You have full control of the level of opt in. You can go always listening, only in high traffic areas, or completely opt out of the network. But if you want to use the network, you have to contribute to it.
Google is rolling out their own find device network soon™ with third party trackers that are rechargeable. They're pushing it through play services too so every android phone in the world will be in the network too, so it's a much more global network if you are traveling off the beaten path.
I paid $ 79.99 less than a year ago. If they hiked it from 80 to 110, then hiked it again in less than a year that makes their practice even worse. They saw no dip in users so they thought they could go back for another bend over the bar.
The fact that there are multiple people in this community that have commented that they are cancelling their sub shows the value of sharing this post. Not all pirates are pure plunderers. There's a good amount of us that pay for content that is appropriately valued to them.
Yep, it feels like we're about to see the second wave of piracy, and more and more people are going to dust off their jolly Rogers. $80 was worth it for the catalog, but the price hike is completely unjustifiable. I've already canceled my sub, and I'm betting there will be plenty who do the same. A 75% increase is egregious.
It's pretty easy to put unbound on with pihole.