Marques Brownlee says he’s working to dial back the ads.

Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, faced backlash over his new wallpaper app, Panels, due to its high subscription cost ($49.99/year) and concerns over excessive data permissions.

Brownlee acknowledged user feedback, promising to adjust ad frequency for free users and address privacy concerns, clarifying that the app’s data disclosures were broader than intended.

The app, which offers curated wallpapers and shares profits with artists, aims to improve over time, despite criticisms of its design and monetization approach.

  • FinishingDutch@lemmy.worldEnglish
    36·
    3 months ago

    Paying for ANY wallpaper is just silly, much less a subscription model.

    The only time you should pay for one if it’s an artist you want to actively support and/or thank for that specific work.

    • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.netEnglish
      191·
      3 months ago

      For the last 30 years, they’ve been trying to charge for dumb shit like wallpapers, screen savers, mouse cursors.

      Who are these people who buy them? And what’s wrong with you?

      • BruceTwarzen@lemm.eeEnglish
        17·
        3 months ago

        When toy story came out, i saw this toy story pc game. I put all my money together just to then find out that it wasn’t a game, it was a cd rom with like 12 wallpapers on it.

        • FinishingDutch@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          3 months ago

          I still have PTSD from the era of the ‘polyphonic ringtone’ hype. Those were the ‘fancier’ ringtones that weren’t just your usual beep or bell.

          Usually you’d buy them by sending a text message to some expensive number and it would be sent to your phone. If you were dumb, you could get basically scammed into a ‘subscription’ so you’d get sent these expensive ringtones frequently. Many a teen got yelled at for that mistake in the late 90’s.

          If you were a tech savvy lad, you could hook your phone up to your Windows PC and upload shitty ringtones yourself as well as wallpapers and such.

          These days, who gives a shit? My iPhone ringtone is still the default ring. I honestly don’t care what it is, as it’s usually just annoying anyway.

        • jonne@infosec.pubEnglish
          4·
          3 months ago

          Yeah, that was a cash cow for a few years and now everybody has their phone on vibrate.

        • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.netEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          I remember watching the rich kid in middle school buy a ring tone right in front of me, flexing that his device could play a 12-second loop of Tubthumping by Chumbawamba.

          • locuester@lemmy.zipEnglish
            1·
            3 months ago

            Yeah, that rich kid Danny. He plays the songs that remind him of the good times and sings the songs that remind him of the better times. Oh Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy