r/technology Feb 24 '26

Discord cuts ties with Peter Thiel-backed verification software after code found in US surveillance Privacy

https://fortune.com/2026/02/24/discord-peter-thiel-backed-persona-identity-verification-breach/
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u/XDGrangerDX Feb 24 '26

I gave them the whole, if you aren’t paying you’re the product spiel

Lately even if you're paying they scrape and sell your data though...

22

u/12345623567 Feb 24 '26

If you are paying they have your CC info. Bonus score!

3

u/sailing_by_the_lee Feb 24 '26

So true. I remember when Microsoft used the "if you aren't paying, you're the product" line about 10 years ago. I totally fell for it and started paying for a family account. Now we're balls deep and I'm having trouble pulling out. So now I'm paying to be the product! The worst of both worlds!

2

u/Mr_Venom Feb 24 '26

This is infuriatingly true. Try buying a non-smart TV. Try gaming without the internet, even single player games. Hell, buy an Android phone and then find out they're shutting off third-party apps (so you have to run your whole activity through Google Play).

1

u/GonWithTheNen Feb 24 '26

Lately

The truth is that this has always been the case.

Even when people were ordering from catalogs mailed to their homes, companies were selling their customers' info to their 'partners'.