OP’s responsible approach to privacy is not something that needs questioning.

That’s fine, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is objectively not normal.

You can believe that it should be normal, but that’s a very different claim.

It’s the sheer patrimony of statements like these that really annoy me. I get that things have costs and they also have to deliver a profit; that’s just business. But why can’t they just have the guts to openly say that rather than dress it up in all the bullshit

Not that it’s a massive difference, but it’s $11.99 if you sign up on the web. The $16 is if you sign up on an iPhone, since that has to go through Apple’s subscription service where they take a cut.