Stage 2: Hard to leave · Tool

Your network, data, purchases, and habits make leaving costly or awkward, even as the bargain shifts.

Google Maps
2

The default map for most of the world: superb data and routing, increasingly packed with promoted pins, ads, and Gemini features built around Google's priorities.

Mobility Tool Since 2005
Signal
2

Still user-respecting by default, but growing reliance on the nonprofit’s roadmap and network effects builds soft lock-in.

Messaging Tool Since 2014