Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, faced backlash over his new wallpaper app, Panels, due to its high subscription cost ($49.99/year) and concerns over excessive data permissions.

Brownlee acknowledged user feedback, promising to adjust ad frequency for free users and address privacy concerns, clarifying that the app’s data disclosures were broader than intended.

The app, which offers curated wallpapers and shares profits with artists, aims to improve over time, despite criticisms of its design and monetization approach.

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments
91 points
*

$50 a year for wallpapers or I could go to wallhaven and get millions for free?

permalink
report
reply
4 points

Use Muzei and either curate your own collection or pull in one of their pre-made ones.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
1 point
*

The wallpapers are nice but the website is hideous and unusable.

Edit: typo

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point
*

the website is hideous and unusable

huh?

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Which side?

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*
Removed by mod
permalink
report
parent
reply
40 points

The “shares its profits with the artists” part is relevant here.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Did he disclose an amount?

5% to artists is very different than 40% to artists.

Or is he adopting the Spotify bottom line?

Only pay artists after X downloads and only pay a few cents after thousands of downloads and use the rest for profits

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

It’s 50%, which is honestly quite low

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*

I’m an artist who has uploaded many of my works to wallhaven entirely for free online, alongside the games I put out and any other creative venture I’ve pursued over the years.

That part is problematic not relevant.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

okay, cool, but I am going to assume you don’t speak for all artists.

permalink
report
parent
reply
64 points

It would almost be cheaper to commission an artist frankly.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*

Just use a free wallpaper app and pay a random artist 25 bucks

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

If you know an artist doing commissions that cheap they are depressed, desperate, or want to fuck you.

permalink
report
parent
reply
27 points

Almost is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

For a single piece sure.

I presume the idea here is that you have access to their full library. Personally, I fail to see why I would change my wallpaper enough to warrant even a free app to change it, let alone 50 bucks.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Technology

!technology@lemmy.world

Create post

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


Community stats

  • 15K

    Monthly active users

  • 6.7K

    Posts

  • 154K

    Comments