Enshittification: Difference between revisions

'''Enshitiffication''' is a phenomenon where companies providing flagship services purposely make their platform worse. First they provide services for everyone, then they make services worse for customers while benefiting business customers, and then they make the service for everyone worse, to gain profit. Enshittification usually prioritizes money over users. Shareholders and investors need the money so they do just that, like putting ads everywhere, adding [[AI]] features, etc. for them.  

Google's search results have gotten worse over the years, partly due to people abusing SEO and partly due to Google ignoring the glaring issues with the platform and introducing an AI overview.

Around 2023, Reddit would remove the free API tier that allowed third party Reddit clients to work. This was met with backlash since users used third party Reddit clients to get features and improvements the official Reddit app didn't have. Reddit would also add some AI features. The most notable is the Reddit Answers feature. It used AI to summarize context of Reddit posts.  

[[YouTube]] has faced enshittification, usually by putting frequent ads, blocking ad blockers, adding AI features for some regions within the app and website, and also having extremely ineffective AI moderation.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrHf9g5Kz08</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/1u7jwf9/youtubes_ai_moderation_is_destroying_the_platform/</ref>

[[Duolingo]] is one of the most popular language learning apps to face enshittification. Enshittification of Duolingo was done by changing or removing features like limiting practice for hearts, making users watch ads to earn hearts, frequent ads, and switching over to a new system called Energy. Energy is the worst thing that came to Duolingo, you use energy by getting exercises correct, and you won't be able to do lessons anymore when you use all your energy.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/1flnzwh/what_happened_i_cant_practice_to_earn_hearts_now/</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/1l8nmpt/duolingos_new_energy_system_makes_the_application/</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/1iyretg/watch_an_ad_to_earn_a_heart_no_more_practice_to/</ref>

[[File:Paid plants pvz2.jpg|thumb|An image of the Plants vs. Zombies 2 menu with plants that you have to pay real money to unlock, taken sometime in 2013<ref>The prices of these plants have gone way up since.</ref>.]]

A particular franchise that has been hit with enshittification is Plants vs. Zombies. Beginning with [[EA]] buying out Popcap in 2011 and having them move their business from good fun games to [[F2P]] Mobile Games. This was shown with the release of Plants vs. Zombies 2, which included an in-game currency (diamonds), a leveling system (plant levels), and microtransactions (with both in-game currency, plants, and more).

PVZ Replanted TBA