Finshots Daily Why do apps get worse the more we use them?
Mar 27, 2026
The episode digs into why food and service apps get noisier and pricier over time. It covers rising platform fees, added charges, ads and clutter that squeeze users. It explains how platforms shift from subsidized growth to extraction and how habit-lock and high switching costs concentrate power. It explores fixes like interoperability, worker pushback and regulatory limits in concentrated markets.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Platforms Launch Clean And Subsidize To Lock Users
- Platforms start frictionless to capture users quickly.
- Early clean UI, deep discounts and low fees used VC subsidies to lock users into habit formation.
N‑shitification Explains Why Apps Get Worse
- Platform decay describes how apps get worse as they prioritise business customers over users.
- Corey Dockshaw's n-shitification framework: first users, then advertisers, then extracting value from everyone while keeping just enough value to prevent churn.
Zomato And Swiggy Used Discounts Then Raised Fees
- Zomato and Swiggy initially raced to the bottom on delivery fees and offered deep discounts to build scale.
- Those VC-funded subsidies later disappeared as platforms raised fees and changed the economics for restaurants.