I'm Not Blown Away, But It's the Best Option - My Honest Review of Boosty

Hello everyone!

I'm not exactly a fan of various subscriptions - I stick to Yandex Plus and always look for promo codes to get a discount, because I just can't imagine my life without Yandex Music and Yandex Market. I do have a soft spot for extra content, though, which is why I decided to sign up for a paid subscription to some of them.

So, this review of Boosty won't be from the perspective of a blogger who sees it as a platform for making money, but from that of a regular user who's there for the extra content. But let's get to the point

Boosty is a platform for monetizing author content. It allows you to support authors with free payments - donations.

The app itself is freeAfter YouTube decided to get rid of monetization and then slowed down to a crawl, making it unusable for many, a lot of bloggers started moving to other platforms. That's when I first heard of Boosty, where many of them post additional videos. Plus, I've been getting more and more requests to support certain bloggers by signing up for a Boosty subscription, so eventually, fate led me to this platform as a 'sponsor'. Feel like a generous patron for 200 rublesI'm pretty happy with YouTube as a place where I can watch videos for free, without any ads, but what can you do? One of the perks of Boosty is that you can post videos that YouTube would probably never approve. Author rights, comments that don't meet the rules - in short, there's a lot more freedom on Boosty.

I've got subscriptions to two bloggers, and I've got a ton of gripes about the platform.

For me, Busti feels like the paid version of YouTube, and in that sense, it's a lot less user-friendly. My dashboard is super basic and so uninformative that I only came here for the review.But my main gripes are with other stuff.1) No video history - it doesn't even remember what video you watched and when. So if you watched a video a few months ago and want to find it again, you have to scroll through your entire feed. It does remember where you left off, but even that doesn't always work.2) No recommendation system that shows you videos you might like. In reality, you can only find someone here by direct link, which is super inconvenient. I wish they showed similar channels - it would be a win-win for both users and creators, since most content on Busti is paid, and you could get new 'donators' that way.3) Honestly, trying to find interesting channels through search can be a bit of a pain. I mean, some people do go out of their way to make their channel names clear, so you might stumble upon something new.4) You can't take screenshots while a video is playing. I'm not a fan of the welcome message from KinoPoisk, to be honest. Their app's security policy and all that just isn't my cup of tea.5) Forced subscription renewal. Now, I know it's a thing with a lot of subscription-based sites, but I hate it when money gets deducted from my card without warning. And since I keep an eye on my Yandex Plus account, I'd usually remember to cancel Busti, but it's easy to forget when you're just browsing videos or participating in some giveaway or chat. It's just annoying when you forget, and then a month later, you're charged again. I wish Busti would send me a reminder a few days before the renewal date. Notifications only show up after you've subscribed.The thing is, Busti's got a good thing going for creators right now - there aren't many alternatives. And for bloggers, it's a solid backup plan. Sure, I know the commission they take is pretty hefty, which doesn't exactly paint Busti in the best light. But at least you can create different access levels so people can choose how much they're willing to pay for a subscription.

And it's also a great opportunity to get creative - I love watching how different people label their access levels. It's a good indicator of the creator's overall style and tone.Having access levels also lets you choose exactly what content you want to pay for. For example, I'm not interested in the 'Male Female' content, even if I was offered a free trial - there's no point in paying for it.

But then there's the 'Pregnant Girls' content - that's definitely worth paying for :D

Also, think about how you'll spend the money you earn.I know some people support their favorite YouTubers out of the goodness of their heart - not just for exclusive content access. Busti lets you legally and hassle-free receive donations in a world where YouTube can be tough to navigate.I'm a Busti user, and I'll keep using it because, as I said, I don't know of any alternative right now. The support cost is more than reasonable (of course, the creators set the price, but still), so it's not a problem to pay for some exclusives and extra materials. Plus, these background videos really help me stay focused, so it's all good

I have no complaints about the video quality since I watch them on my phone, and even 144p looks decent on a small screen. Also, nothing crashes or freezes, which is a big plus.

However, I can't give it more than 3 stars because the app doesn't feel very user-friendly to me, and I really need a watch history feature.

⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading!

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