The Enshittification Thread

[figmentPez]

Some Discord users now need to scan their face or ID to view sensitive material | VGC

The company says the age verification feature is “an experiment”…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Currently being tested in the UK and Australia.

 

[PatrThom]

Google announces 1st and 2nd gen Nest Thermostats will lose support in October 2025

Affected units will work locally, but smart features will shut down in October.

arstechnica.com

The situation is a bit more frustrating for owners of the European thermostat—Google doesn't have any newer units to sell. Heating and cooling systems in Europe have various quirks that set them apart from North American systems, and consequently, it has been more than a decade since Nest released a smart thermostat adapted to the continent. And it never will again, the company confirms. The European second-gen Nest Learning Thermostat will be the last from Google.

--Patrick

 

[PatrThom]

Soon the WWWeb as we know it will cease to exist, if the theory of the "Zero Click Internet" is to be believed.

The Zero Click Internet

The internet is undergoing the biggest change since its inception. It's huge. And there is no going back. The web is changing into the Zero Click Internet,...

www.techspot.com

Zero Click Internet means you'll no longer click on links to find the content you want[, instead] answering simple queries directly on [the] search results page. What few search results remain are buried so far down the page that almost no one sees or clicks on them anymore.
It means an end to users visiting [discrete] websites, entirely. Instead you'll spend all your time on a small handful of platforms and apps like Google or TikTok and never leave them.

We already had this, once. It went by many different names...CompuServe, AOL, WebTV, Prodigy, etc.

--Patrick

 

[figmentPez]

Warners Reverses Course: Changes Max’s Name Back to HBO Max

Didn't know where else to put this, but I have a feeling the desperate change to put HBO back in the name is a sign the service is going to get shittier.

 

[PatrThom]

Meta argues enshittification isn’t real in bid to toss FTC monopoly case

How many ads is too many? Meta denies ad load harms users in bid to end trial early.

arstechnica.com

According to Meta, the FTC failed to show evidence that "the overall quality of Meta’s apps has declined" or that the company shows too many ads to users.[...] Meta has maintained throughout the trial that its users actually like seeing ads.

--Patrick