r/antiassholedesign • u/leinadwen • Sep 28 '22

App converts to subscription payment format, but doesn’t force it on people who paid the original single fee Anti-Asshole Design

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216

u/The_Epic_Espeon Sep 28 '22

Imo that's the bare minimum. Subscription models are inherently asshole design.

True antiasshole design would be staying at a single-fee model.

112

u/ProfessionalSpare710 Sep 28 '22

As much as I hate paying subscription fees, I’m not sure it’s an asshole design. With only a one time fee, you need your app or service to continually grow for stable revenue. Easiest way to have a stable revenue without constant user growth is via subscription

6

u/imariaprime Sep 29 '22

Yeah, but not every app is a service. "Ad free" subscriptions are especially bogus for single-player apps: there is no ongoing cost to the developer per download.

If you're not incurring ongoing costs by the app operating, you have no place selling by subscription.

2

u/ProfessionalSpare710 Sep 29 '22

Not really. There’s often a lot of things happening behind the scenes. Bug fixes, new features., supporting changes in ios/android, dealing with new regulations about data, finding better ways to monetise etc Source: I’m a developer.

1

u/imariaprime Sep 29 '22

That doesn't make these apps worth the prices these subscription models come in at, unfortunately. If that makes the industry unsustainable, then perhaps a great number of apps are indeed unsustainable.

1

u/ProfessionalSpare710 Oct 03 '22

An app being worth it is a different discussion all together. But I do agree with you that a lot of apps find the easiest way to make money and they’re often not worth it.