TANSTAAFL!
“Oh, Tanstaafl means there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. And isn't,” I added, pointing to a FREE LUNCH sign across room,” or these drinks would cost half as much. Was reminding her that anything free costs twice as much in long run or turns out worthless.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
I have more paid apps on my phone than anyone else I know. If I'm not paying for something I'm using, either someone is doing me a favor or I'm the product. When I don't understand how something is profitable, I'm wary of using it.
I've recently switched to Fastmail, a paid email service. And you're reading this on a website that is included in the cost to have my own email + the $12 a year that it costs from to register it at BookMyName, but I wouldn't recommend them despite the price. Including the email service it works about to about $72/yr and the main competitor to this is Squarespace which is ~$192 a year. And that's the cheapest option, for businesses it's another $5/mo to be able to use all of their features, and another $10/mo to use their mail. No wonder they advertise on every single podcast.
But back to my phone, my paid apps are:
The rest of the apps on my phone are a mix of services that allow me to pay the company (payment model is obvious there) or open sourced.
As I was writing this I just realized I never see (I do hear them when listening to podcasts) any ads on my phone unless I'm on Safari which is rare, as it is disabled almost all of the time.
Switching away from Google can be difficult, but Google's list of privacy concerns is long and obvious when you look at incentives. They make more money when they are better able to advertise to you. The same is true with Amazon, Meta, & X, you might think of them as a search engine, a store, or social media; they are the same way that a ranch farmer is a day care for cows.
Do they offer services to the cows? Absolutely.
Do they care for the cows? It depends on what you mean when you ask that question. They care for the cows the way a diner wants their steak to be of high quality, not the way a friend cares for your well being.
As I navigate the digital world, I try to be highly aware of who gets the money, because every dollar is a vote.
Work with companies you want to work with.