I thought the main reason is because it's a lot more difficult blocking advertisements in an app.
I VPN home where I run Piholes and block all outbound DNS, DoT and port 443 to known DoH hosts.
Works like a charm.
Do not download the app, use the website
621–630 of 760 posts
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#622At 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…
At the last company I worked for we wanted to shut down our app to save expenses. The idea being that most people would just the website if we removed the app. It seems like you didn't gain anything by making an app, you just created more expenses and complexity.
Well don't leave us hanging! We need the anecdata!
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#623The only way to make website usage more prominent is to do the Windows Phone approach: make every browser tab the same as an app tab. If you treat a website the same as an app, there is less need for the app.
Although what sucks with websites is to always see the address bar and often having little to no settings nor notification support.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#624Earlier quoted context omitted.
> People just really like apps! I would say people really hate websites on mobile. The browsers are horrible, the pages are slow and oftentimes broken in some way. You get all these popups everywhere, ads are much more intrusive. It's just bad experience, so of course people would prefer app for something they use. I avoid the browser on mobile as much as possible and I don't remember ever having a good time using it…
> You get all these popups everywhere, ads are much more intrusive. I've literally never had that problem. Firefox Mobile + uBlock Origin eliminates ads.
That works well on Android, but on iOS not so much I think? Also, those damn cookie banners in EU.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#625Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Web Apps need to become just Apps. Apps built with the free and open web need equal treatment and integration. Closed and heavily taxed proprietary ecosystems should not receive any preference. That basically already exists on the desktop in the form of Electron apps. Those apps are universally hated because of it. Web technology is not suitable for making applications. It was designed to format text documents and…
> Those apps are universally hated because of it. Maybe they are hated by nerds on reddit and hackernews. I gather most people are just using the apps and have no idea how they’re built.
> I gather most people are just using the apps and have no idea how they’re built.
Because people who develop these only care about one thing: ease of development. They couldn't care less about what users say, and if they cared they wouldn't understand users, because users don't use terms like "latency", or "startup time", or "lag".
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#626One interesting side effect of this for instagram is that the website is much worse than the app, which makes it much harder to doom scroll. I have the app deleted on my phone and occasionally visit the website to check for messages and updates from friends
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#627At 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'…
Exactly, web apps are superior in most ways to mobile apps for the user experience, but only if vendors support the web and stop actively trying to make it like apps are the better option.
The preference for apps is a learned behavior, not something fundamental. The vast majority of people with real understanding would prefer the web
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#628Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This statement alone is evidence that you didn't understand the crux of the issue. I do > You are also confusing cause and effect. I don't > I clearly explained the root causes for that. You didn't. You went on a rant about "public perception" and your own experience building mobile web sites. > If you say that it's because they lack certain features, then you confirmed my point that it's due to active sabotage and…
ht>> I clearly explained the root causes for that. >You didn't. You went on a rant about "public perception" and your own experience building mobile web sites. I have no time to engage in your shallow kind of tit for tat, where I do all of the work and you simply respond with infantile one word responses with zero elaboration or outright denial, misrepresentation or just repetition of already debunked narratives. I w…
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Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#629The problem is, this article assumes that you have an option to choose between the app and web page. This is not true in most important cases. The web site is gone or made a useless page which only tells you to download the app. Banks won't allow you to do much on their website. Infact, you can't login to their website if you don't have the app. I can't login into my work PC or laptop, if I don't use my company apps.…
Which bank is that where you can’t log into their website from PC or mobile?
OTP in Hungary is sunsetting their mobile web site in favor of the app. Website still accessible from PC. App seems to be a webview of the actual website.
Re: Do not download the app, use the website
#630Earlier quoted context omitted.
> People just really like apps! I would say people really hate websites on mobile. The browsers are horrible, the pages are slow and oftentimes broken in some way. You get all these popups everywhere, ads are much more intrusive. It's just bad experience, so of course people would prefer app for something they use. I avoid the browser on mobile as much as possible and I don't remember ever having a good time using it…
I refuse to use Facebook's app. It's been years, I don't remember why, don't ask me. Their web app is fundamentally broken in half a dozen ways, and has been for years. A couple examples (not all): If you are in the middle of typing a comment and switch to another app, when you come back, it will reload the display, losing your comment. Video shorts load in a way that hides the video after about two seconds. Editing…
Why are people still using Meta's products? Their products are among the most unbelievably user-hostile things I come across on the web; I wonder why there hasn't been a revolt yet against them