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Advertising overload refers to the practice of not only integrating advertising as a source of revenue in software and websites, but also increasing the number of ads within platforms that consumers…

Bloatware can be defined in 2 main classes: Pre-installed or bundled: features not required by a system (physical or digital) to work properly, and/or undesirable programs. Software that has become…

The click-to-cancel (CtC) rule is a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule, specifically 16 CFR Part 425.6, which requires that subscription services make it as easy to cancel the service as it was to…

Consent-or-pay, also known as consent-or-okay, is a business model implemented in response to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under this model, users of a website are…

CSS-based tracking and CSS fingerprinting consist of abusing the semantics of CSS, a styling language used to present virtually all web-pages, in order to trick web-browsers to send data to servers.

Data lock-in limits how device owners can access and manage data stored on the device they own. For example, some mobile applications store user data in a way they can only be viewed from inside the…

Discontinuation bricking occurs when a product is rendered non-functional ("bricked") because the manufacturer has decided to discontinue it. Discontinuation bricking usually occurs in products that…

Electronics leasing is an emerging business model in which consumer electronics such as phones or games consoles are leased to consumers for extended periods, rather than sold either by direct…

Platform decay, commonly known as Enshittification or crapification, is a practice in which companies (usually large ones) allow the quality of the products or services they provide to decline over…

Fake lifetime license is a marketing scam in which customers are misled and/or blatantly lied to, with respect to the expiration date of a license they acquired. This is distinct from post-purchase…

Feature Ransom is a form of rights stripping when core functionality is restricted or removed unless users accept new terms or conditions.

Forced account registration/sign-in/log-in is a practice committed by entities, where users must have (and use) a digital identity to perform simple tasks that may have otherwise been possible…

Forced app download is a practice committed by businesses and government entities where users must download an app on their smartphones to perform simple tasks that may have otherwise been possible…

Forced arbitration is a practice in which businesses can require their customers to resolve disputes through arbitration, instead of a traditional court system.

Forced cloud, forced internet, forced remote connection, etc... is a practice in which software or hardware requires a continuous/constant (or, at least, regular) device connection to remote servers…

Hardware as a service (HaaS) (not to be confused with Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)), is a subscription model for physical appliances, such as cars. Unlike IaaS, which consists on…

Legal Lockout is a form of rights stripping where terms are implemented that modify users' legal rights or access to legal remedies. A common legal lockout practice is to implement forced arbitration…

Malicious compliance is an action where one complies with a request or demand, but in such a way that it follows the wording, but not the spirit or intent of the mandate. Applied to consumer rights…

Device deauthorization and remote disabling refers to the ability of technology companies like Apple and Microsoft to remotely lock, disable, or revoke access to consumer devices such as laptops…

Rights stripping is the systematic removal or reduction of consumer rights through agreement modifications.

Secure boot, also known as verified boot, is any technology that prevents the execution of non-trusted programs during the startup sequence of a computer system, such as a desktop PC or a smartphone…

A SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a lawsuit filed with the primary intent of suppressing public discussion of, or exposure to, a specific view. In a consumer context, this…

Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is…

A piece of software being referred to as "bricked" simply means the program has been rendered unusable. Software bricking is a malicious practice in which a company revokes user access to a…

Digital storefront shutdowns, or the practice of discontinuing online storefronts for consoles and other devices, has become increasingly common. This often results in the removal of games exclusive…