Enshittification
 Enshittification  (business model)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Start | November 2022 |
| Founder(s) | Cory Doctorow |
| The Welfare State has the emptied-out feel of the enshittified platform | |
Enshittification, also known as crapification and platform decay, is an informal word used to criticise the degradation in the quality and experience of online platforms over time, due to an increase in advertisements, costs, or features.[1] It can also refer more generally to any state of deterioration, especially in politics or society. Similar forms include enshittify and enshittified.[2]
Enshittification is also used to describe the general decline we see in real-world services – such as the UK National Health Service – thanks to underfunding, and neoliberal policies which allow private companies to extract profit from the public purse while providing sub-par services to the people.[3]
Neologism
Canadian writer Cory Doctorow coined the neologism enshittification in November 2022, though he was not the first to describe and label the concept. Doctorow's term has been widely adopted. The American Dialect Society selected it as its 2023 Word of the Year, with Australia's Macquarie Dictionary following suit for 2024. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com also list enshittification as a word.[4]
Reducing its effects
Doctorow advocates for two ways to reduce enshittification: upholding the end-to-end principle, which asserts that platforms should transmit data in response to user requests rather than algorithm-driven decisions; and guaranteeing the right of exit—that is, enabling a user to leave a platform without data loss, which requires interoperability. These moves aim to uphold the standards and trustworthiness of online platforms, emphasise user satisfaction, and encourage market competition.[5]
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:The Enshittification of the Welfare State | Article | 13 August 2025 | Michael Gardiner | Formally, the Welfare State is still there, and the protection of the Welfare State is paramount; in practice, the Welfare State has the emptied-out feel of the enshittified platform. |
References
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