The Real Reason Fitness Frenzy Is Not Free
Above was an email I recently received, and I thought to myself, "Self, this would be a great example of why Fitness Frenzy has a subscription." So Dear Readers, this is the truth about Fitness Frenzy, and it's cost.
Fitness Frenzy is a tool. Tools in principal should not sell your information or show advertisements. You pay for it; it's yours, no strings attached. If it stops being useful, stop paying for it, there are 0 repercussions. For this reason, Fitness Frenzy does not sell your information, ever.
How would you feel if every time you had to use a hammer, you had to watch a video trying to sell you nails? What about if your car tracked your location and sold it to the highest bidder? It might sound crazy, but it's not too far off the mark. Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Every app out there is trying to make money, and they will do so in one of three ways:
Advertising
Data Mining
Payments
Now it turns out Advertising and Data Mining are closely linked. For an app to make money advertising, it will want to save your personal data and use it to sell relevant advertising. And companies will pay big for advertising space. That's what the email above was trying to sell me. If I just added their black box into my app, collecting who knows what data, I could start selling advertising and making billions - or something like that. But again, Fitness Frenzy is a tool, and I won't have it sell your personal information.
Data Mining itself can be nefarious; this is a PSA. If you see a free app, look closely at the permission it requests. For example, if you download a TDEE calculator, there is no reason it needs your name, location, and various other permissions. If it does require seemingly unnecessary data points, that app will use your phone as a siphon to sell that info to whoever wants it. However, there is no reason to be afraid of apps - be diligent, and you'll be fine. PSA over.
The last ways to make money with an app are: supporting a product, selling a product, and providing a service. For example, if you buy app-controlled Christmas Tree lights, that company uses their free app to provide convenience for their product. Next, there are virtual products such as video games and microtransactions. Lastly, there are subscription-based services, like Fitness Frenzy. Subscriptions allow companies to develop their tool further and cover maintenance costs. These last three options, in my opinion, are the most honest and straight forward ways of revenue. You get what you pay for; that's it.
So dear readers, I hope this was informational—one last thought to leave you with: My economics teacher had us remember the acronym TINSTAAFL. There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Free does not mean free; somewhere, somehow, someone paid for it. So the next time you use a tool, think to yourself, 'Who is getting paid and how?'.
As for Fitness Frenzy, I'd rather be transparent and show you the cost, but that’s just my philosophy.
P.S.
I know the tone of this article is something along the lines of 'Advertising Bad.' But just like everything else, the real answer is more nuanced. Advertising can be great! Hell, Fitness Frenzy uses online advertising to help spread the word. Just remember the words of my mentor - “Nothing is as ever as good or as bad as it seems.”
