There was a time when buying something digital actually meant owning it. If you purchased a game, a song, or a movie, it was yours forever—downloaded, stored, and accessible whenever you wanted.
Fast forward to today, and that sense of ownership is nearly gone. Streaming services, digital storefronts, and online platforms have conditioned us to pay for access, not ownership—and the scariest part? It can all be taken away at any time, with no warning, no refund, and no way to recover what you lost.
So let’s take a deep dive into how digital ownership is being erased, why it’s happening, and what we can do about it.
1. You Don’t Own Your Digital Purchases—You Rent Them
Think about the last time you bought a movie on Amazon, downloaded a game from Steam, or purchased an eBook on Kindle. You paid full price for it, but do you really own it?
Most people assume that when they hit “Buy Now,” they’re purchasing a permanent copy of something. But in reality, they’re just buying a license—one that can be revoked at any time.
• Amazon has deleted purchased Kindle books from user libraries in the past.
• PlayStation has removed entire games from user accounts, even if they were paid for.
• Apple has taken down movies from iTunes, making them inaccessible to people who already bought them.
Why? Because you never owned them to begin with. You only had permission to access them as long as the platform allowed it.
Physical vs. Digital
• If you buy a DVD, no company can remotely delete it from your shelf.
• If you buy a physical book, Amazon can’t erase it from your home.
• But with digital media, companies retain total control over whether you can continue using what you paid for.
That’s not ownership. That’s a rental disguised as a purchase.
2. Subscription Services Have Trained Us to Accept Temporary Access
Streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Plus have redefined ownership by shifting our expectations.
Instead of paying once for a product and keeping it forever, people now pay monthly fees to access content that can disappear at any time.
• Movies and TV shows leave streaming platforms constantly.
• Games on subscription services get removed after a few months.
• Music albums can vanish overnight if licensing agreements change.
This normalizes the idea that digital content is temporary, conditioning us to accept that we don’t actually own anything online anymore.
And the worst part? It’s incredibly profitable for companies.
Instead of selling you a permanent copy, they charge you over and over again just to access things for a limited time.
3. Digital Rights Management (DRM) Keeps You Locked In
DRM (Digital Rights Management) is a system used to control what users can and can’t do with their digital purchases. In theory, it exists to prevent piracy—but in reality, it’s often used to limit user control over their own content.
Examples of DRM at its worst:
• Games that require an online connection just to play single-player modes.
• E-books that won’t work if the store you bought them from shuts down.
• Movies that can’t be transferred to different devices or played offline.
DRM means that even if you download a file, it still doesn’t truly belong to you—because the company that sold it to you controls how, when, and where you can use it.
And if their servers ever go down? You lose access entirely.
4. Tech Companies Can Take Away What You “Own” Anytime
One of the most disturbing trends in tech is remote deletion—when companies remove content, apps, or even functionality from devices you already paid for.
Real-World Examples:
• Google Stadia shut down, making all purchased games unplayable forever.
• Amazon removed “1984” from Kindle devices without warning.
• Tesla disabled features in used cars, forcing buyers to pay for them again.
• Apple can remotely disable third-party apps they don’t approve of.
This is unprecedented. Imagine if car manufacturers could remotely disable your engine because you didn’t pay for an extra feature. That’s exactly what’s happening in the digital world.
5. The Future: Will Anything Be Truly “Owned” Anymore?
The shift away from ownership is accelerating:
• AI-generated content is replacing creative works, meaning there’s no “author” to own anything.
• Software companies are moving to subscription-only models, eliminating one-time purchases.
• Gaming is becoming cloud-based, meaning you’ll soon need an internet connection just to play games you bought.
If things continue like this, true ownership of digital products will disappear entirely. Everything will be subscription-based, online-only, and controlled by corporations.
What Can You Do? Fighting Back Against Digital Disposability
If you don’t want to lose control over your digital life, here’s what you can do:
1. Buy Physical Whenever Possible
• DVDs, Blu-rays, books, and video games can’t be remotely deleted.
• If you truly love something, own a hard copy.
2. Download and Back Up Your Purchases
• Keep offline backups of movies, music, books, and software.
• If a company removes access, you’ll still have your own copy.
3. Support DRM-Free Platforms
• Buy from platforms like GOG.com, which sell DRM-free games.
• Use services that respect digital ownership rights.
4. Be Wary of Subscription Traps
• Think before committing to monthly fees for content you don’t truly own.
• Own what matters instead of renting everything.
Final Thoughts: Are We Okay With Not Owning Anything?
The internet has made content more accessible than ever, but it’s also made ownership more fragile than ever.
We’ve traded control for convenience, and now corporations decide what we can and can’t keep. If we don’t push back, soon we won’t own anything at all.
So what do you think? Do you miss the days when buying something meant actually owning it? Drop a comment below—or better yet, buy a DVD while you still can.