There are alternatives for every service they offer.
I used to believe that, but what’s the alternative for a phone keyboard with swipe typing and speech recognition that actually works?
Or a phone that gets reliable push messages and also works for banking?
Cause I hate Google, but these are things I actually need in my life.
Yes, there is.
But plenty of animals don’t just pick up things they can use, but actually make tools for specific tasks.
Apes can and do sharpen stones they want to use as tools.
Crows have shown they can bend wire into a hook to fetch food out of a container.
Hell, on my commute, a group of crows drop nuts onto a pedestrian crossing, wait for cars to crush them, then collect them safely when the light for pedestrians turns green and the cars stop.
The part you’re missing is that “they do it for free” is an ancient 4chan meme.
The phrase is meant as an insult to mods, implying their life is so pathetic that they willingly do the (truly horrible) job of moderating 4chan without even asking for payment.