Verizon has a new unlimited mobile data offering with some significant strings attached. Announced yesterday, PopData is essentially a pay-as-you-go unlimited option that costs $2 for every 30 minutes or $3 for every 60 minutes. Think of it like a microtransaction or in-app purchase in a mobile game, where you can’t enjoy the full benefits of a product you ostensibly already own or pay for without ponying up a few extra bucks.

Of course, PopData isn’t quite as insidious as it sounds upfront. There does appear to be some legitimate reasons to want unfettered data access for a short amount of time. For instance, perhaps you know you’ll be downloading large files to your phone like numerous Spotify playlists, or maybe you want to enjoy an…

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