Most annoying to me is Google maps. On web it is wasting so much more screen real-estate when showing a route, I can barely see the map itself. The app has much smaller ui components. (android)
Do not download the app, use the website
361–370 of 760 posts
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#362Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it should be standard to allow registering multiple tokens, which would be equivalent to a backup for your purposes.
You can copy this if you buy two. You would have to store one somewhere, where it can be fedexed to you.
No need to fedex, just have a trusted person read you the code back over the phone.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#363Most annoying to me is Google maps. On web it is wasting so much more screen real-estate when showing a route, I can barely see the map itself. The app has much smaller ui components. (android)
Feels like it's actively trying to punish you for not using the app
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#364Earlier quoted context omitted.
I too switched from Reddit to HN during the API protests of '23. But I always browsed through old.reddit anyway, I never used the third party apps. I'm aware of names like RIF and that everyone said they were great, but what was great about them?
I imagine it depends on how you use it. I came to Reddit late and never got into the old interface. I commented a lot on technical subreddits and didn't do much with the doomscrolling ones. I used Boost. Its ads were not intrusive (and I despise ads) and the UI was written with a small touchscreen in mind. If not for my distaste for phone keyboards, I'd say it was a better experience than the website on a desktop. Wo…
I hold phones sideways, then I forget that it's weird to do. People like apps (and mobile versions of sites) because of human hand anatomy, I guess.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#365I don't offer a native app for my business. We have a PWA. It works great on mobile. Yet users keep asking for an app. They're so conditioned to look in the app store now. I keep having to tell them to just pin the website to their desktop. Just a couple taps. All good. I don't need or want their data. It's a liability. They pay a monthly subscription. I want their money. Not their data.
Why not create a simple app with a webview so your users are happy? I can't imagine that would take more than a couple hours of work. Google can be burdensome but that's only if you require things like payment and data collection in the app which a webview doesn't need. Otherwise, it's probably less than an hour of work per year to maintain.
I did, for Android. But can't for iOS, like the other commenter said.
There's a Web app for turning your web app into an Android app. The hardest part is jumping through all the play store hoops.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#366I was a heavy Quora user from 2014 to 2019 with fairly many answers and questions. In 2019 they essentially blocked website for mobile users and urged them to download the app. That's when I decided to respect my dignity and deleted my account. If you have a website, everyone with a browser should be able to use it.
Quora has been known for its dark patterns. At one point they didnt't show you a page if you clicked a link to it within their site and prompted to login, though if you copy paste the page link to a new tab it opened.
They've never had my trust, and never will.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#367Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Average, yes, probably an exaggeration. Some apps iOS: wechat: 740meg gmail: 672 google chat: 585 uber: 582 tiktok: 572 headspace: 498 instagram: 467 doulingo: 462 bank of america: 456 capital one: 435 expedia: 412 linkedin: 402 doordash: 392 google: 379 facebook: 365 unitied airlines:355 chase: 352 google photos: 348 line: 346 amex: 339 google maps: 336 youtube: 329 booking.com: 320 citi: 319 amazon music: 317 snapc…
> uber: 582
Not to defend Uber, but there was a post here some time ago where one engineer explained why it's so large (sadly can't find it anymore): it's due to a lot of different implementations for different markets (some masks may have slight differences in different countries) and their choise to re-implement the masks multiple times.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#368Don’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…
But I think a lot of the frustration comes from how aggressively companies push the app, even when the web version is perfectly serviceable for casual use
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
True, but it does force citizens into a contract with either Apple or Google. I don’t think that is a good idea both from the perspective of individual freedom and national sovereignty.
Nothing beats a hardware token. I would also use Yubikey for banking, but I am scared as f. what happens if I lose it while traveling abroad.
I wish that was an option, in most cases the phone becomes the hardware token, and that can be lost too. Or broken, or out of power or without internet connection.
I even have a personal anecdote. My wife "lost" her phone in Iceland. I make her login to find-my-phone with her google account, and 2fa was needed. Thankfully she had her Yubikey in her keychain (plus, we enrolled each other's key), so she was able to login. Push notification or TOTP/SMS were all not an option.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#370I 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)
Totally with you on this. Every extra app feels like mental clutter