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<title>Proprietary Manipulation
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>Proprietary Manipulation</h2>
<div class="infobox">
<hr class="full-width" />
<p>Nonfree (proprietary) software is very often malware (designed to
mistreat the user). Nonfree software is controlled by its developers,
which puts them in a position of power over the users; <a
href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">that is the
basic injustice</a>. The developers and manufacturers often exercise
that power to the detriment of the users they ought to serve.</p>
<p>This typically takes the form of malicious functionalities.</p>
<hr class="full-width" />
</div>
<div class="article">
<p>Manipulation of users is one of these malicious functionalities.
Here are examples of programs that are designed to do this by taking
advantage of human psychology.</p>
<p>We have a special page for <a
href="/proprietary/proprietary-addictions.html">Addictive programs</a>,
which also take advantage of human psychology, but in a much more
elaborate and dangerous way.</p>
<div class="important">
<p>If you know of an example that ought to be in this page but isn't
here, please write to <a
href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>
to inform us. Please include the URL of a trustworthy reference or two
to serve as specific substantiation.</p>
</div>
<div class="column-limit" id="proprietary-manipulation"></div>
<ul class="blurbs">
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in proprietary-manipulation.html. -->
<li id="M202501290">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2025-01</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Google is <a
href="https://slate.com/technology/2025/01/google-gemini-ai-workspace-default-opt-in.html">
forcing its bullshit generator, Gemini, on many users of Gmail</a>
without asking them, and not even offering the users a way to
deactivate it.</p>
<p>Workplace IT managers, whose employees are forced to use Gmail,
can get it turned off after a laborious procedure, followed by
waiting—the darkest of dark patterns.</p>
</li>
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in proprietary-manipulation.html. -->
<li id="M202404260">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2024-04</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Microsoft has started to <a
href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/who-wants-ads-in-their-windows-11-start-menu-heres-how-to-turn-them-off/">
show ads in the “Recommended” section of the
Windows 11 Start menu</a>. Previously, this section only included
recently used documents and images. Now it also contains the icons
of apps Microsoft wants to advertise, in the hope that the user will
click on one of them, and buy the app. So far, the user can disable
the ads, but this doesn't make them more legitimate.</p>
</li>
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in proprietary-manipulation.html. -->
<li id="M202309060">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2023-09</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>In an article from Mozilla, every car brand they researched <a
href="https://www.mozillafoundation.org/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/">
has failed their privacy tests</a>. Some car manufacturers explicitly
mention that they collect data which includes “sexual
activities” and “genetic information”. Not only
collecting any of such data is a huge privacy violation in the first
place, some companies assume drivers and passengers' consent before
they get in the car. Notably, Tesla threatens that the car may be
“inoperable” if the user opts out of data collection.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202208220">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2022-08</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Tesla <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/business/tesla-fsd-price-increase/index.html">
sells an add-on software feature that drivers are not allowed
to use</a>.</p>
<p>This practice depends on a back door, which is unjust in
itself. Asking users to buy something years in advance to avoid having
to pay an even higher price later is manipulative.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202205130">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2022-05</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a
href="https://www.howtogeek.com/803598/app-is-damaged-and-cant-be-opened/">
Apple has been labeling various third-party files and programs as
“damaged”</a>, preventing users from opening them, and
implying that software from third-party sources is dangerous. While
these restrictions can be circumvented, they violate users' freedom
to do their computing as they wish. Most of the time, the purpose of
warnings such as “damaged” is to scare users into
sticking with Apple's proprietary programs for no good reason.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202203010">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2022-03</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>The nonfree app “Along,”
developed by a company controlled by Zuckerberg, <a
href="https://kappanonline.org/dont-go-along-with-corporate-schemes-to-gather-up-student-data/">
leads students to reveal to their teacher personal information</a>
about themselves and their families. Conversations are recorded
and the collected data sent to the company, which grants itself the
right to sell it. See also <a
href="/education/educational-malware-app-along.html#content">Educational Malware App “Along”</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202202151">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2022-02</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Honorlock set a network of fake test answer
honeypot sites, tempting people to get exam answers, but <a
href="https://themarkup.org/machine-learning/2022/02/15/a-network-of-fake-test-answer-sites-is-trying-to-incriminate-students">that
is a way to entrap students, so as to identify them and punish
them</a>, using nonfree JS code to identify them.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202107050">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-07</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/05/advertisers-targeted-dream-incubation">
Advertising companies are experimenting to manipulate people's
minds</a>, and impose a new way of advertising by altering their
dreams. This “targeted dream incubation” would trigger
“refreshing dreams” of the product, according to the
companies.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202106220">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-06</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Peloton company which produces treadmills recently <a
href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/peloton-tread-owners-now-forced-into-monthly-subscription-after-recall/">locked
people out of basic features of people's treadmills by a software
update</a>. The company now asks people for a membership/subscription
for what people already paid for.</p>
<p>The software used in the treadmill is proprietary and probably
includes back doors to force software updates. It teaches the lesson
that if a product talks to external networks, you must expect it to
take in new malware.</p>
<p>Please note that the company behind this product said they
are working to reverse the changes so people will no longer need
subscription to use the locked feature.</p>
<p>Apparently public anger made the company back down. If we want that
to be our safety, we need to build up the anger against malicious
features (and the proprietary software that is their entry path)
to the point that even the most powerful companies don't dare.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202102190">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2021-02</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>The Prodigy maths game played in schools
at no cost entices students to play it at home, where <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/19/maths-app-targeting-uk-schools-is-criticised-over-premium-model">
the company tries to lure them into paying for a premium
subscription</a> in exchange for mere cosmetic features that, at
school, underline the socioeconomic gap between those who can afford
it and those who can't.</p>
<p>The strategy of <a href="/education/edu-schools.html">using
schools as a fishing pool for customers</a> is a common practice
traditionally adopted by nonfree software companies.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M202007020">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2020-07</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>BMW is trying to <a
href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/2/21311332/bmw-in-car-purchase-heated-seats-software-over-the-air-updates">lock
certain features of its cars, and force people to pay to use part of
the car they already bought</a>. This is done through forced update
of the car software via a radio-operated back door.</p>
</li>
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in proprietary-manipulation.html. -->
<li id="M201905300">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-05</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>The Femm “fertility” app is secretly a <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/30/revealed-womens-fertility-app-is-funded-by-anti-abortion-campaigners">
tool for propaganda</a> by natalist Christians. It spreads distrust
for contraception.</p>
<p>It snoops on users, too, as you must expect from nonfree
programs.</p>
</li>
<li id="M201904260">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2019-04</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE"
<!-- Copied from workshop/mal.rec. Do not edit in proprietary-manipulation.html. -->
<p>The Jibo robot toys were tethered to the manufacturer's server,
and <a href="https://www.apnews.com/99c9ec8ebad242ca88178e22c7642648">
the company made them all cease to work</a> by shutting down that
server.</p>
<p>The shutdown might ironically be good for their users, since the
product was designed to manipulate people by presenting a phony
semblance of emotions, and was most certainly spying on them.</p>
</li>
<li id="M201809121">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2018-09</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>Tiny Lab Productions, along with online ad businesses run
by Google, Twitter and three other companies are facing a lawsuit <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/12/technology/kids-apps-data-privacy-google-twitter.html">for
violating people's privacy by collecting their data from mobile games
and handing over these data to other companies/advertisers</a>.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201808131">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2018-08</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p><a
href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/13/17684660/google-turn-off-location-history-data">Google
will track people even if people turn off location history</a>, using
Google Maps, weather updates, and browser searches. Google basically
uses any app activity to track people.</p>
</li>
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<li id="M201308290">
<!--#set var="DATE" value='<small class="date-tag">2013-08</small>'
--><!--#echo encoding="none" var="DATE" -->
<p>“Dark patterns” are <a
href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-interfaces-designed-to-trick-you">user
href="https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-interfaces-designed-to-trick-you">user
interfaces designed to mislead users, or make option settings hard
to find</a>.</p>
<p>This allows a company such as Apple to say, “We allow users
to turn this off” while ensuring that few will understand how
to actually turn it off.</p>
</li>
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