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“It works better in the app”

shkspr.mobi

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Re: “It works better in the app”

#481

Post by port11 »

mikestew wrote: post #361
fallinghawks wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the last couple months if you go to their site in a mobile browser (e.g. from search results), after a short scroll down they have this popup demanding you install their app and it completely takes over the screen. I take it as a reminder never to install their app.

I thought I'd be clever and use iOS's "Hide Distracting Items" to get rid of elements like that. But reddit kills the scroll, too, so even after the dickover[0] is gone the page is still non-functional. Nothing says, "we don't want your business" like a non-functional web page, which seems like a bad move unless you're selling food or potable water. 'cuz I get along just fine w/o reddit. [0] https://daringfireball.ne…

“Oh, you were busy reading this content created by the community? Please stop doing that and download our app instead.

Surely it wasn’t important and you’ll harbour no ill-feelings about this whatsoever, John in Marketing needs a promotion and his KPIs are down.”

Re: “It works better in the app”

#482

Post by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF »

huntertempleman wrote: post #352
inigyou wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... Who?

For whatever reason, I can't reply to your comment further down. I'd be perfectly happy to follow them on another platform if their tweets were piped elsewhere.

> For whatever reason, I can't reply to your comment further down.

In case you happen to read this, that is (presumably) due to an anti-flamewar feature on HN, which hides the reply button for the first few minutes of posts in deep comment threads. You can either wait to comment, or comment by clicking the "X minutes ago" text next to the commenter's username.

Re: “It works better in the app”

#483

Post by m463 »

jinimojkg wrote: post #207
m463 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't buy a tesla without the app. Worse, to sell a tesla, you are the person saying "ok, install the app, then I can transfer ownership to you, conveniently!" and this is getting normalized with other car manufacturers. (and it ALL goes back to apple... who started the whole app nonsense, and promoted a look-and-feel that gave tesla a terrible tap and swipe iphone/ipad type ui in a moving car)

> that gave tesla a terrible tap and swipe iphone/ipad type ui in a moving car Not sure why you’re blaming Apple for Tesla’s mistake of thinking a phone UI is appropriate for a car system UI. Besides, you can “trace it back” to anyone you want really. The problem is not Apple. The problem is people accepting this nonsense from bullshit companies and apps in the first place.

apple sets an example

Re: “It works better in the app”

#484

Post by cozzyd »

ButlerianJihad wrote: post #456
cozzyd wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm annoyed by a different thing ... It used to be when you searched for something, maps would always be a tab for results. Now it doesn't seem to be anymore...

What you need to do, in the modern Web, is to flip that around. Anytime I need to search an entity with physical presence, I use Google Maps first. Maps is very good about getting the first result as intended and not showing superfluous non-matches. Maps will not chirp up with AI-generated responses. Maps will take me right to the place I want, and I can see a lot of profile info at-a-glance, and if I wanted their we…

yeah, but in practice it used to be easier to type in the search bar and then click the maps tab...

Re: “It works better in the app”

#485

Post by nunez »

snazz wrote: post #412
nunez wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MLB is the exact opposite of this. You can't get tickets without the Ballpark app. No paper tickets at most stadiums. The app asks for all sorts of personal info too (which I usually spoof). They're even trying for biometric check-in now.

I have managed to print out a paper ticket (from some dark corner of the website) and scan it on the barcode scanner at an MLB stadium. The employees were surprised it worked.

WAIT WHAT

I'm going to try harder now!

Re: “It works better in the app”

#486

Post by nunez »

4chandaily wrote: post #122
nunez wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% same. So many apps are just a WebView vessel for Crashlytics and Sentry and Dog knows how much more tracking. (My phone is always VPNed into my home network which has DNS-level ad and tracker blocking. This doesn't cover all the bases though.) Some, like Home Depot, have websites that are terrible and battery-draining enough to make the app nominally useful by comparison.

>Some, like Home Depot, have websites that are terrible and battery-draining enough to make the app nominally useful by comparison. I don't take this as a signal to install the app. It is a signal to avoid the store. They clearly don't feel like they need to work to gain your business, and instead take it for granted. You can see this indicated by their actions - they clearly feel that it is more profitable to inconv…

Avoiding HD is basically impossible here in the US if you own a home. It's either them, Lowe's or, if you're lucky, some third party mom and pop that will have an even shittier website and probably not what youre looking for.

But generally you're right.

Re: “It works better in the app”

#487

Post by [deleted] »

a2tech wrote: post #253
mikepurvis wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of businesses that have a semi-captive hold on a market. Like a recent example was I drove my daughter and I to a stage play, and to pay for street parking I had to install an app, make an account, and add a credit card. A thing that should have been scan the QR code and click one button to mobile pay became a five minute ordeal. In theory we could have gotten back in the car and looked for parking el…

Just don’t pay. I stopped paying for street parking a long time ago (around the time they started insisting on apps). You get a ticket once and awhile but it all works out. Mail in a check a few times a year and park whenever you want.

[deleted]

Re: “It works better in the app”

#488

Post by nunez »

rovr138 wrote: post #256
mikepurvis wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of businesses that have a semi-captive hold on a market. Like a recent example was I drove my daughter and I to a stage play, and to pay for street parking I had to install an app, make an account, and add a credit card. A thing that should have been scan the QR code and click one button to mobile pay became a five minute ordeal. In theory we could have gotten back in the car and looked for parking el…

I have like 5 parking apps. It's exhausting. The worst part is not that, but.. _which is the app for this area?_

SpotHero and Parkmobile tried to solve this. Parking is a weird industry.

Re: “It works better in the app”

#489

Post by nunez »

wafflemaker wrote: post #312
nunez wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% same. So many apps are just a WebView vessel for Crashlytics and Sentry and Dog knows how much more tracking. (My phone is always VPNed into my home network which has DNS-level ad and tracker blocking. This doesn't cover all the bases though.) Some, like Home Depot, have websites that are terrible and battery-draining enough to make the app nominally useful by comparison.

I didn't want to write in this thread. Complaining is just not good for the person complaining. But this: >My phone is always VPNed into my home network which has DNS-level ad and tracker blocking. This doesn't cover all the bases though. Is a great idea for a fun weekend project. Any tips, good practices or things to watch out for when setting it up?

I have a Firewalla. They run a WireGuard proxy (sort of like a DERP in Tailscale), so I use that. It actually works more often than Tailscale somehow, and since it's just WG, it works perfectly with my GL.iNet travel hotspots. Firewalla also has ad blocking baked in with less restrictive blacklists, so that's what I use.

Before I got the FW, I used Tailscale and AdGuard Home.

Re: “It works better in the app”

#490

Post by sebastiennight »

efreak wrote: post #422
sebastiennight wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My phone is always VPNed into my home network which has DNS-level ad and tracker blocking. I've been looking to do this setup. Would you share a few details of which tools you've used?

RethinkDNS does everything for me. You're tied to their DNS server if you want to use the in-app interface to make changes to the blocklists in use, but that's not a hard requirement. As a bonus, it also supports actual VPNs (wireguard, http connect, and socks proxy). If you don't care to micro-manage it, trackercontrol is also pretty good. There's other apps as well, like personalDNSfilter.

In this setup you're explaining, the phone is doing all the work though right? Filtering DNS and sending traffic to a wireguard VPN, is all done on the phone.

But it's not tunnelling traffic to a desktop station which then processes that traffic like its own (filters DNS as set up on the desktop, and forwards traffic through the same VPN that is set up on the desktop). Am I getting this right?

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