From e59b7c49c01cfacfb45ff34332cd140c74ea84df Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nadim Kobeissi Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 03:37:04 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Update README.md --- README.md | 18 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index c848397..a196b78 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -30,6 +30,24 @@ MKBSD comes in two variants! Node.js and Python. 4. Wait a little. 5. All wallpapers are now in a newly created `downloads` subfolder. +## FAQ + +### Q: What's the story behind this? + +On September 24th, 2024, well-known tech YouTuber MKBHD released Panels, a wallpaper app that: + +- Had insanely invasive, unjustified tracking including for location history and search history. +- Charged artist a predatory 50% commission (even Apple takes only 30% for app purchases). +- Forced you to watch two ads for every wallpaper that you wanted to download, and then only letting you download it in SD. +- Gatekept all HD wallpapers behind a **fifty dollars a year subscription**. +- Had many wallpapers that were essentially AI-generated slop or badly edited stock photos. + +Especially given MKBHD's previous criticism of substandard companies and products, people justifiably got upset given that this looked like a pretty blatant grift and cash-grab that is exploitative of the fan base that's trusted his editorial integrity over the past fifteen years. However, on the same day, MKBHD wrote a post doubling down on the app. + +### Q: Aren't you stealing from artists by running this script? + +MKBSD accesses publicly available media through the Panels app's own API. It doesn't do anything shady or illegal. The real problem here is Panels and MKBHD's complete inability to provide a secure platform for the artists that they're ~~exploiting~~ working with. Any other app could have avoided the issues that make MKBSD possible had it been engineered competently. + ## License ```