A pay-per-request data service with 121 buyers and $1,781.84 in a month
We checked itLegal position unclear
A web service that sells answers one request at a time took $1,781.84 over 30 days from 28,971 calls and 121 buyers. More than half came from one buyer.
The money
1k to 10k USD a month
How sure we are
We checked it
Released
The full story
How the money is made
How we know
Where the number could be wrong
What it would take to try something similar
Legal notes in plain English
How the money is made
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
How we know
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
Where the number could be wrong
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
The full story is for subscribers
The blurred text is a placeholder, not the real thing.Subscribe
An AI tutor for Indian accountancy students, sold in token packs
Our estimateLegal position unclear
An AI tutor for Indian accountancy students gives guests 15,000 free tokens, then sells a 299-rupee monthly pass. It cites official course books, which is the copyright worry.
Mistralvendor When asked, the tutor named Mistral as the AI model behind it. Source: The tutor's own answer in a chat conversation (self-reported, not independently confirmed)
The money
100 to 1k USD a month
How sure we are
Our estimate
Released
The full story
How the money is made
How we know
Where the number could be wrong
What it would take to try something similar
Legal notes in plain English
How the money is made
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
How we know
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
Where the number could be wrong
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
The full story is for subscribers
The blurred text is a placeholder, not the real thing.Subscribe
The chatbot says it is human and that nobody runs it, offers 10 free messages, then asks for payment. California requires companion bots to say they are AI.
The money
no figure
How sure we are
No figure
Released
The full story
How the money is made
How we know
Where the number could be wrong
What it would take to try something similar
Legal notes in plain English
How the money is made
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
How we know
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
Where the number could be wrong
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
The full story is for subscribers
The blurred text is a placeholder, not the real thing.Subscribe
Selling plagiarism checks run on someone else's university account
No figureIllegal as practised
Marketplace sellers run plagiarism checks through institutional accounts for outsiders, which misuses the institution's licence. No prices or volumes were recorded.
Turnitinvendor Resale of reports from its plagiarism checker to outsiders was seen in a sweep of freelance marketplace listings. Source: Public freelance marketplace listings
The money
no figure
How sure we are
No figure
Released
The full story
How the money is made
How we know
Where the number could be wrong
What it would take to try something similar
Legal notes in plain English
How the money is made
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
How we know
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
Where the number could be wrong
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
The full story is for subscribers
The blurred text is a placeholder, not the real thing.Subscribe
A weekly-subscription app that redraws your selfie in any style
We checked itLooks legal
A selfie goes in, and the same face comes back in the style you pick. The app charges by the week and recorded 50,659 dollars in one month.
TrustMRRplatform TrustMRR is a site that shows revenue for online businesses read from their payment processors. Source: TrustMRR, which reads revenue from the business's payment processor
The money
10k to 100k USD a month
How sure we are
We checked it
Released
The full story
How the money is made
How we know
Where the number could be wrong
What it would take to try something similar
Legal notes in plain English
How the money is made
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
How we know
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
Where the number could be wrong
The full story is for subscribers. This placeholder is the same on every find and is not the real text.
The full story is for subscribers
The blurred text is a placeholder, not the real thing.Subscribe
Research and education only, not advice. Every figure says how sure we are. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.