Do not download the app, use the website • Hacker News Board

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#521

Post by lieuwex » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:31 AM UTC

esseph wrote: post #178

bramhaag wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and that's also true for SMS messages and your passwords. That is why having MFA is important.

You can't intercept a passkey in the same way. It is also far less likely to be phished, and there is nothing transmitted. TOTP is the modern WPA2 of security - it's just not good enough when better alternatives exist.

What kind of risk profile does one have when it is likely that both the password is known and malware has been installed on the phone, but also just access to an ephemeral login session by the attacker (which could be obtained even when using a secure enclave by waiting for the user to authenticate by themselves) would not be enough?

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#522

Post by shahzaibmushtaq » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:43 AM UTC

In third world countries where literacy rates are below 50%, the population only uses smartphones for apps and don't know what websites are.

Until the early 2010s this wasn't the case and people were educating themselves on how to use websites properly.

If traffic laws can exist, then there must also be international app laws to educate people.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#523

Post by frizlab » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:51 AM UTC

crimsontech wrote: post #130

frizlab wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is getting less and less true though. Also WiFi permission is not a thing on iOS.

These apps were recently found to be collectind a huge amount of personal browsing data from the device, regardless of whether private browser mode was used or permission settings. https://localmess.github.io/ This technique was discovered, makes me wonder how many undiscovered techniques are still in use.

This is on android. iOS has usually less privacy issues.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#524

Post by dontlaugh » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:51 AM UTC

donatj wrote: post #395

Tempat1 wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit used to have a really excellent mobile experience at i.reddit.com. It was a minimalist fast-loading mobile-first formatted version of the website. Unfortunately they shut it down not too long ago.

I personally really like the old.reddit.com experience on my phone. Everything works surprisingly well. Sure you have to zoom in and scroll around and I know some people hate zooming in but it's never bothered me. I personally can't stand apps that stop me from zooming in on things. My sister complains about the information density of old Reddit being too high but that's exactly what I like about it!

I'm one of those people that dislike having to zoom and (importantly) pan around on a 2D canvas.

I miss Apollo.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#525

Post by frizlab » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:51 AM UTC

gxs wrote: post #172

frizlab wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is getting less and less true though. Also WiFi permission is not a thing on iOS.

I understand but less true doesn’t mean not true Also my bad, been a while since I installed an app believe it or not - also possible I saw this in android, but the general point stands

Yeah permissions are relatively straightforward on iOS, and tracking w/o user consent is very much involved nowadays, whether in an app or on the web, and probably more difficult in an app.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#526

Post by frizlab » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:52 AM UTC

johnnyanmac wrote: post #152

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 permissi…

I think McDonalds is the worst app there is. Most app works relatively okay-ish, often better than the website (trend is reversing a bit, but not there yet).

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#527

Post by greenchair » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:53 AM UTC

zabil wrote: post #472

I’ve noticed that every time I open a browser to use the web version of an app, I get distracted and end up browsing unrelated stuff. Switching to a standalone app helps me avoid that — fewer distractions, less wasted time. I’ve tried breaking the habit, but this is one reason I still prefer desktop version of the website.

do you have the same problem at the grocery store?

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#528

Post by eddd-ddde » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 11:58 AM UTC

bambax wrote: post #491

tempestn wrote: post #384

At AutoTempest we resisted making an app for years, because anything that a hypothetical app could do, we could do with the website. And in my opinion, when searching for cars, it's more convenient to be in your browser where you can easily open new tabs, bookmark results, etc. And for years, it was our most requested feature, by far. We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain…

This is a very interesting, but it doesn't explain why companies push so hard to download their apps. It's even contradictory: since it seems users want apps so much, there should be no need to push them.

When most people want mobile apps, it makes no sense to develop a mobile website with feature parity for the handful of people that will use it.

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#529

Post by ThatMedicIsASpy » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 12:02 PM UTC

kelthuzad wrote: post #411

tempestn wrote: post #384

At AutoTempest we resisted making an app for years, because anything that a hypothetical app could do, we could do with the website. And in my opinion, when searching for cars, it's more convenient to be in your browser where you can easily open new tabs, bookmark results, etc. And for years, it was our most requested feature, by far. We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain…

>We had instructions for how to pin the site to your home screen, and would explain to users how the website does everything an app can do. Still, constant requests for an app. This is the result of the inconsistent user experience to which gatekeepers like Apple have been actively contributing through active sabotage of web apps, such that all profitable apps can be more effectively and reliably taxed through Apple'…

[flagged]

Re: Do not download the app, use the website

#530

Post by zkmon » Sat, Jul 26, 2025, 12:03 PM UTC

Today's world requires people to be ID checked everywhere. That requires the humans to be connected to internet. But humans are a biological things. How can they connect to internet? Well they can have chips embedded in them. A simpler approach is ... have a mobile phone and an app. Your mobile phone + app is similar to the network card that desktop used to have. Network card provided identity for the desktop and connected it to internet. Phone+app connects humans to internet with ID check. A browser can't do that, because browser is not considered 1-to-1 with humans or part of the humans, as much as phone is. Phone+app is your virtual clone. Browser is not.