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Ask HN: Subscription Service Without Accounts?

3 points by ahmedbaracat ↗ HN
Hi, I was reading the Kagi FAQ here:

https://help.kagi.com/kagi/faq/faq.html#why-does-kagi-search-require-an-account

and stumbled upon this snippet

“Why does Kagi Search require an account?

Kagi Search requires an account only because it is a paid service which requires an account for the transaction.”

I am wondering if there is a way to build subscription services without needing user accounts?

4 comments

[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 17.5 ms ] thread
pavel_lishin
I guess it depends on what you mean by "user account", but you need some way to authenticate the fact that an incoming request has been paid for. Maybe that's via a traditional auth method like a user account, maybe that's a client key whose accesses are kept track of server-side, maybe it's something stupid like bundling every request to your service with a cryptocurrency payment on the blockchain that your service watches for, and then responds to.
harry_ord
Closest would be mullvad without looking at how kagi works. Still an account but no strong identifying data is needed by the user
ahmedbaracat
Wow. This is the first time I hear about Mullvad as a service. I live their account number approach. No email or other identifier needed. Love it.
hugh_kagi
We're working on something that should separate the concept of 'have you paid us' from 'who are you', at which point you'd be free to use (the existing) bitcoin payment method and have a pretty private experience.

Hopefully out in the next few weeks but no promises.