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Comment by raylad | Hacker News Reader

I was interested in signing up, but then saw that you get raw data for metabolites only with the $160/month plan.

This seems as if it costs you actually $0 to provide since you have that data as a prerequisite for doing anything. Why would you not provide that for every plan?

Also "get basic tips" on the lowest cost plan doesn't provide enough information to know whether it will be anything interesting or usable.

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The data you refer to is almost certainly covered under HIPAA and required to be released to the patient upon request. See this on genetic tests, something similar: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2048/does-an...

So there are a couple of options here:

- They won't provide raw data to the lower tiers at first, get sued, face consequences for HIPAA violations, and provide raw data to all tiers thereafter

- They are being sneaky with their marketing, calling attention to the fact that raw data is provided with their expensive plans, while being quiet about the fact that they also have to provide it with the cheap plans.

This. They really seem to be off on the wrong foot from an honestly and clarity perspective.

In fact, valid point on the data download. After the feedback we have received, we will change this and everyone will get their data. Regarding the basic tips, we are working on an example report so users can see what they are getting.

I have no insight into the actual company's thinking, but in general there's not necessarily any relationship between the cost to provide a feature of software and the amount that is charged to use it. It's usually more about willingness/ability to pay. If most of the people who need access to the raw data have a certain use case that means they're willing to pay for the expensive plan, that's a good reason to charge for it, assuming your goal is to make money as a business.

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