5/ |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zeff |first=Maxwell |date=2024-01-29 |title=Roomba Won’t Give Amazon a Map of Your Home After Merger Implodes |url=https://gizmodo.com/roomba-won-t-give-amazon-map-home-after-merger-implodes-1851205940 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref>
|-
|[[itch.io]], [[Night School Studios]], [[Netflix]]
|In September 2024, users who purchased Oxenfree on itch.io were warned that the game was going to be pulled from the platform on October 1st. Consumers would not be able to download the installers after this date, so they would lose access unless they had them backed up. Users speculated that Netflix, the parent company of the development studio, had ordered the move; however, no response from Netflix or the developers was ever published. This is particularly notable because it is against itch.io's terms of service: "Users shall retain a license to this content even after the content is removed from the Service."
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=itch corp |date=15 Apr 2023 |title=itch.io Terms of Service |url=https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907004719/https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms |archive-date=7 Sep 2024 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=itch.io}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=ShawnS |date=31 Jan 2025 |title=OXENFREE |url=https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321070400/https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |archive-date=21 Mar 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=Delisted Games}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Colp |first=Tyler |date=9 Sep 2024 |title=Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523111125/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |archive-date=23 May 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=PC Gamer}}</ref>
|-
|Japan Times, The
|The Japan Times uses DMCA to take down an open source study resource for Genki and Quartet workbooks.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clydesdale |first=Seth |date=2025-09-11 |title=Important Information Regarding Genki and Quartet Study Resources |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/Important-Information-Regarding-Genki-and-Quartet-D1D21L4B1S}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Update Regarding Genki and Quartet Study Resources DMCA Situation |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/Update-Regarding-Genki-and-Quartet-Study-Resources-Y8Y21M1F5E}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-03 |title=All Exercises for Genki/Quartet Study Resources Have Been Removed |url=https://ko-fi.com/post/All-Exercises-for-GenkiQuartet-Study-Resources-Wi-R6R81M8LLN}}</ref>
|-
|LBRY Foundation, Odysee
|Community first decentralization & Odysseys plan to enable censorship by switching away from the opensource LBRY network.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=The LBRY Foundation |url=https://lbry.org/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-08 |quote=The LBRY community invites everyone to join us in building a more free and open way to share content and information online.}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Watson |first=RT |date=2024-06-06 |title=Decentralized YouTube alternative Odysee acquired by Forward Research despite content concerns |url=https://www.theblock.co/post/298888/decentralized-youtube-alternative-odysee-acquired-by-forward-research-despite-content-concerns |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-16 |work=The Block}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Jun |last2=Grintsvayg |first2=Alex |last3=Kauffman |first3=Jeremy |last4=Fleming |first4=Charles |date=2020 |title=LBRY: A Blockchain-Based Decentralized Digital Content Marketplace |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9126007 |journal=2020 IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPS) |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/DAPPS49028.2020.00005 |isbn=978-1-7281-6978-1 |via=IEEE Xplore}}</ref>
|-
|Lowes
|Lowes uses flock cameras and other AI powered cameras to collect data and build a profile on "prospective, current, or former Lowe's customers". Their cameras point away from their stores.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koebler |first=Jason |date=2025-08-06 |title=Home Depot and Lowe's Share Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops |url=https://www.404media.co/home-depot-and-lowes-share-data-from-hundreds-of-ai-cameras-with-cops/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/n6mTn |archive-date=2025-08-07 |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=404 Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-26 |title=Lowe’s U.S. Privacy Statement |url=https://www.lowes.com/l/about/privacy-and-security-statement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/eGh91 |archive-date=2025-08-05 |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=Lowes}}</ref>
|-
|McDonald's/Taylor
|McDonald's US mandates which ice cream machine has to be used by franchise licensees. The company that makes these machines uses deliberately obfuscated error codes to force restaurant owners to use their expensive tech service to fix them and reset the machines. The company makes more money from these "repairs" support than with actual sales. Not strictly end consumer, but the pattern warrants documenting imo.
A similar problem exists with Doremi (Dolby) cinema projectors where their DRM leads to a ridiculous number of actions breaking the so-called "marriage" (projector-media block unity), requiring a costly technician to reset it. This one needs sources researched, though, as I don't have one on hand.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken and How To Fix Them |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCpY3tFTIA}}</ref>
|-
|[[Meta]]/[[Facebook]], [[Yandex]]
|Automatic opt-in of user-generated content being used for the purposes of training AI.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Borgesius |first=Frederik |date=Apr 24, 2025 |title=Post on akademienl.social |url=https://akademienl.social/@Frederik_Borgesius/114392662340468118 |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |website=akademienl.social}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Apr 24, 2025 |title=AP: kom nu in actie als je niet wil dat Meta AI traint met jouw data |url=https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/actueel/ap-kom-nu-in-actie-als-je-niet-wil-dat-meta-ai-traint-met-jouw-data |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |work=autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl}}</ref>
|-
|[[Meta]]/[[WhatsApp]]
|In a new lawsuit, an ex-engineer alleges that 1500 engineers had unrestricted access to WhatsApp user data and that the company "failed to remedy the hacking and takeover of more than 100,000 accounts each day, ignoring his pleas and proposed fixes and choosing instead to prioritize user growth". (ongoing)
|[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/08/meta-user-data-lawsuit-whatsapp]
|-
|[[Microsoft]]
|Microsoft uses software engineers based in China to work on US Defense Department systems with laughably ineffective precautions. I think this is relevant in the context of Microsoft's attitude towards cloud security. In the past, master keys have been stolen by Chinese hackers and from my understanding, it's not even clear to what extent those groups still have access to Microsoft's internal systems, and by extension, Microsoft customers'. This needs more research though.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dudley |first=Renee |date=2025-07-15 |title=A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-digital-escorts-pentagon-defense-department-china-hackers |website=ProRepublica}}</ref>
|-
|[[Microsoft account]]
|Potentially related to: [[Microsoft's anticompetitive practices]]
Mysteriously banned the developer of LibreOffice from his Hotmail Account; Automated systems handled the appeal process and refused to restore access to his account, potentially harming LibreOffice's development.
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simms |first=Daniel |date=Jul 30, 2025 |title=Microsoft suddenly bans LibreOffice developer's email account, blocks appeal |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/108878-microsoft-suddenly-bans-libreoffice-developer-email-account-blocks.html |access-date=Aug 4, 2025 |work=TechSpot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Beri |first=Devesh |date=Aug 1, 2025 |title=Microsoft Bans Profile Belonging to Developer Behind Free Microsoft Office Alternative |url=https://tech.yahoo.com/business/articles/microsoft-bans-profile-belonging-developer-204536148.html |access-date=Aug 4, 2025 |work=ExtremeTech}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Rohit |date=Aug 3, 2025 |title=LibreOffice Developer Says Microsoft Blocked His Email Account Without Warning |url=https://www.alltechnerd.com/libreoffice-developer-says-microsoft-blocked-his-email-account-without-warning/ |access-date=Aug 4, 2025 |work=All Tech Nerd}}</ref>
|-
|Microsoft
|The Windows 11 Bing Wallpaper app, which offers regularly changing desktop wallpapers, opens bing.com at every single click onto the desktop and tries to make bing.com the default search engine during launch. This is the latest step in a series of invasive actions to get Windows users to use Bing and Edge.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/10/26/windows-11s-bing-wallpaper-app-opens-bing-com-if-you-click-anywhere-on-the-desktop/}}</ref>
|-
|[[Mitsubishi Motors]]
|Mitsubishi Motors has a rich history of consumer protection, compliance issues and privacy breaches. These include concealing safety defects, falsifying fuel economy data, and being fined for false advertising. Following the trend of subscription services for the automotive industry, Mitsubishi paywalls built-in features including remote start, SOS, collision detection, and car tracking through its app Mitsubishi Connect subscription service.
|[https://www.autoevolution.com/news/mitsubishi-fined-42-million-by-japans-consumer-affairs-agency-115026.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://leakd.com/leaks/mitsubishi-motors-vietnam-customer-data-breached/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Motors?utm_source=chatgpt.com] [https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/?order=pen_year&parent=mitsubishi-motors&sort=&utm_source=chatgpt.com][https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsroom/newsrelease/2017/20171129_3.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com]
|-
|Nothing
|Nothing brings home-screen ads (can be disabled manually) and bloatware to its lower end models despite previously boasting about being bloatware free
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floemer |first=Andreas |date=2025-10-27 |title=Phone 3a: NothingOS 4.0 brings optional ads to the lock screen |url=https://www.heise.de/en/news/Phone-3a-NothingOS-4-0-brings-optional-ads-to-the-lock-screen-10904033.html |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=Heise Online}}</ref>
|-
|[https://www.skystone.games/ Skystone Games]
|Boundary, a multiplayer online-only first-person shooter, got shut down just a year after its release by Skystone games, and its publishing rights relinquished, citing "ongoing delays and a lack of updates from the developer". Studio Surgical Scalpels (the developer) stated that the publisher decissions were "extremely sudden and unreasonable", and attempted to "regain the rights to boundary". The game has been offline for more than a year at the time of writing, and no refunds or communications to the userbase has been made by Skystone Games.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-19 |title=Boundary - End of service notice |url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1364020/view/4209257868262605607?l=english |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Steam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-30 |title=Boundary Shut Down: Who's to Blame? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr8IhV1fovE |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|Slack
|Slack threatened to deactivate the Slack workspace and delete all message history of a nonprofit unless they agreed to a price hike of $200k yearly and also pay an extra $50k within a week. There were no prior warnings from Slack. A few years prior to this incident, they had agreed to migrate from the free nonprofit plan to a $5k per year plan.
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-18 |title=Slack is extorting us with a $195k/yr bill increase |url=https://skyfall.dev/posts/slack |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250930075808/https://skyfall.dev/posts/slack |archive-date=2025-09-30}}</ref>
|-
|[[Sony]]
|The PSVita required a proprietary memory system and came with no usable memory natively; as a result, to effectively use the console, one had to purchase official, expensive memory cards from Sony. The PCH-1000 also had a proprietary charging port, making it nearly impossible to replace the cable should it break once Sony's support for the console dwindled. The charging port issue was later addressed via an updated console which changed the port to a microUSB connection. However, the expensive proprietary memory card issue remained and was exacerbated by Sony's blockage of using the PCH-2000's 1GB of storage while a memory card was inserted. Sony's continued efforts to block homebrew via firmware updates limited the owner's ability to continue using the device years after support was dropped for the console.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=PlayStation Vita Launches From 22 February 2012 |url=https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2011/10/19/playstation-vita-launches-from-22-february-2012/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2011/10/19/playstation-vita-launches-from-22-february-2012/ |archive-date=2011-10-19 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Playstation.Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PS Vita Slim internal storage not usable with a memory card |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181238/http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/10/ps-vita-slim-internal-storage-usable-memory-card/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181238/http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/10/ps-vita-slim-internal-storage-usable-memory-card/ |archive-date=2013-10-13 |website=Just Push Start}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Types of card media |url=https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/media.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/media.html |archive-date=2012-08-29 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Playstation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the Hackers Breathing New Life Into Sony’s Abandoned PlayStation Vita |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/meet-the-hackers-breathing-new-life-into-sonys-abandoned-playstation-vita/? |url-status=live |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=Vice}}</ref>
|-
|[[TikTok]]
|Integrated AI tools to track user behaviors even more for the purposes of selling to advertisers
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Mia |date=Jun 3, 2025 |title=TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |work=The Verge}}</ref>
|-
|[[uk.chicntech]]
|Selling fraudulent products on its platform
|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harding |first=Scharon |date=Jun 3, 2025 |title=Shopper denied $51 refund for 20TB HDD that’s mostly a weighted plastic box |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/man-buys-20tb-portable-hdd-for-51-son-breaks-the-news-that-its-a-fake/ |access-date=Jun 25, 2025 |work=Ars Technica}}</ref>
|-
|UP3 By [[Jawbone]]
|Approximately 2011, Pioneering startup company from San Francisco, had revolutionary fitness trackers. In 2017 with no notice to customers they stole personal data and shut down app which in turn, bricked devices. Highly likely went bankrupt and sold to sister company to manipulate customer services and rights. Now owned by Aliph brands.
|
|-
|Wheatstone Corporation
|Wheatstone Corporation are a manufacturer of professional broadcast equipment, mainly audio consoles and interfaces that utilise their proprietary Wheatnet audio over IP protocol.
Wheatstone restricts access to firmware updates, software configuration tools and software. You must open a support ticked in order for them to send you a download link to these software tools, they make it very difficult to access software required to make their hardware audio interfaces work, even stating they want proof of purchase (not just a licence key) before they will even give you the download link. Managing licences is also non-existent and you will need to contact support, and as such a fee is imposed.
|
|-
|[[Wireless Power Consortium]]
|After monopolizing wireless charging market Qi turned from an open standard into a proprietary.
Version 1.3 introduced "secure authentication between the transmitter and the receiver", i.e. in order to operate every charger must include an expensive proprietary chip licensed only to certified members. This results in increased development and manufacturing costs directly passed onto consumer. Version 2.2, unlike previous versions, "is available for WPC Members only".
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qi Certification Is Changing and We've Got You Covered |url=https://www.nxp.com/company/about-nxp/smarter-world-blog/BL-QI-CERTIFICATION-IS-CHANGING| website=NXP Semiconductors}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Download the Qi Specifications |url=https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/specifications/download-the-qi-specifications/| website=Wireless Power Consortium}}</ref>
|-
|Wolfgang Puck, Bread maker
|Some of the bread makers have anti repair screws in them to prevent people from repairing them themselves. Needs more citations.
|
|}

==List of themes not yet covered==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Theme
!Summary of Theme
!Refs
|-
|[[Ad block]]
|User customization of information presentation. For instance, to selectively not display information of little interest to the user, or content the user deems harmful or offensive, or to conserve resources by not processing some information.
Why include: Advertising is pervasive online, and increasingly showing up in devices. Many sources, including US government agencies, suggest ad block as a way of enhancing security. Ad block can help consumers own their own devices by controlling what they do. There are efforts to use copyright law (e.g., DMCA/spotify/revanced, and German court case) to force you to run programs on your device. See also, [[Advertising overload]]
|[https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/]
|-
|[[Inactive account deletions]]
|Deletion of accounts which are not logged in for a long time. Companies and services claim that they're doing that in order to conserve their resources and comply with privacy laws.
Why include: Adverse effects on user accessibility, convenience and historical integrity. Users may be forced to not log in to their accounts for a long time due to various reasons such as medical issues, prison, internet shutdown in totalitarian countries (i.e. Afghanistan), and other unforseen factors such as the 2023 Hamas hostage crisis and being trapped in scam factories in Southeast Asia for a long period. Furthermore, accounts of now-deceased persons are affected as well, which would mean dire implications for historical integrity in the short and long term. In the age of deepfakes, lies and misinformation are just as likely as to arise from the absence of data than the presence of it.
|[https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/]
|}

==List of companies doing the right thing==
It would be helpful to include examples of companies doing the right thing, even if they aren't, strictly speaking, consumer products.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Company
!Good deed
!Refs
|-
|Tektronix
|Provided extensive product data on unsupported products to a museum, vintageTEK, and thus to tekwiki and the rest of the community.
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lenihan |first=Thomas F. |date=2012-02-28 |title=Copyright Notice |url=https://vintagetek.org/copyright-notice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250828004431/https://vintagetek.org/copyright-notice/ |archive-date=2025-08-28 |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=vintageTEK museum}}</ref>
|-
|Ulanzi
|The company offers a tutorial on how users can mix their own fog juice to use with Ulanzi mini fog machines from readily available low-cost ingredients, whereas competitors sell proprietary fog juice at extortionate prices, refuse to release the formula and refuse to honour the warranty if users use anything but the OEM brand with their machines.
|<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiq1B6-dcEM}}</ref>
|-
|APSystems
|After requests from users, the company released a firmware update that adds a local API to their EZ-1M solar micro inverter, allowing it to remain fully usable if the company ends support for the device
|<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://global.apsystems.com/document/apsystems-ezhi-local-api-user-manual/}}</ref>
|}

==See Also==

*[[Louis Rossmann - Video Directory]]
*[[Other Channels - Video Directory|Other Channels - VIdeo Directory]]

==Reference List==
<references />
[[Category:Sources]]
'

Proton Mail

2025-10-28T15:55:35Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B: /* Harsh inactive account policy */

{{Stub}}
{{ToneWarning}}

ProtonMail is a privacy focused email client based in Switzerland which has partnered with non Swiss content delivery networks like Radware. ProtonMail offers cloud email, calendar, VPN, and cloud storage services. ProtonMail has a marketing focus on privacy over competitors like Google or Microsoft.

==False advertising and work with authorities==
Protonmail has advertised itself as a private and secure service, as by their own words "No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.", which was part of the advertising on their official website<ref><nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/</nowiki></ref> (www.protonmail.com, now www.proton.me). As it turned out, that statement was false. In 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using Protonmail to communicate with the group, and as an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider has quickly handed over the user's IP address and other data like the device they were using.<ref><nowiki>https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/</nowiki></ref> After the news reached the public and sparked a controversy, claims about the lack of IP logging were swiftly removed from the website. The company tried to excuse their behavior by stating, that they do not have to comply with authorities such as EUROPOL, and although this may be true, in cases of investigations the bigger organizations from outside simply use the Swiss government as a middleman to get any request through that they wish. Protonmail is not anonymous and any information will be handed over when requested by the Swiss government, which does also cooperate with other investigative authorities, leading to essentially no protection in case of any such event.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/ Proton official response on the Proton subreddit]

Proton announces partnership with Zoom, a non private messaging platform. [https://proton.me/support/calendar-zoom How to add Zoom meetings to event invitations].

==Harsh inactive account policy==
On 2022, Protonmail announced a policy which entails the deletion of inactive accounts, resulting in a major controversy. Many users have criticized the decisions and advocated for nuanced versions of inactive account policy, such as deleting only the email contents of any inactive Protonmail accounts instead of the accounts themselves, where the latter would reportedly result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple factor authentications for important services such as banking. It has also been said that the harsh policy will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalization, prison incarcination, and being in totalitarian countries which have prolonged internet shutdowns. <ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref><ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>

In response, Protonmail added an exemption where the inactive account policy would not apply to any accounts which had premium subscriptions at one point, although the exemption was revoked as of 2024. Protonmail accounts that were created before April 9, 2024 has a two year grace period before being subjected to the policy, as opposed to one year for newer accounts.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/</ref><ref>https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref> In some cases users have reported success in recovering their inactive accounts after being locked under the policy.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/</ref>

As of 2025 any users continue to voice their concerns regarding the inactive account policy, while advocating for sensible measures such as deleting only the contents in the inactive accounts while sparing the accounts themselves.<ref>https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Proton]]

Proton Mail

2025-10-28T15:55:08Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B:

{{Stub}}
{{ToneWarning}}

ProtonMail is a privacy focused email client based in Switzerland which has partnered with non Swiss content delivery networks like Radware. ProtonMail offers cloud email, calendar, VPN, and cloud storage services. ProtonMail has a marketing focus on privacy over competitors like Google or Microsoft.

==False advertising and work with authorities==
Protonmail has advertised itself as a private and secure service, as by their own words "No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.", which was part of the advertising on their official website<ref><nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/</nowiki></ref> (www.protonmail.com, now www.proton.me). As it turned out, that statement was false. In 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using Protonmail to communicate with the group, and as an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider has quickly handed over the user's IP address and other data like the device they were using.<ref><nowiki>https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/</nowiki></ref> After the news reached the public and sparked a controversy, claims about the lack of IP logging were swiftly removed from the website. The company tried to excuse their behavior by stating, that they do not have to comply with authorities such as EUROPOL, and although this may be true, in cases of investigations the bigger organizations from outside simply use the Swiss government as a middleman to get any request through that they wish. Protonmail is not anonymous and any information will be handed over when requested by the Swiss government, which does also cooperate with other investigative authorities, leading to essentially no protection in case of any such event.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/ Proton official response on the Proton subreddit]

Proton announces partnership with Zoom, a non private messaging platform. [https://proton.me/support/calendar-zoom How to add Zoom meetings to event invitations].

==Harsh inactive account policy==
On 2022, Protonmail announced a policy which entails the deletion of inactive accounts, resulting in a major controversy. Many users have criticized the decisions and advocated for nuanced versions of inactive account policy, such as deleting only the email contents of any inactive Protonmail accounts instead of the accounts themselves, where the latter would reportedly result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple factor authentications for important services such as banking. It has also been said that the harsh policy will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalization, prison incarcination, and being in totalitarian countries which have prolonged internet shutdowns. <ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>

In response, Protonmail added an exemption where the inactive account policy would not apply to any accounts which had premium subscriptions at one point, although the exemption was revoked as of 2024. Protonmail accounts that were created before April 9, 2024 has a two year grace period before being subjected to the policy, as opposed to one year for newer accounts.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/</ref><ref>https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref> In some cases users have reported success in recovering their inactive accounts after being locked under the policy.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/</ref>

As of 2025 any users continue to voice their concerns regarding the inactive account policy, while advocating for sensible measures such as deleting only the contents in the inactive accounts while sparing the accounts themselves.<ref>https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Proton]]

Proton Mail

2025-10-28T15:54:31Z

2406:DA18:492:9301:CBCD:ACA3:C803:7F2B:

{{Stub}}
{{ToneWarning}}

ProtonMail is a privacy focused email client based in Switzerland which has partnered with non Swiss content delivery networks like Radware. ProtonMail offers cloud email, calendar, VPN, and cloud storage services. ProtonMail has a marketing focus on privacy over competitors like Google or Microsoft.

==False advertising and work with authorities==
Protonmail has advertised itself as a private and secure service, as by their own words "No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.", which was part of the advertising on their official website<ref><nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/</nowiki></ref> (www.protonmail.com, now www.proton.me). As it turned out, that statement was false. In 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using Protonmail to communicate with the group, and as an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider has quickly handed over the user's IP address and other data like the device they were using.<ref><nowiki>https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/</nowiki></ref> After the news reached the public and sparked a controversy, claims about the lack of IP logging were swiftly removed from the website. The company tried to excuse their behavior by stating, that they do not have to comply with authorities such as EUROPOL, and although this may be true, in cases of investigations the bigger organizations from outside simply use the Swiss government as a middleman to get any request through that they wish. Protonmail is not anonymous and any information will be handed over when requested by the Swiss government, which does also cooperate with other investigative authorities, leading to essentially no protection in case of any such event.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/ Proton official response on the Proton subreddit]

Proton announces partnership with Zoom, a non private messaging platform.

==Harsh inactive account policy==
On 2022, Protonmail announced a policy which entails the deletion of inactive accounts, resulting in a major controversy. Many users have criticized the decisions and advocated for nuanced versions of inactive account policy, such as deleting only the email contents of any inactive Protonmail accounts instead of the accounts themselves, where the latter would reportedly result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple factor authentications for important services such as banking. It has also been said that the harsh policy will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalization, prison incarcination, and being in totalitarian countries which have prolonged internet shutdowns. <ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>

In response, Protonmail added an exemption where the inactive account policy would not apply to any accounts which had premium subscriptions at one point, although the exemption was revoked as of 2024. Protonmail accounts that were created before April 9, 2024 has a two year grace period before being subjected to the policy, as opposed to one year for newer accounts.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/</ref><ref>https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref> In some cases users have reported success in recovering their inactive accounts after being locked under the policy.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/</ref>

As of 2025 any users continue to voice their concerns regarding the inactive account policy, while advocating for sensible measures such as deleting only the contents in the inactive accounts while sparing the accounts themselves.<ref>https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti</ref>
<ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref>
[https://proton.me/support/calendar-zoom How to add Zoom meetings to event invitations]
==References==
<references />
[[Category:Proton]]