I wish they were all on the same day of the month…
Dates aren’t a big concern though. What I was hoping for is something that would update automatically to some extent if (say) some amounts change, or a payment is missed. But I guess indeed that’s basically impossible without access to my payment data.
Given that I have to update it manually though, I would at least like it to be synced remotely. So that I can, say, check it from my laptop on a webpage or desktop app without redoing all the manual data input.
For my use case yes, that would defeat the purpose, but for what it’s trying to do it kinda makes sense… At least, they have to do it to comply with payment regulations. And you’re still only exposing your identity to one service with a decent reputation, rather than plenty of possibly shadier ones. It seems like a fair tradeoff if what you’re looking for is privacy from services you want to pay for.
I guess you’re right, yeah. I was hoping someone had figured out a different solution, perhaps integrating directly with the individual subscription providers. But I guess that’s way too broad of a scope, integrating with countless individual services.
At least a cross-platform, cloud backed “spreadsheet” would be nice to have though.
[…] I set up a cloud service where my VPN service would be located on Amazon’s web services, a reputable and widely trusted cloud provider. […] After about an hour, I set up a VPN that worked flawlessly. The best part? Not only is it free to use […]
Sorry, what? Last time I checked AWS VPSs were very much NOT free to use, and I’m pretty sure the lowest tier is still more expensive than your average VPN.
Also, this article seems to be arguing against its own points: “you probably don’t need a VPN, but I have one anyway”…
Oh yeah, you’re right on that. If I’m looking for privacy from the subscription manager signing up with a service like this is a terrible choice, because it is fully a financial institution.