Handout: Enshittification (Cory Doctorow)

This handout is part of a series of zines summarizing key works on mutual aid, decentralized organizing, and direct democracy. You can explore other zines in this series here.

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Enshittification: How Modern Platforms Decline

What is Enshittification?

"Enshittification," a term popularized by Cory Doctorow, refers to the process where a platform initially prioritizes user value but progressively degrades its services in pursuit of unsustainable growth (often driven by financial incentives), leaving users frustrated and abandoning the platform. This is particularly harmful when there are no market alternatives for users to move towards.

The Cycle of Enshittification

User-Focused Growth: A company offers a great product or service, attracting many happy users with useful features and solid value.
Revenue-Focused Growth: To start making money, the company increases ads, fees, or premium options, but still maintains a generally good experience for users.
Bait and Switch: The company begins cutting components—features are removed, ads are added, and users are asked to pay for more—while still claiming to offer the same service.
Endstate: Eventually, the platform becomes unusable or less enjoyable, and users are stuck with a worse experience or leave the platform.

Common Signs of Enshittification

Too Many Ads: The service becomes overloaded with ads, making it difficult to use or enjoy.
Paywalls and Hidden Costs: More features are locked behind paywalls, and users are forced to pay for things that were once free.
Decreasing Quality: The service becomes slower, less reliable, or loses valuable features.
Hyper-Monetization: The company introduces aggressive monetization tactics like microtransactions or fees for basic functions.

The Impact of Enshittification

Frustrated Users: As platforms worsen, users feel betrayed and increasingly dissatisfied, leading to churn.
Erosion of Trust: Consumers begin to lose trust in services and become wary of new platforms.
Loss of Market Efficiency: As more companies engage in enshittification, the overall quality of available platforms drops, and users struggle to find services that truly meet their needs.

How to Fight Back

Support Ethical Alternatives: Choose platforms that prioritize user experience and long-term sustainable growth when available.
Demand Better Practices: Speak up against poor service and encourage companies to adopt sustainable, user-first business models.
Encourage Regulation: Advocate for rules that protect consumers from exploitative practices and ensure companies act in the best interest of their users.