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Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

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Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#131

Post by rekoil »

unsafecast wrote: post #32
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjj wrote: post #2

This reminds me of Reddit's approach to mobile. They make their mobile web interface excruciating to use, and block features client side just to push you onto their app. I'm guessing it has to do with mobile users being more lucrative?

They do the same thing to old.reddit.com (cookie banners redirect there, etc) Like, I get that you don't update it anymore, and I don't need (or want) you to, but the new version is insanely slow on my computer, so just let me use whatever I want please.

The "new" redesign is just so bad. Viewing a post only shows comments 1 level deep, and then to see the rest of the thread you have to click "continue this thread" and then you have to go back to get to any other threads, just constant tiresome clicks...

Reading the comments on a post in old reddit is a pleasure, but in the redesign it's a complete mess. Why?

Oh and what the hell is the deal with links to content containing other completely unrelated content as well?

The day they kill old.reddit.com or API access to force me to stop using Apollo (which is an insanely well-built reddit client for iOS) is the day I'll just reluctantly stop using reddit entirely.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#132

Post by dangus »

gtirloni wrote: post #75
AntonyGarand wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a look at the images on top of the post, the bolt websites highlight 5 reasons why you might prefer to use the browser. If Bolt didn't artificially geo-restrict this feature, navigating to their site would be all you need to do, and that's less annoying than using their app. The current method, installing an extension and making a rule for it, is the result of this restriction, but would not be needed without bo…

I'd just have installed the app and got on with my life. But I admire the effort.

Same. If there's a problem, it's not this particular app, it's the status quo of Apple and Google's ecosystem.

I think there are really obvious reasons for ridesharing and taxi apps to exclusively use apps. Notifications are very important to the experience (which you can't do on iOS Safari). Having persistent location access like a navigation app is another key part of the system.

Don't like it? Put your arm up and hail a cab or call the dispatch office to request a ride, that's what we had to do not even 20 years ago.

The app store duopoly and privacy problem isn't one that's solved by playing whack-a-mole with individual companies on those platforms. The way to solve those problems is by regulating Google and Apple's App Stores for both privacy and business practices.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#133

Post by [deleted] »

unsafecast wrote: post #35
natch wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About one thing you said, Apple and Google need not be lumped together. They are as different as night and day.

I think they meant that ios and android are the only companies that apps are made for (so they're the only platforms people actually use), hence it's a duopoly.

[deleted]

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#134

Post by yellowapple »

manigandham wrote: post #89
JohnFen wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people I know will simply not use a service if the only way to do so is through an app, due to the dumpster fire that is security and privacy in apps. I understand that such people are a small percentage of the population, but I really do sometimes wonder if companies are even aware that they have a pool of potential customers that they've excluded from even trying their product out.

They are, but they're also aware of the effort vs return on dealing with a "small percentage of the population" as you admit. Sometimes its worth it, often it isn't.

Except that it literally takes more effort to exclude them than it does to not do so. Bolt is the prime example here: they already have a working web app, and they go out of their way to block people from using it instead of the smartphone app, seemingly only in locales where they believe most people have smartphones. Why? What does that accomplish?

It'd be understandable if the smartphone apps came first and the developers decided a web app wasn't worth it, but a lot of these smartphone-app-only developers use PhoneGap and other tools wherein one already has to write a web app.

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#135

Post by stjohnswarts »

laurencei wrote: post #11
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjj wrote: post #2

This reminds me of Reddit's approach to mobile. They make their mobile web interface excruciating to use, and block features client side just to push you onto their app. I'm guessing it has to do with mobile users being more lucrative?

Its funny though - because their mobile web interface is SOOOO bad, I'm using the "Apollo" app, which means I dont see any Reddit ads, and its a much better experience. If they didnt have such a crappy web experience, I would probably just use the native web page and see some ads. So its actually driving people away to alternatives that reduces their revenue. Crazy...

I'm really surprised why the didn't just buy clients from developers like the ones who make Apollo. They are so much better than the one they make

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#136

Post by stjohnswarts »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #18
laurencei wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its funny though - because their mobile web interface is SOOOO bad, I'm using the "Apollo" app, which means I dont see any Reddit ads, and its a much better experience. If they didnt have such a crappy web experience, I would probably just use the native web page and see some ads. So its actually driving people away to alternatives that reduces their revenue. Crazy...

I'm about 90% sure that reddit is going to pull a twitter and kill off API access so apps like Apollo no longer function.

talk about losing half your users overnight lol

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#137

Post by stjohnswarts »

stefan_ wrote: post #91
throwaway2048 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm about 90% sure that reddit is going to pull a twitter and kill off API access so apps like Apollo no longer function.

Sure, in another 10 years or so. They have increased headcount 10x and VC investment 10x but execution is forever stuck at "worse than Twitter" levels.

Reddit is about 10x > twitter. lol

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#138

Post by woojoo666 »

choward wrote: post #124
solarkraft wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally stop browsing Reddit and Twitter when their fuck-you-banners appear. I have accounts with both, but installing the app or logging in is usually more friction than accessing the content is worth. ... So thanks for keeping my periods of distraction very short! Maybe they just care about their users' mental health and are sacrificing their engagement for it :)

The default Reddit web site on desktop is excruciating enough to use. On mobile it's unusable. I only use old.reddit.com. If that ever went away I would never visit Reddit again.

Might be worth checking out libredirect [1] which I use on desktop and mobile to automatically redirect reddit links to privacy-respecting front-ends like libreddit and teddit. Also since I have it on my default browser on Android, even if I open a reddit link from, say, a hackernews app, the popup webview will use my default browser which will in turn automatically redirect to libreddit/teddit. I never have to worry about seeing reddit's annoying web app, never have to worry about giving reddit my data.

(old.reddit.com still does give reddit data, and from my experience Reddit does a lot of tracking IPs + working with google + traffic correlation to figure out what stuff you browse. However if you still prefer old reddit, libredirect does provide an option to automatically redirect to old.reddit.com instead of libreddit or teddit)

[1]: https://github.com/libredirect/libredirect

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#139

Post by golergka »

stavros wrote: post #29
golergka wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is just content that you browse and occasionally leave a text comment on, it fits browser perfectly. A taxi app, on the other hand, has a lot of functionality that is very hard to fit into a browser and implement well.

I have a location where I am and a location I want to get to. I need a way to specify the two, and a way to enter payment info. That is literally all a taxi app should do.

Okay, that's the 90% of the taxi app. What about the other 90%?

Re: Bolt has a cool web interface and they really don't want you to use it

#140

Post by nicbou »

I can't speak for others, but I refuse to use most mobile apps. Websites run in a much smaller sandbox with an ad blocker. I can trust them to stop running code on my device after I close the tab. It won't try to hijack my attention with push notifications and icon badges.

If a business forces me to use their app, I won't use that business until I'm out of alternatives.

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