The Internet Gold Rush
Free apps and the monetization of your data
Note: an expanded and updated version of this article has been incorporated into our book, Practive Security 101, which is available in paperback and digital format from Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4LK1Y93
I’m sure by this point in life you would agree with the simple truth that nothing is free. This is one of those intuitive truths that really needs no explanation. Nothing, in fact, is free. It costs me something to produce anything. I have to sacrifice what I have, to make and prepare something to give. So how is it then that Meta, which primarily offers a “free” product called Facebook, can be assessed with a market capitalization value of $1.71 trillion USD? How can they afford the infrastructure costs to run the platform globally and employ the (seriously bloated) tech salaries of over 75,000 people, with a free product? Where in the world do they get to the following financial status as a company that simply gives away its core product and namesake? Who paid for their $42B in quarterly revenue posted in March of 2025?
Meta Financial Summary: Google Finance
The answer is, they sell influence. They sell the most sophisticated and effective platform that can create and deliver content tailored and targeted directly at you, as a means to influence you into taking an action - the action that will benefit them or their investors. The specific means by which they do this is varied, but it originated with targeted advertising.
With the proven effectiveness of their influence (as noted by their social impact, user adoption, and company valuation), they are one of the most dangerous forces on earth today, but they are representative of every free app or Internet-based service you subscribe to that does not have a primary revenue source via a product or service they directly sell. Indeed, among the “free” Internet apps lives a great dragon. Allow me to explain.
