If you need to ask a company for data recorded on YOUR hardware then something has gone wrong.

Small teams are unable to take web browsers far in another direction as browsers have recklessly grown to one of the largest and most complicated software. Browsers do not follow the “do one thing well” philosophy, to the extreme.

Most functional parts of a browser (text reader, video player) are thankfully resistant to enshitification. That is if they are free (libre), permitting a fork.

There are no good options sometimes. I place my hope in GNU Taler as a means to send and accept payment in the future (it’s anonymous for the buyer but the seller is identifiable for tax reasons).

We’ll have to agree to disagree on the effectiveness of voting with wallets.

What would you call an example of ‘real collective power’?

Individually we do not make much of a difference in anything but that’s an excuse to avoid searching for a better company and often tolerating a worse offer (e.g. a fair trade product that costs more, or lacks modern features).

Change in politics certainly matters but your individual support of a political party in terms of one vote has practically no affect on the result in a winner-take-all/first-past-the-post voting system. Your individual “vote” in support of a company is at least a non-zero value, and sometimes is multiple “votes” per year.

People often say it would be better if just more people voted, but that’s only helpful for them because they imagine they would vote for the main party they like the most. I doubt that’s the case. The most important structural reform imo is to increase the representation of the public in government - and it’s not a main party’s self interests to do that. Voting is unlikely to change that.

If you’re in a country with a two party system then voting has even less impact that than giving your money to a more worthwhile company.

Consumption is not expressing support.

You may not support them with your words but giving them money is literally support. Like giving a horse an apple and then saying you’re not feeding it.

Who do they think owns the Jeeps?

I doubt they understand local vs server distinction.

We’ve seen Disney try but then withdraw an attempt to enforce arbitration when a lady died from an allergic reaction in their* restaurant. Her partner had signed up for Disney+ free trial. It’s not unimaginable a court would hold you to it since we’re already in Upsidedown World where forced arbitrary is legal.

Let’s not call disabling the right to sue a “business risk”. That’s like calling the right to stop paying for the service a “risk” - it’s riskdiculous.