Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Second, why do they owe you anything? Either you are a free user, at which point you don't really have a whole lot of say in what they do with their own company, or you are paying $12 for a stellar password manager, which I would say is definitely worth it. Because I not only paid US$12,00 to them, but I have also invested time and thought in building habits and procedures based on their service. If they their serv…
OK, but why do they owe you anything for the time you chose to spend with their product? In fact by repeatedly using their product you subtract from their bottom line since you are consuming computing and support resources. As far as I see it, $12 buys you a one year LastPass subscription, not a perpetual right to be consulted on any corporate moves they might make. Practically, you probably have a bit more say than…
I don't understand the point you're trying to make here. Their product is SaaS; by definition to use the product requires consuming their computing resources--that's what they're selling! Unless you're honestly of the mentality that companies have moral standing to tell you to eff-off once they have your money. But I don't think you are, so please clarify.
To answer your question, LastPass's popularity is largely due to word-of-mouth. People used LastPass because they liked it, they liked its ease of use, they liked what they perceived to be the honest nature of the company. Because people like the average user on HN, who are likely the "Tech guy" for all of their immediate friends and family, tell their families to use LastPass and help them set it up. When you piss off the guys who evangelized your product, you're not just losing his business; you're potentially losing the business of everyone whom they recommended it to.
Case in point, I convinced my girlfriend to start using it (she fortunately got 6 months for free via a student email and hence will suffer no monetary loss if we decide to switch) and was considering telling my family about it, but now I'm having second thoughts. And considering this is, again, a subscription model, the "Haha, we already have your money!" model only works for one year. The projected revenue based on the expectation of renewals, however, goes out the window.