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US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

apnews.com

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Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#2

Post by hypeatei »

Nice. I also wish deleting accounts was easier so that you don't have to read support FAQs and eventually find the email to send the deletion request to and wait days before being acknowledged and pestered for a "reason" you're leaving.

Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#3

Post by nickburns »

I understand TFA is about unsubscribing from paid services or subscriptions. But still relevant to this discussion—I don't even click marketing 'unsubscribe' links anymore unless it points to the entity's second level domain. And even then, 9/10 times the link is merely CNAME'ed to some third-party known data broker's 2LD. These links have basically turned into a form of data collection unto themselves. I.e., 'is anybody home?'

NB: Configure you email clients not to automatically download HTML unless you prefer to let senders know you're actively maintaining your inbox. I love receiving 'if you're still reading please click here, otherwise you'll soon be automatically removed from our ML.' I consider that the real unsubscribe non-button in 2024.

Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#6

Post by jmyeet »

This is what government is for. It's why I can't (and don't) take any libertarians seriously. You can't Yelp review your way into regulating society. It's just so naive and silly.

I was reminded of this recenntly when I saw a "hack" on how to cancel your Planet Fitness membership. As many would know, these gyms make it incredibly hard to cancel a subscription. It's their entire business model. Anyway, the "hack" is to set your address to somewhere in California, set your local gym to one near there and then you can use a hidden URL to cancel online without having to speak to anyone.

Why? Because CA passed a law that says that if you can sign up online, you have to be able to cancel online [1].

[1]: https://www.consumerprotectionreview.com/2021/11/california-...

Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#7

Post by the__alchemist »

Anecdotally:

A: I get more spam than ever. What is especially annoying is that the majority of reputable companies do this. Order something? Sign up for an account? Set up an LLC? File a trademark? Boom: Spam emails UFN.

B: It's easier to unsubscribe than ever: Often one-click at the bottom of the email, or let Gmail/Fastmail etc do it for you. Generally effective.

One annoyance I find is the Our terms have been altered. Pray I don't alter them further loophole, where you will still get emails after unsubbing.

There's only one company I tolerate marketing emails from (Pitviper sunglasses), and it's because the emails are funny.

Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#9

Post by dynm »

jwally wrote: post #4

Can't recommend privacy.com enough for literally this use case. If I have to spend more than five minutes trying to figure out how to cancel - I'm just turning off my card...

For what it's worth, I've had terrible experiences with privacy.com. Lots of dark patterns, and suddenly demanded a picture with photo ID while holding the account hostage. Strongly suggest avoiding.

Re: US Government wants to make it easier for you to click the 'unsubscribe' button

#10

Post by criddell »

jwally wrote: post #4

Can't recommend privacy.com enough for literally this use case. If I have to spend more than five minutes trying to figure out how to cancel - I'm just turning off my card...

I think most of the times that works and companies don't pursue the small amounts, but turning off the card doesn't actually end the agreement between you and the company. It could end up on your credit report.
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