> Also I bucket "free" into "data harvesting", "actually gratis", or "libre".
Yes, and beware of the people who want you to ignore the second two categories. "If you aren't the customer, you're the product" is an insidious way to make you think there's no escape from being monetized, while simultaneously lying to you by saying you won't be a product if you pay using money. It's pretty universal that paying customers are a product sold to bigger customers, and I'm very wary of the motives of anyone who wants me to forget that.
Yes, and beware of the people who want you to ignore the second two categories. "If you aren't the customer, you're the product" is an insidious way to make you think there's no escape from being monetized, while simultaneously lying to you by saying you won't be a product if you pay using money. It's pretty universal that paying customers are a product sold to bigger customers, and I'm very wary of the motives of anyone who wants me to forget that.