What is Platform Risk?
Definition
The risk that a subscription service you depend on changes its terms, pricing, or features in ways that negatively impact your use.
Understanding Platform Risk
Platform risk is an inherent challenge of subscription-based access. Unlike owning software outright, subscribers are subject to the provider's decisions about pricing, features, and terms. Historical examples include: Adobe discontinuing perpetual licenses in favor of subscriptions, Twitter/X changing API pricing dramatically, and streaming services removing content.
Mitigation strategies include: avoiding over-reliance on a single platform, maintaining data backups and exports, choosing services with strong track records, and having alternatives identified for critical subscriptions. Platform risk is one reason why some users prefer open-source or self-hosted alternatives.
Related Terms
Lock-In
A situation where switching from one subscription service to another becomes difficult or costly due to data, workflows, or ecosystem dependencies.
Switching Cost
The time, effort, and money required to migrate from one subscription service to a competing alternative.
Subscription
A recurring payment arrangement where a customer pays at regular intervals to access a product or service.
Data Portability
The ability to easily export and transfer your data from one subscription service to another in a usable format.