Awful but not suprising. Their apps are effectively spyware at this point.
Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
51–60 of 469 posts
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#52i don't understand why apple allows in-app browsers.
You mean custom ones, right? WebViews are incredibly useful, but it definitely seems like implementing your own browser gives people a false sense of security, like they've been sandboxed when they haven't. What would be nice here is a permission requirement if you're injecting code into a browser view.
since years ago apple added the little back button to return you to your previous app, even webview is dead weight. apple should only allow one, in some special context, that's so counterintuitive to implement that only frameworks e.g. react native can justify the effort
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#53I still remember the LinkedIn app ripping all my contacts, so no apps for me. I just use the sites.
I just keep an old phone around for when I need to use apps (banking, especially). Can’t steal the information off my device if there’s nothing on there taps forehead
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
> use the sites. Which are increasingly user hostile, if not down right impossible to view on mobile. Go try using Reddit or Twitter on your Mobile browser.
That makes it real easy, actually. No Reddit or Twitter
RIF is a good alternative Reddit phone client.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu....
For those of us who can't go to the bathroom without reddit.
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#55I once wrote an email to Steve Jobs, saying that operating systems like MacOS and iOS should have a secret phrase or icon that they show to you whenever they show a system-level security dialog. (And of course implement the same restrictions on screenshots of that dialog as they do for movies.)
Because otherwise, an app can totally fake the interface of a security dialog. The only way you know, these days, is that password managers and cookie jars work with the "approved" sites, but they can simply show you a site that doesn't require those, and then fool you into entering your passwords!
Steve never replied to me. And Apple never implemented it.
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
> use the sites. Which are increasingly user hostile, if not down right impossible to view on mobile. Go try using Reddit or Twitter on your Mobile browser.
I actually find Twitter’s mobile web app experience to be pretty good–they don’t nag me to install the app every 5 seconds, it’s reasonably performant, the back button works properly and even mostly preserves scroll position. All of the core functionality is there, except new features like Fleets I don’t care about anyway. I use it regularly and have been pretty impressed. Reddit on the other hand is absolutely hosti…
I all I ever see when following Twitter links on mobile is the lower 1/3 of the screen with a "it's better in the app" banner bullshit. What web app from Twitter are you seeing that doesn't have that?
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#57i don't understand why apple allows in-app browsers.
Last I heard (years ago), iOS forced everyone to use Safari for webviews, which lots of people also complained about. Did that change? Or is the Safari webview the subject of this story?
Every webview on iOS is Safari internally. The issue is if an app presents a webview, they can inject whatever javascript they want. This is what allows frameworks like Ionic to work in the first place, the webview runs the "app" and any interface back to the OS is communicated through a bridge to the native world.
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#58I hope Apple doesn't disable JS injection in WKWebViews in response to this. JS injection is the (only?) way to call native Swift methods from JS ie. bridging.
I am not sure what the solution here is. Maybe only allow injection to sites you control (via apple association file).
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#59i always just assumed this and used the app accordingly. but glad there is some proof.
Re: Instagram can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean custom ones, right? WebViews are incredibly useful, but it definitely seems like implementing your own browser gives people a false sense of security, like they've been sandboxed when they haven't. What would be nice here is a permission requirement if you're injecting code into a browser view.
since years ago apple added the little back button to return you to your previous app, even webview is dead weight. apple should only allow one, in some special context, that's so counterintuitive to implement that only frameworks e.g. react native can justify the effort
And yet, we're normally seeing Apple === BAD because they limit everything to just the one Apple thing. Am I actually seeing requests for Apple to limit willingly?