Having worked at a bunch of SaaS products, it’s actually not that shady (at least in those cases i’ve seen). Free users are low value but they can cost a ton in support and commercial effort. Asking for a credit card upfront is just a simple way to filter for people who actually intend to buy the product.
OP’s reaction is not a bug, it’s the feature.
Stovetop@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s because auto-renewal is always turned on by default and they’re hoping people forget they signed up.
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 4 months ago
So, shady stuff.
Stovetop@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Oh 100%. One of the many ways corporations try to pull money out of your wallet when you’re not looking.
In these sorts of situations, I’ve sometimes made use of a temporary card using services like privacy.com. Lets you sign up for free trials that require cards without giving them any real card details. That way, if you happen to forget to remove the subscription (or if they are so draconian they make it nearly impossible to do so) the transaction fails to process when they try to charge you.
Sometimes even banks provide temporary/virtual card services for their members, too.
MewtwoLikesMemes@lemmy.world 3 months ago
^ My point exactly.