The Death of Ownership: Why Your Tech Isn’t Really Yours Anymore

If you can’t fix it, keep it, or sell it - you never owned it.

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We’ve been cooking up something new - What the Tech, a weekly series where we break down the tech news you should care about.

Think of it as your cheat sheet to understanding the why behind the headlines.
Our first deep dive drops at the end of this week.

That being said - let’s get into today’s topic.

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Owning something used to mean you controlled it - completely.
Buy it once, use it forever & do what you want.

But today?

You don’t really own your phone.
You don’t really own your software.
You might not even own your car.

You’re just renting access while everything is wrapped in license agreements. Tied to servers, limited by software locks. And the worst part? It’s by design.

Whether it’s video games that disappear when servers shut down or smart devices that stop working without a subscription - ownership in tech is quietly dying.

I am here today to break down what’s happening. We will be talking about:

• What does real ownership mean

• How it’s being stripped away

• And why it matters now, more than ever.

Let’s decode the system - before it locks us out for good.

What Ownership Used to Mean

There was a time when ownership meant control.

You bought something - whether it was a book, a game, or a DVD and that was the end of it. No servers to log into. No company hovering over your shoulder. You were able to lend it, sell it, rip it apart, or keep it forever. You had total control.

Today, that idea feels almost… ancient.

Try buying a digital movie. You might pay full price, but if the platform loses rights? It's gone. Same with games that require an internet check-in. If the servers go down, then so does your access.

This shift didn’t happen overnight; it took a decent amount of time. But slowly… the meaning of ownership has been rewritten - from control to conditional access.

And the scariest part?
Most people didn’t even notice this.

Everything’s Becoming a Subscription

Have you ever noticed that:

You don’t really buy software anymore.
You subscribe to it.

From editing tools to entertainment, the shift is clear:
One-time purchases are out. Monthly payments are in.

Whether it's Netflix for your shows, Spotify for your music, or Adobe for your creative work, access now comes with a price tag that never stops ticking.

Let’s break all this down.

The Rise of SaaS: Rent Your Tools

There was a time you could buy software once, and it was yours forever.
No logins, no subscriptions. No random feature removals.

You bought Microsoft Office 2007? That was it. Installed from a CD, used for years.
Same with Photoshop CS6 - pay once, use it forever, offline, no strings attached.

But things have taken a turn; everything lives behind a login screen and a subscription wall. Take Adobe Creative Cloud. Once a one-time purchase, now it’s a recurring fee of $60+/month for access. If you miss a payment - You’re locked out. Your own projects become hostages.

Even Microsoft jumped in. Office 365 now bills you annually. Want local-only apps? Good luck finding that option anymore.

You need to realize that:

- You’re not just paying for the tool anymore.
- You’re paying for permission to use it.

If the Company Dies, You Lose Access

Here’s the brutal truth: if the platform disappears, so does your “ownership.”

When Stadia shut down, players didn’t just lose a game - they lost entire libraries. A racing game called Crew from Ubisoft was removed from the servers. People who paid full price didn’t get any refund; that game was removed from their libraries, like it never existed.

And it’s not just games.

BMW made headlines for putting heated seats behind a paywall.
Yes - the hardware is in your car. But unless you subscribe, you can't use it.

It’s the same story with Tesla as well. Features like Enhanced Autopilot can be locked/unlocked remotely based on payment.

Noticed something?

- You bought the machine.
- But they still own the rules.

Cloud Is Killing Control

There was a time… your files lived on your own device. You used to own them, and you had full control over your files.

But, now? Everything’s in the cloud - which means it’s on someone else’s computer, governed by their rules. Controlled by them.

From personal photos to purchased games, your data now lives on servers you don’t own, maintained by companies you don’t control. And if they decide to shut you out?

There’s often nothing you can do.

Let’s unpack this.

Your Files Aren’t Really Yours Anymore

That Google Drive folder? That iCloud backup? It’s convenient - until it isn’t.

If your account is flagged, suspended, or caught in an algorithmic glitch, you can lose access instantly. Years of documents, photos, and emails… gone in an instant, without any warning or second chances.

Services like Google have locked out users permanently - sometimes by mistake.
And often, there’s no human you can talk to.

In simple words, if your data exists in the cloud. It’s vulnerable.

Games, Shows, Content - They Can Just Vanish

Remember when you bought a game or movie and it was yours forever?

Not anymore.

Today, companies can remove titles from your library - even if you paid for them.

Sony, Amazon, and Disney+ have all pulled purchased content from user accounts.

In 2023, Sony removed hundreds of Discovery+ shows from users’ libraries due to a licensing change. People paid for them, but they still lost them. They got no refunds or explanations. Just straight up lost all that media.

Here’s the harsh reality:

The cloud gives companies a kill switch.
And you? You just get to hope they don’t press it.

The Fall of Physical Media

There was a time when owning a game meant holding it in your hands - a disc, a case with cover art you could actually smell. Same with movies and music. You bought it once, and it was yours forever.

I even remember buying that Watch Dogs video game disk, ahh good times.

But things are different now:

Everything’s digital.
Cloud saves, online libraries.
Consoles that don’t even come with disc drives.

Sure, it's convenient. But it also means you're just one policy change away from losing access.

With physical media, you had long-term control. You could lend it, resell it, play frisbee with it, or keep it for decades. But when it comes to digital media, you’re trusting that someone else won’t flip the kill switch.

I must agree that we are evolving.

But here’s the twist…

Hardware Is Not Safe Anymore

Up until now, we’ve focused on software subscriptions and digital licenses. But guess what? The erosion of ownership isn’t limited to files and apps - it’s creeping into hardware too.

We’ve got multiple examples. Time to dissect them.

HP Printers: Ink You Bought, But Can’t Use

HP’s Instant Ink subscription once promised convenience. You had the option to pay monthly, and ink was auto-shipped to your door.

But cancel the subscription, or plug in a third-party cartridge, and instantly your printer will stop working.

And here’s the interesting part:

The cartridges? They get remotely disabled via firmware, and the unused ink stash you saved up? It becomes useless, even if the hardware is functioning.

Lawsuits followed: HP paid over $1.3 million in settlement and faced new class actions claiming consumers never agreed to use only HP ink.

This is planned obsolescence.
Disguised as a service.

Nintendo Switch 2: Your Console Can Be Bricked Remotely

Nintendo updated its End User License Agreement (EULA) ahead of the Switch 2 launch, giving itself the legal right to permanently disable any device that violates its terms.

Users modifying hardware or playing pirated games found their consoles banned from online services - and in some cases, rendered permanently unusable.

That shiny $450 console you bought? It can turn into a paperweight on a platform’s whim.

Did you notice something?
This is ownership in reverse.

Hardware that functions only as long as you obey corporate rules.

Apple’s M‑Series Macs & iPhones - Your Parts, Their Pawn

If you've ever replaced your iPhone screen or battery at a local repair shop, you may’ve seen this warning: “Unknown Part Detected.”

That’s not nostalgia - it's policy.

Apple’s system blocks biometric features like Face ID unless genuine Apple parts are verified via firmware checks. If you use any third-party component, you lose access entirely - even if the device otherwise works fine.

In short, if you try to repair your phone. Apple may refuse service or worse, turn your phone into trade‑in trash.

You might own the phone.
But they still call the shots.

Tesla’s Feature Kill Switch

Tesla does something far darker with cars. Users who bought a used Model S with autopilot features found that after a software update, Tesla disabled those functions remotely - sometimes without warning.

Why? Because Tesla claimed the buyer hadn’t paid for those upgrades, even if the dealer had advertised and sold them that way.

So yeah… different software-based capabilities just vanished with a single OTA update.

Your Car, your hardware.
But Tesla still holds the remote control.

The Ownership Illusion And Why It Should Worry You

Think about it - If you can’t fix it, mod it, or sell it without someone else’s permission… Did you ever really own it?

Every example we’ve seen so far points to the same reality: the balance of power has shifted. You pay for the device or software, but they decide how it works, what it can do, and how long it will last.

This isn’t just inconvenient - it’s a slow erosion of freedom and control.
When companies hold all the keys, you lose the ability to innovate, experiment, or even keep your gear running past their expiration date.

Anti-ownership = anti-innovation and anti-user rights

Paying More, Owning Less

And the ironic thing is that you’re paying more than ever - monthly subscriptions, locked features, premium hardware, and still getting less control.

It’s the worst kind of deal:

- The bill is yours.
- But the ownership isn’t.

Taking Back Control

If you’ve made it this far - kudos.
My goal wasn’t just to rant, but to wake you up to how much control you’ve already lost.

Every locked feature, every cloud-only service, every subscription is slowly chipping away at your freedom as a user. And unless we push back, that erosion will become the default.

But, don’t feel powerless…
… There is still hope.

• Fight for Right to Repair – Support laws and movements that let you fix your own gear without begging the manufacturer.

• Choose tech that respects you – Buy physical media, self-host where you can, lean toward open-source, and unlocked devices.

• Educate your circle – Most people don’t even realize they’re giving up rights until it’s too late. That’s why awareness is the key.

Your Turn to Talk

I feel like I have talked enough, now it’s your turn.

I have a couple of questions for you:

• Have you ever felt that you truly own the tech you pay for?

• Or do you feel like you are just renting it until the company decides otherwise?

Drop your thoughts in the comments - I read every single one.
Lastly, if you learned something new here, share this so others wake up to what’s happening.
And if you want to read more content like this, hit subscribe.

Until next time…

Dive Deeper

• Ownership is dead. The access economy has arrived. | by Joan Westenberg

• Digital Ownership and the End of Physical Media

• The death of DVDs and the decline of ownership in the digital age | The Week

• BMW Adds More Subscriptions to Its Vehicles | U.S. News