If you ask any random person on the street "is Gmail free?" they will answer yes just like Wikipedia calls Gmail a free email service and if you search for "best free email services" Gmail is usually top of the list.
I fully agree with you there is an agreement that the user gets Gmail (or Google service) at zero monetary cost in exchange for them showing you ads and using your data however they see fit. And you can argue if that is 'free' or not but to the vast majority they see these things as free, rightly or wrongly.
Is 'free' the wrong adjective? Perhaps but it is what is used for a non-paid service.
> Not having support for customers you make money on is despicable.
I agree. Like I said it is crazy there is no real support process to get your account back when there are a lot of processes to keep your account safe.
I fully agree with you there is an agreement that the user gets Gmail (or Google service) at zero monetary cost in exchange for them showing you ads and using your data however they see fit. And you can argue if that is 'free' or not but to the vast majority they see these things as free, rightly or wrongly.
Is 'free' the wrong adjective? Perhaps but it is what is used for a non-paid service.
> Not having support for customers you make money on is despicable.
I agree. Like I said it is crazy there is no real support process to get your account back when there are a lot of processes to keep your account safe.