Subscription free services, apps and software

[DPH]

Hello! It can be that i start to be old😂, but i am annoyed that everything is more and more subscription based like services, apps and other software, so i started to narrow down and stop/removed any service or app that cost to use monthly. I can accept one time payment, but no subscription unless there is no other way, and that ofc happends…

My Subscriptions today:
Tesla Connectivity
Streaming Service for ice hockey

Hardest subscriptions to leave:
iCloud+ for Photos, iPhone Backups++

Today i do backup manually.

Anyone else doing as me and would like to discuss how to navigere the world without subscription fees?

If someone find a better place for this thread, feel free to move it.

 

[ThatOnePaulGuy]

I agree that it's been hard to navigate the world with apps that pretty much only have subscriptions, so I feel your pain. While I don't necessarily have any free backup apps to recommend, I've had two apps that don't focus on subscriptions that I've used a loved for a while:

- Kernel: a movie/show tracking app headed by Nikias Molina (tech lifestyle youtuber, good stuff) with a focus on minimalism. It has "playlists" for movies that you can customize how you like, and you can track upcoming movies that your interested in alongside tracking every movie you've ever seen. It even has widgets on both the Home Screen and the Lock Screen! And all of it is COMPLETELY free. Highly recommend.

- SwitchBuddy: As a proud Nintendo Switch (OLED model) user, I've loved this app. Being able to transfer my screenshots with it DIRECTLY into Photos is worth it all on its own. The main feature though is being able to track the games you want to play on your Switch, and even have Lock and Home Screen widgets for them, so I can cope with how long I have to wait for Super Mario Bros. Wonder every time I open my phone! (It does have a paid option, but there's an option to pay in full, and the app works just as well without paying a dime: I know I haven't)

Anyway yeah, HIGHLY recommend these apps. If SwitchBuddy isn't your jam, the developer has another app that's the same thing but it tracks games for all platforms. Happy downloading!

 

[Juicy Box]

For a long time, I have been thinking about how the subscription model has made thing worse, at least for myself.

I hear all the time that the subscription model is supposed to provide better and longer continuing support and updates, versus the one time payment model for a particular version, then pay for the major upgrade when it gets released.

I have no proof to show this, but I don't think the quality of apps that switch to a subscription model has improved.

Maybe longer support, but this just makes sense if you are paying for it non-stop.

Basically, many of us are paying a lot more for an app that we used to pay more upfront, but got to use it forever, depending on the app.

The days of buying an app once, and keeping it for two decades are coming to an end. DLC for video games, digital purchases on iTunes, and SW updates from Apple that are not reversible, that end up breaking apps, all contribute to the "lease" or "renting" of content and apps.

My only advice is to support app developers that have a one-time or lifetime option for their apps. They tend to be really expensive now, but it beat having to pay rent forever.

 

[fatTribble]

I guess I’m not understanding the issue in paying for a service. For a backup app you’re paying for the company to keep your data safe. If there is an ongoing cost for the app supplier then I don’t have a problem with paying a monthly fee.

Standalone apps like a word processor or a single player game are different. I understand not wanting to pay monthly. But before mobile devices, games and productivity software was very expensive compared to a typical iOS app.

Personally, I would give up some groceries before I give up iCloud. My pictures are too important to me.

 

[DPH]

My only advice is to support app developers that have a one-time or lifetime option for their apps. They tend to be really expensive now, but it beat having to pay rent forever.

This is exactly what i am doing. I love music so i am a Roon Lifetime member.

I use PhotoSync to sync Photos to my qnap NAS from my iPhone, it was one time payment.

I now backup iPhone with iMazing every night, also one time membership.

I am a fan of YNAB budgeting, but they raised price, so i ended setting up the same budget as Ynab in Excel and use OnlyOffice.

I used 1Passwore some years ago, now i use Keychain with free 5 GB iCloud.

 

[DPH]

I guess I’m not understanding the issue in paying for a service. For a backup app you’re paying for the company to keep your data safe. If there is an ongoing cost for the app supplier then I don’t have a problem with paying a monthly fee

Are your data safe? When the company decide to rise the price, you need to follow.

You can easy make this cheaper with your own backup system at home why pay for cloud?

It must be allowed to think and see things differently, it is not an issue to pay for a service, but it got out of hand.

BMW will soon take a monthly payment for using heater in the seat of a car you paid for.

 

[DPH]

Personally, I would give up some groceries before I give up iCloud. My pictures are too important to me.

So you trust your important picture to be stored in the cloud.

the Photos cant be so important for you then?

What if the cloud goes corrupt like Flickr did some years ago?

What if Apple starts to downgrad photo quality of your 2 tb pictures without telling you?

Clearly those picture cant be so important when you have them in cloud without a backup solution.

 

[Juicy Box]

I guess I’m not understanding the issue in paying for a service.

While I have already voiced my opinion and disappointment on the rise on subscription based apps, I agree with you about services.

It makes sense if you are paying for a continual service, such as online storage, a subscription model makes sense.

My complaint is more about apps that were once a one-time paid for app, are now going towards a subscription model, but not really an improvement on the app.

 

[max2]

I do the 3, 2, 1 backup solution for all my data I do not want to lose.

 

[Juicy Box]

I will credit the app developers that do both, a sub and one-time payment for apps.

I love having the option of paying for a subscription for an app to try it, and if I like it, paying a one-time fee for the app.

Plex is like that.

 

[max2]

I asked one of my app I bought for a one time fee that does not have any subscription ever. Asked him why he never added subscription. He said he thought about it but never did. Was so happy.

 

[DPH]

I will credit the app developers that do both, a sub and one-time payment for apps.

I love having the option of paying for a subscription for an app to try it, and if I like it, paying a one-time fee for the app.

Plex is like that.

Very few does this, 1password changed, YNAB changed their model is some of few i used before, and its not like subscription is an alternative, But rather the only possible way.

 

[max2]

Very few does this, 1password changed, YNAB changed their model is some of few i used before, and its not like subscription is an alternative, But rather the only possible way.

That is true.

 

[Apple_Robert]

OP, you get rid of iCloud, which is only $.99 a month, and then keep hockey, which is so much more. Are you that cheap to put valuable personal files and photos at risk for $.99? I think you are making a mistake doing that unless you have a 3,2,1 backup plan and also use an app like iMazing.

 

[DPH]

OP, you get rid of iCloud, which is only $.99 a month, and then keep hockey, which is so much more. Are you that cheap to put valuable personal files and photos at risk for $.99? I think you are making a mistake doing that unless you have a 3,2,1 backup plan and also use an app like iMazing.

I have something like 3,2,1 backup plan include offside backup to multiply places via WireGuard VPN. So my need for iCloud was actually never there.

Imazing rund often also

 

[Nermal]

Some of it's pretty egregious. The worst example of rental* software I've seen was for a reference book. The entire book is downloaded locally and doesn't change, yet the company demanded that you pay monthly to access it. I thought that was exceptionally greedy.

*Although the marketing departments would rather you say "subscription", it really is a rental. Consider a subscription to a magazine: when you cancel the subscription you stop getting new issues, but you keep the existing ones. True subscription software does exist, where you get to keep it (without updates) when you cancel, but a lot of the time it follows a rental model instead.

 

[DPH]

Some of it's pretty egregious. The worst example of rental* software I've seen was for a reference book. The entire book is downloaded locally and doesn't change, yet the company demanded that you pay monthly to access it. I thought that was exceptionally greedy.

*Although the marketing departments would rather you say "subscription", it really is a rental. Consider a subscription to a magazine: when you cancel the subscription you stop getting new issues, but you keep the existing ones. True subscription software does exist, where you get to keep it (without updates) when you cancel, but a lot of the time it follows a rental model instead.

This is the reason i made myself a excel version of Ynab, suite my need, but dont need to pay 99 dollar per year or what it is now.

 

[fatTribble]

Are your data safe? When the company decide to rise the price, you need to follow.

You can easy make this cheaper with your own backup system at home why pay for cloud?

It must be allowed to think and see things differently, it is not an issue to pay for a service, but it got out of hand.

BMW will soon take a monthly payment for using heater in the seat of a car you paid for.

My data is safe. I have multiple local backups, one off-site backup and multiple cloud backups.

If your backup fails, what would it be worth to you to recover those photos? That is the question I ask myself. I think iCloud is a bargain. Many people spend more at Starbucks than on iCloud.

What BMW is doing is stupid.

 

[fatTribble]

So you trust your important picture to be stored in the cloud.

the Photos cant be so important for you then?

What if the cloud goes corrupt like Flickr did some years ago?

What if Apple starts to downgrad photo quality of your 2 tb pictures without telling you?

Clearly those picture cant be so important when you have them in cloud without a backup solution.

I have local copies.

 

[DPH]

My data is safe. I have multiple local backups, one off-site backup and multiple cloud backups.

If your backup fails, what would it be worth to you to recover those photos? That is the question I ask myself. I think iCloud is a bargain. Many people spend more at Starbucks than on iCloud.

What BMW is doing is stupid.

Great! Was a little bit worried

 

[fatTribble]

I do the 3, 2, 1 backup solution for all my data I do not want to lose.

I had to look up 3-2-1. I wasn’t familiar with that. Thankfully I’m doing that plus more.
Obsessive isn’t always bad is it? 🤓😇

 

[eyoungren]

Currently I am not paying subscriptions for backup services. I AM however (and have been for quite a while) paying Dropbox for 4.1TB of storage each month. All my computer backups go off at night from all my computers to my NAS. Each one is a sparse disk image (except one). Every weekend, all computers online backup to the Dropbox folder on my MacPro. That creates another sparse disk image that goes straight up to Dropbox. That's offsite, and I'm paying Dropbox to stay live.

Since Dropbox is an actual folder on the hard drive of many of my computers the Dropbox folder itself is then also being backed up on weekends to Dropbox (excluding the folder I have for backups itself).

I have a 2TB iCloud sub. I pay Apple money for this because it's convenient - not for backup, although sometimes I do backup to it. Everything on my phones is setup in such a way that it's already offsite somewhere else. IMAP for email, Dropbox for photos, NAS/Dropbox for music/media, Google for contacts, notes, books and reminders. As for text/iMessage, anything important is always discussed in person, important items are downloaded and stored locally (where they are backed up as described earlier).

So, iCloud just gives me convenience for moving stuff between devices or restoring quickly. But all of the important stuff on my phone is either saved already or stored off the device.

Subscriptions annoy me, except when I believe I am getting some value out of it. I have passed on 'free' apps because they want money once a month for features I probably won't use - or they want too much.

The weather sub in iStat Menus is the perfect example of how I think a sub should work. I get charged $6 once a year for an entire year of 15 minute interval weather updates - something I use a lot every day. And they have cheaper subs.

I'm willing to pay for something like that, plus the two services I mentioned previously ('cause I'm paying for space/convenience).

 

[maflynn]

I've said this before, subscriptions are a death by a thousand cuts.
I'm paying over 2k annually for various subscription services. Given inflation, and how nearly every streaming service has increased their price (sony by a lot). I'm looking to cut back. I really don't need carrot, playstation, etc.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Hello! It can be that i start to be old😂, but i am annoyed that everything is more and more subscription based like services, apps and other software, so i started to narrow down and stop/removed any service or app that cost to use monthly. I can accept one time payment, but no subscription unless there is no other way, and that ofc happends…

My Subscriptions today:
Tesla Connectivity
Streaming Service for ice hockey

Hardest subscriptions to leave:
iCloud+ for Photos, iPhone Backups++

Today i do backup manually.

Anyone else doing as me and would like to discuss how to navigere the world without subscription fees?

If someone find a better place for this thread, feel free to move it.

Get rid of the Tesla and then you can cancel your first subscription. Or, if you must keep the Tesla, is there not a free connectivity that comes with the car?

 

[DPH]

Get rid of the Tesla and then you can cancel your first subscription. Or, if you must keep the Tesla, is there not a free connectivity that comes with the car?

The point is that i dont need to Get rid of my Tesla, the point is that i got rid of 8 other subscriptions that i find i didnt need.

Tesla one is quite useful for me.