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Do not download the app, use the website

idiallo.com

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Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#151

Post by cosmic_cheese »

VoidWarranty wrote: post #16
markbao wrote: post #7

Don’t agree, but to each their own. The native app experience for every app noted in the article is better and smoother than the mobile web version, in my opinion. Lots of people hate Electron apps, which suggests to me that my preference for native apps isn’t unique. Web apps can ask for your location or microphone the same way native apps can. Just reject it, there’s nothing that says you have to accept on either p…

The reason I believe the web experience is inferior is because companies put more resources into apps at the expense of the web. Apps break often. They need a lot of support. Everything must be constantly updated. You never know when Samsung or Apple will push an update that breaks things because of some esoteric policy shift or setting change. But the web? If you do it right, maintenence is much easier. If things do…

As a mobile dev who’s done a little web work, my experience has been the opposite. If you’re writing your apps with native OS SDKs and mostly stock widgets (don’t go reinventing wheels for the sake of branding), maintenance generally isn’t too bad.

Web app projects on the other hand always feel some degree of held together by bubblegum and duct tape. Do so much as breathe wrong and they fall apart (which is part of why the industry has become docker-centric). None of the old web projects I have laying around are trivial to get into good enough shape to develop on again, whereas I can pick up and old iOS app that hasn’t been touched in a decade and getting it running in an afternoon.

I will say however that there’s a class of poorly built cross platform mobile app that I’ve come to abhor, because as you say they’re brittle and break easily on top of generally being unpleasant to use.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#152

Post by johnnyanmac »

frizlab wrote: post #75

I do the exact opposite. I’ll use the app even if accessing the website is more convenient. Usually the app experience is more polished, and denying any permission is trivial. Also, I have a system-wide app/tracking blocker.

I tried to order McDonalds for pickup today. I got tired of twiddling with the website. I tried the app, disabled all the permissions.

Instead, McDonalds kept trying to pop up and demand my location, even after I put a zipcode and started my order. This repeats 3 times throughout my small order. Then I get to checkout and somehow I pop right back up to the map screen, where I am once again asked for location permissions. this was some 2 minutes into choosing a restaurant and picking my order.

I just uninstalled at that point and chose another eatery. Apps can get every bit as aggressive with permissions as they can with ads if their incentives really align with gaining them. That was a bizarre experience, but not the only one where I was badgered for permissions that the app really didn't need.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#153

Post by hnpolicestate »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #144
hnpolicestate wrote: post #138

I agree. The intended audience agrees. The general population could care less and will continue to use spyware. I think the real question should be how do we go about making the public care?

I don't think we need to. You appeal to regulators and they can manage it in lieu of the public. That's what the DMA is doing in the EU. Most initiatives happen from action of a relative minority interest.

True. Responsible and ethical regulators who look out for an uninterested public is probably as good as it would get.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#154

Post by frollogaston »

sdf4j wrote: post #150
frollogaston wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Apple has a rule against push spam, which they toe the line on but it's still a lot less bad than it could be.

not having a way to divide notification channels, transactional vs promotional, make it worse than android.

Explicitly promotional push isn't allowed on iPhone to begin with. Only exception is if the user enables it via some setting inside your app, separate from the regular permission dialog, which is really unlikely.

Of course you can just pass off promotional stuff as not promotional, but same on Android, and you have to be sly about it.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#156

Post by mvanbaak »

bitpush wrote: post #27
VoidWarranty wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason I believe the web experience is inferior is because companies put more resources into apps at the expense of the web. Apps break often. They need a lot of support. Everything must be constantly updated. You never know when Samsung or Apple will push an update that breaks things because of some esoteric policy shift or setting change. But the web? If you do it right, maintenence is much easier. If things do…

> The reason I believe the web experience is inferior is because companies put more resources into apps at the expense of the web. The main reason is just a single company - Apple. They have been hell bent on nerfing Safari so that they can continue their rent seeking behavior on App Store. If Spotify has a functional mobile website, they cant take 30% cut from their app. The way Apple does is 2 fold. 1) deliberating…

Google play store is no better

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#157

Post by andrewstuart2 »

rustystump wrote: post #134

I cannot agree more and this has always been a pet peeve of mine. Most native apps are some half gig large where even the heaviest website is a few mb. They dont let you highlight text and have other bizarre design choices. Even worse, they request importing contacts list which isnt even an option on the web. Native apps could be butter but more often than not they are like margarine. Smooth, oily, and not good for y…

500MB average seems like a gross exaggeration. I agree apps are oversize but I have maybe 2 native apps on mobile that are so large.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#158

Post by cosmic_cheese »

markbao wrote: post #7

Don’t agree, but to each their own. The native app experience for every app noted in the article is better and smoother than the mobile web version, in my opinion. Lots of people hate Electron apps, which suggests to me that my preference for native apps isn’t unique. Web apps can ask for your location or microphone the same way native apps can. Just reject it, there’s nothing that says you have to accept on either p…

With exception to Reddit, I generally prefer apps to sites because mobile process management is considerably nicer than browser tab management.

App processes are sorted in order of most recent use, keeping the most relevant ones at hand, and those that aren’t used for a while just silently go away without much fuss.

In comparison browser tabs aren’t organized unless the user does that themselves, and so with each web app tab management overhead increases. Some browsers have an idle tab auto-close feature, but that closes the wrong tab (usually a page with info pertinent to something I’m working on) quite often. “Installing” PWAs can be an ok-ish workaround, but the problem there is that a lot of sites don’t have the little bit of manifest magic that makes saving to home screen “install” a PWA instead of just opening a browser tab.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#159

Post by AaronAPU »

xxr wrote: post #121
ErrorNoBrain wrote: post #116

I prefer having as few apps as possible so using the web is my go-to i dont have reddit, on my phone for example. Also, all those app icons are just "advertisement" every time you look at your phone screen... i dont need that. if you REQUIRE me to use an app, then i'm only using it if i absolutely have to. (there's almost always an alternative)

>app icons are just "advertisement" You wouldn't believe the volume of actual advertisements that show up as push notifications on my wife's phone

These things only exist because some people just allow it. They allow it and occasionally buy something, enabling the entire hellhole we now all live in.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#160

Post by worik »

frollogaston wrote: post #98

Idc about privacy, apps are just annoying cause even downloading free ones requires auth for some reason (on iPhone), then they always want to update, then your OS gets too out of date and they stop working.

> Idc about privacy

Until you do. Then it is too late

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