The Roach Motel.
You Can Check Out Any Time You Like...
But you can never leave.
We all know the drill. Signing up for the service takes 1 click. Apple Pay. Face ID. Done.
Cancelling?
- "Please log in on a desktop."
- "Call this number between 9am and 5pm EST."
- "Would you like 3 months free?"
This isn't bad design. It is Weaponized Friction.
The "Confusopoly"
Thaler called it "Sludge." I call it theft.
Companies know that if they make cancelling take 10 minutes instead of 1 minute, retention goes up 15%. That 15% is worth billions. So they hire PhD psychologists to break your will.
Signing Up
Cancelling
Are you sure?
If you leave now, you lose your 'Loyalty Badge' and your data will be archived for 30 days before deletion.
AI is the New Enforcer
It gets worse. Now we have AI customer support agents. Their prompt instruction? "Do not let the user cancel. Offer incentives. Feign empathy. Stall."
I argued with an airline chatbot for 20 minutes yesterday. It was polite, infinite, and unyielding. It was a Bureaucracy Bot.
YOUR_MONTHLY_RENT
*Click items to cancel them.
COST OVER 5 YEARS
IF INVESTED (S&P 500)
$400 one-time
USE ARROW KEYS
Conclusion
We need a "Right to Click." If I can sign up in one click, I must be able to cancel in one click.
Until then? Use Privacy.com. Burn the card. Ghost them. It's the only language they understand.