Today when you visit Notos you can see that there are two versions available (commonly called “freemium model”):
- a free but basic offer, with limited options to try it out
- a Premium plan with a subscription giving access to all the features.
Why we implemented a Premium version
The team of Notos is composed of Renaud and me, two co-founders working full-time on the website from our apartment. Our values are not empty words: we commit ourselves to always provide for a quality service, respectful of our users.
When you pay for a service, it means that there are higher chances that it will be maintained since its creators (or developers) are able to dedicate their time to the project and fewer risks to see it discontinued, like it happened for so many websites over the years.
Let’s not forget something obvious here: creating a website and hosting millions of pictures costs money, so if it is free it means the money is coming from another source. It may be displaying ads or selling your personal data.
Unlike the Internet giants and their widespread practises, we refuse to display advertisement on Notos because it ruins the user experience. And by no means will we sell our users’ personal data, even on the free version! This is why we decided to finance the site’s development exclusively by the revenues it will generate and thus implemented a paid subscription that gives access to all the features of Notos.
For a more respectful Internet
As the GDPR has been implemented for about two years now, we want more than ever to restore confidence in privacy, so that any user wishing to share private moments with their friends and family no longer fear that their personal data are going to be sold or used by third parties.
On Notos our users keep the ownership of their pictures and decide of the confidentiality level of their album (unlisted by default).
As a service provider we strongly believe that we will get to a more respectful Internet by:
- having a healthy business model that does not include displaying ads or selling users data
- respecting privacy, letting the consumer choose the confidentiality level
- “re-educating” users along the way to pay for the services they use on the web.
To sum things up
Don’t forget these three basic rules:
- behind each website there are real people working
- Internet is not a synonym for “free”
- and if it’s free, then you’re the product!
If you’re curious, try out Notos and create beautiful albums!