The Internet on the other side
Whilst testing a new browser profile with something or other, I neglected to install uBlock Origin. The way browser profiles work is that any extensions or add-ons are tied to and used by the profile which installed them.
Later, when browsing the Internet with that same profile, I landed on a news website which showed me a cookie consent pop-up. It was huge with a lot of text, so I read it. There were two options:
- Purchase a subscription to view without personalised ads.
- Pay a fee to view this site ad-free and without being tracked.
Wow! These are things which I normally never see due to how all this trash is filtered out by uBlock Origin.
Who else does this, I wondered. A quick check on various non-paywall UK news websites revealed that they are all following the same model.
standard.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
thesun.co.uk
theguardian.com
independent.co.uk
express.co.uk
metro.co.uk
gbnews.com
mirror.co.uk
I found only one who does not:
sky.com
The BBC also does not have any such banners, and they don’t really count. As a publicly-funded organisation, the BBC is not permitted to display any advertisements in the UK.
I have definitely been browsing in a bubble for a very long time it would seem, because I honestly had no idea of the state of the Internet-as-intended. How does anyone remain sane trying to navigate this thing without some sort of filter?
I finally understand the term “enshitification”. I hadn’t noticed before the extent of the mess that this precious place has become.