Enshittification Clock

Enshittification Clock is a web app that documents and visualizes how major tech platforms degrade over time. The concept of enshittification describes a predictable pattern: platforms start by being good to users, then shift to favoring business customers at users’ expense, and finally extract value from both groups for shareholders.

The app centers on a clock visualization representing the overall level of platform degradation across the tech industry. Users can explore a chronological timeline of specific enshittification events for services like Twitter, Reddit, and Netflix, filtering by service or date range. Each event is classified by type and can be viewed in unified or platform-grouped layouts.

An admin interface powered by multi-provider AI research (Claude, OpenAI, Ollama) enables curators to populate the database with verified platform events. The research system cross-verifies results across multiple LLM providers to ensure accuracy. All timeline states are shareable via URL parameters.

Why

Tech platforms follow a predictable arc of user-hostile changes as they prioritize growth and shareholder value over the experience that made them successful. Documenting these patterns in a visual, interactive format makes the phenomenon tangible and helps users recognize when platforms they depend on are entering decline phases.

How

Built with Next.js 15 App Router and TypeScript, the app uses Supabase for PostgreSQL storage with row-level security policies. The clock visualization is SVG-based with viewport-aware sizing. The admin system integrates multiple OpenAI-compatible APIs through a provider management interface, using a cross-verification algorithm to compare research results. Database migrations run automatically at container startup. The app is containerized with Docker and deployed via Dokploy with Cloudflare Zero Trust for access control.