You also wouldn’t have paid to use Honey.

That’s my point? Nothing is ever truly free?

I pay $100/month for internet access.

Lemmy may be free to access, but certainly not free to host. Am I paying for it personally? No, but someone is.

You also don’t see Lemmy paying hundreds of YouTubers and influencers for ad spots.

The very first time I saw an ad for Honey I knew there had to be a catch. Nothing is ever free.

It wasn’t immediately obvious how they were going to make money, though. I figured they’d just sell gather and sell user data. I had completely forgotten about affiliate links. But they probably also sell your data for good measure.

(That’s part of the joke.)

(Unless you’re also saying that to be a contrarian, then well played.)

It’s called “engagement”, sweaty, deal with it

/s