Free Apps Are Getting Worse in 2025: How “Freemium” Turned Into a Bait-and-Switch

A growing wave of smartphone users is asking a pointed question in 2025: are “free” apps still really free, or have they quietly turned into paywalls with extra steps?

That frustration is captured perfectly in a new Android Authority feature by Megan Ellis, titled “I’m tired of ‘free’ apps that are just trying to bully me into paying,” which has been widely syndicated and discussed online over the past 24 hours. ^[1]

Ellis describes 2025 as her “year of quitting apps,” not because she stopped needing them, but because many of the free apps she relied on have gutted their free tiers to push users toward subscriptions. Duolingo, CapCut, Evernote, and even medication-tracking apps are cited as examples where free plans used to be genuinely usable — but now feel deliberately frustrating unless you pay. ^[2]

At the same time, app stores, regulators, and even marketing experts are openly talking about how annoying ads and harsh limits are deliberately used as pressure tactics to convert free users into paying subscribers. ^[3]

The new reality of “free” apps in 2025

On paper, the app economy has never looked healthier:

Apple says the App Store ecosystem generated $1.3 trillion in revenue in 2024, with over 90% of that going to developers. It argues that the vast majority of developers pay no commission because they rely on ad-supported free apps instead of paid downloads. ^[4]
Popular “free” apps like FaceApp have reportedly brought in over $400 million in total revenue, showing just how lucrative the freemium model can be. ^[5]

At the same time, advertising has become more intrusive, user acquisition costs are high, and privacy changes like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) have made targeted ads harder — and therefore more expensive — to run. Apple is even under regulatory pressure in Europe over how fairly it applies ATT, and has floated the idea of changing or withdrawing the feature in some markets. ^[6]

The result: developers and investors are chasing every possible dollar from each user. Freemium apps that once treated the free tier as a generous on‑ramp are now increasingly:

Limiting daily usage with artificial energy or credit systems
Locking previously free features behind subscriptions
Flooding the interface with ads, pop‑ups, and upsell screens

That’s the reality Ellis describes — and a big part of why her article has struck a nerve.

Inside Android Authority’s report: when “free” doesn’t mean free

Android Authority’s piece is essentially a case study in how the freemium promise has drifted in 2025. ^[7]

Key points from Ellis’ experience:

Free tiers that used to be fine are now crippled.
- Duolingo’s new “energy” system limits how many lessons you can do, regardless of whether you get answers right, turning extended learning sessions into a paid privilege. ^[8]
- CapCut locked once‑free basics like autogenerated captions and watermark‑free exports behind a subscription, while bombarding users with frequent, ad‑driven notifications. ^[9]
- Evernote’s free tier has been progressively tightened in recent years, with strict limits on notes, notebooks, and devices. ^[10]
The “free” label often hides harsh restrictions.
- Some health‑related apps marketed as free only reveal major limitations — like being able to track just two medications or a single pet — after you sign up and start using them. ^[11]
Users feel misled, not just inconvenienced.
- Ellis argues that many of these apps are not truly “freemium” anymore, but effectively “premium‑lite” — apps that still advertise themselves as free while making the free experience so constrained that it barely counts.

Android Authority even ran a poll asking readers what frustrates them most about freemium apps. The top complaints: aggressive attempts to push paid plans, followed very closely by excessive ads and limited functionality on free tiers, with privacy concerns also in the mix. ^[12]

In other words, people aren’t opposed to paying for good software. They’re angry about bait‑and‑switch experiences and free tiers that feel like traps.

Why developers are squeezing free users so hard

From the business side, this is not happening in a vacuum.

Recent industry analysis on mobile monetization stresses that successful apps rarely depend on a single revenue stream. Instead they use a hybrid of ads, in‑app purchases, and subscriptions, using data and A/B testing to maximize conversion without losing too many users. ^[13]

At the same time, marketers openly admit that annoyance is often a deliberate strategy:

Interruption-style ads on freemium platforms work precisely because they create a sharp “pain point” in the experience — something a paid subscription instantly removes. ^[14]

Put simply:

If the free experience is too good, many users will never upgrade.
If it’s too bad, they’ll uninstall the app.
Many developers are currently overshooting toward “too bad,” hoping that the pain will convert enough users to make the churn worthwhile.

When you combine this with slowing growth in mature markets and intense competition, some apps slide from fairly limited to deliberately hostile free experiences.

Dark patterns: when design becomes deception

Regulators and researchers increasingly classify many of these tactics as dark patterns — user interface tricks designed to manipulate people into decisions they might not otherwise make.

Academic work on mobile UI dark patterns has found that deceptive designs are widespread in free Android apps, from confusing subscription flows to unclear cancellation options. ^[15]

A broader overview in Communications of the ACM highlights how these patterns undermine autonomy and trust, and calls for stronger rules to eliminate them. ^[16]

Around the world, regulators are moving:

The European Commission is preparing a Digital Fairness Act targeting deceptive design, unfair contract terms, and manipulative personalization in digital services. ^[17]
India has issued draft Guidelines on Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, identifying tricks like disguised ads and forced consent as harmful practices. ^[18]
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has formally warned that bait-and-switch practices are unfair and deceptive, and violate the FTC Act — a principle that clearly applies when an app sells itself as “free” but hides essential paywalls. ^[19]

When a “free” app waits until you’ve signed up, onboarded, and invested your data — then suddenly tells you that basic usage requires a subscription — it’s walking dangerously close to that line.

Apple and Google respond — but only part of the problem is solved

The two tech giants that control most app distribution are under heavy pressure to do more.

Apple: stricter rules, lower commissions for mini‑apps

In November 2025, Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to crack down on:

Apps that mimic other brands’ names, icons, or branding (to stop copycats) ^[20]
Apps that share users’ personal data with third‑party AI services without clear disclosure and consent ^[21]

Apple argues that these moves protect user trust. At the same time, it has launched a program that cuts commission to 15% for certain “mini apps” built with HTML5 inside platforms like WeChat — a strategic shift amid global regulatory scrutiny of its App Store power. ^[22]

In defense of its ecosystem, Apple often points out that most developers don’t pay any commission at all because they rely on ad‑supported free apps, not paid downloads or in‑app purchases. ^[23]

Google: crackdowns, warnings, and policy tweaks

Google, for its part, has been:

Banning millions of bad apps and developer accounts from Google Play for ad fraud, excessive data access, and other abuses. ^[24]
Planning warnings for apps that excessively drain battery with aggressive wake locks. ^[25]
Updating its Developer Program Policy to tighten rules around subscriptions, requiring clear links to manage and cancel them. ^[26]
Allowing third‑party payment systems in the US version of Google Play after losing a legal fight with Epic Games — reshaping how some apps charge users. ^[27]
Softening some new Android app rules after a backlash from developers and power users who argued they were too restrictive. ^[28]

These steps help on the safety and transparency side. But they don’t fully address Ellis’s core complaint: apps that are technically compliant with store rules, yet still feel abusive in how they treat free users.

Duolingo: the freemium flashpoint

If there’s one app that symbolizes today’s debate, it’s Duolingo.

The company has been rolling out a new Energy system that replaces the old Hearts mechanic:

Users now get a bar of energy units (commonly 25).
Every exercise consumes one unit, whether or not you make a mistake.
Energy regenerates over time, and paid subscribers get unlimited energy, similar to the previous “unlimited hearts” perk. ^[29]

Duolingo pitches this as positive reinforcement — focusing on rewarding correct answers rather than punishing mistakes. But many users and UX experts argue the opposite is happening:

Free learners feel hard‑stopped after just a few lessons, even with perfect performance.
Reddit threads and blog posts describe it as a blatant pressure tactic to push people into Super Duolingo subscriptions. ^[30]

Financially, Duolingo is still thriving:

Q3 2025 revenue beat Wall Street expectations, and paid subscribers grew 34% year-on-year to 11.5 million, helped by AI‑enhanced offerings like Duolingo Max. ^[31]

But public opinion is more mixed. A Washington Post report this year highlighted users cancelling Duolingo and other apps over concerns about both AI overuse and an increasingly aggressive freemium model. ^[32]

The Duolingo saga shows the tension at the heart of the issue: freemium can be wildly successful for companies — even as free users feel squeezed out.

Not all freemium is bad: what “good” looks like

Ellis is careful to stress that she’s not against premium apps or subscriptions. She’s against misleading marketing and worsening free experiences. ^[33]

In her article, she points to examples of apps that get the balance right:

Health Sync clearly discloses that it requires a subscription, offers a one‑week free trial, and doesn’t demand payment details upfront. The pricing is transparent and relatively low. ^[34]
Pushover offers a 30‑day free trial and then a one‑time $4.99 purchase, again clearly explained in the listing. ^[35]
TickTick offers a generous free plan and positions its paid tier for power users, so basic users never feel squeezed. ^[36]
Spotify’s free plan, despite ads and limitations, remains tolerable enough that Ellis stayed loyal for years and plans to resubscribe when her budget allows. ^[37]

Outside her examples, guides on freemium and ad‑supported apps make a similar argument: ads and upsells can work without sabotaging the core experience, as long as developers respect users’ time and attention. ^[38]

And yes, there are still genuinely solid free Android apps being recommended this month with usable free tiers and high ratings — proof that good free software is very much alive, even if it’s harder to find. ^[39]

How to protect yourself from abusive “free” apps

If you’re tired of feeling bullied by free apps, here are practical steps you can take right now:

Read the app store listing carefully
- Look for the “In‑app purchases” and “Contains ads” labels. These don’t tell the whole story, but if the price range shows high recurring fees, treat “free” as “free download, paid usage.” ^[40]
Check reviews for keywords like “bait and switch,” “paywall,” or “unusable free version”
- In some cases, users explicitly call out predatory patterns — for example, recent reviews of certain games complain about escalating, hard‑to‑dismiss ads that have grown more aggressive over time. ^[41]
Be suspicious of missing information
- If an app lists a subscription price range but doesn’t clearly state:
  - What the free tier actually includes
  - Whether core functionality is limited
  - How many devices/notes/projects/medications/pets/etc. you can track
    …assume the free experience may be much worse than advertised. ^[42]
Prefer apps that are transparent about their business model
- Apps that openly explain “this is a subscription app, here’s what the trial includes, here’s the real price afterward” deserve more trust than ones that hide the fine print.
Audit your subscriptions regularly
- Both Apple and Google provide central dashboards for managing and cancelling subscriptions. Make a habit of checking them once a month and cancelling anything you signed up for under pressure or no longer use. ^[43]
Look for open‑source or one‑time‑purchase alternatives
- Open‑source and self‑hosted apps may require a bit more effort, but they often prioritize user control and avoid aggressive upselling. Ellis herself mentions moving to more privacy‑focused, self‑hosted tools for this reason. ^[44]
Report deceptive behavior
- If you encounter truly misleading practices (e.g., an app advertised as free but unusable without paying, or ads that cannot be dismissed without a forced tap‑through), report them via the app store’s complaint channels. At scale, this is the feedback Apple, Google, and regulators pay attention to. ^[45]

What to watch next: toward a fairer freemium future?

As of November 17, 2025, the backlash against toxic freemium design is clearly growing:

Tech media is devoting whole features to the trend of “free apps getting worse.” ^[46]
Regulators in the EU, India, and the US are sharpening their tools against dark patterns and bait‑and‑switch tactics. ^[47]
App platforms like Apple and Google are tightening some rules and battling malicious developers, even as they defend the value of ad‑supported free apps. ^[48]

Looking ahead to 2026, expect three big pressure points:

Stronger labeling and disclosure rules for free tiers and subscriptions
More enforcement against dark patterns that hide key limitations or trick users into recurring payments
Market pressure from users themselves, who increasingly uninstall hostile apps and reward transparent ones with their time, money, and word‑of‑mouth

The freemium model isn’t going away. But if articles like Android Authority’s — and the public anger behind them — keep gaining traction, “free” may finally start to mean something honest again.

How the Best Subscription Apps Print Money in 2025

Watch this video on YouTube.

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