The Free Online Services Model May Be Gone — Mental Outlaw
Date: 2024-09-16 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
Google is deleting old user accounts that have been inactive for at least two years, and tech blogger "Mental Outlaw" believes the move is a sign that the company is running out of storage space — which could mean the end of the free online services model.
Mental Outlaw explained that many early Gmail users used the service as a form of cloud storage, storing gigabytes of photos and files on the platform. He believes that Google's move to reclaim unused space and delete abandoned accounts indicates that maintaining free cloud storage is becoming too costly for the company.
According to the blogger, the growing popularity of ad-blocking services and web browsers like Brave, which prevent large tech companies like Google from collecting data, has significantly impacted the revenues of these companies that make money from user data.
This decline in revenue, in turn, has threatened the current business model, which offers free online services in exchange for collecting user data.
Google announces deletion of old accounts
In late 2023, Google announced a policy change, notifying users that the company would begin deleting accounts starting in December of that year, starting with those that were created but not used, and gradually deleting other inactive accounts. When the policy was first announced, Google explained that deleting accounts was intended to improve security:
"Abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to use two-factor authentication. This means that these accounts are often vulnerable, and once compromised, they can be used to steal identities or distribute inappropriate or even malicious content."
Google also emphasized that the new policy would only affect individual accounts and would not affect accounts used by schools or businesses.
Alternatives to Cloud Storage and Big Tech Services
Platforms like Functionland, a decentralized cloud storage solution, have emerged as an alternative to the "rented internet" by giving users more autonomy over their data.
In addition, projects like Irys are also working to solve the problem of centralized data storage, challenging giants like Google and Amazon Web Services for market share.
