[HN Gopher] Do not download the app, use the website
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Do not download the app, use the website
Author : foxfired
Score : 58 points
Date : 2025-07-25 22:07 UTC (52 minutes ago)
(HTM) web link (idiallo.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (idiallo.com)
| PaulHoule wrote:
| I don't even get "The Unseen Cost of Convenience" as frequently
| the app is not "convenient", it's just worse -- especially on
| tablet platforms where a desktop site is just fine, and a desktop
| site at AAA accessibility is perfect.
| moron4hire wrote:
| > Some apps can even record audio
|
| I have started to think this is the real reason why so many apps
| have a messaging and voice chat features, not so they can orifice
| this services to you, but so you'll grant the access so they can
| spy on you and sell it to advertisers.
|
| I randomly decided to try my hand at pottery using clay I've dug
| up from my yard. Talked about this in person with a few people,
| but hadn't posted anywhere online about it. Suddenly, Amazon is
| suggesting pottery equipment and supplies to me.
| simondotau wrote:
| One of those people might have googled about pottery, or did a
| casual Amazon search for indicative pricing, on their phone
| while on your Wi-Fi connection.
| chrisweekly wrote:
| "so they can orifice this services"
|
| haha, that was a funny autocorrect (or diction) error, or maybe
| an even funnier Freudian slip!
| simondotau wrote:
| For what it's worth, iPhone shows a visible notification
| whenever the microphone is actively used. While you're within
| an app, this will show as a small orange dot.
|
| If an app attempts to use the microphone in the background,
| it'll appear similarly to a phone call, but orange or red in
| colour.
| i80and wrote:
| I 100% agree with this, but a significant way that mobile
| websites often decay the experience compared to the app is with
| very short-lived login sessions.
|
| Even when the experience is otherwise basically identical, I've
| found that login sessions in a browser are sometimes measured in
| days, where in the app sessions never expire.
|
| Which feels like app install metric juicing to me.
| Aachen wrote:
| Dutch: https://appdwang.nl
|
| German: https://appzwang.de
|
| I don't know if they're affiliated but I recently came across one
| after already knowing of the other. The name means something like
| "app compulsion" in both languages, as in being forced to use
| apps. Very much in line with the submitted article above
|
| Is there such a resource for English already? A place or movement
| we can link to
| markbao wrote:
| 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 platform, so to say that's a negative
| for native apps is odd.
|
| The biggest downside of native apps is you can't customize them
| with extensions or user styles like you can with websites.
| thwarted wrote:
| Mobile apps are so limited compared to an actual web browser's
| interface. The reddit mobile app only lets you view one
| topic/conversation at a time. Same with the IMDB app; it's
| impossible to do any research, like comparing actors or movies,
| using the IMDB mobile app because the flows are all captive and
| there's very limited ways to navigate between the resources.
| With a browser, I can open up multiple sets of content at once.
| So many mobile apps are just fixed views and offer no
| compelling interface for anything but the extremely limited way
| they want (force) you to use their app. The fact that a browser
| allows multiple tabs and can do bookmarking makes up for (works
| around) the relatively lack luster interfaces both website and
| mobile apps have.
| VoidWarranty wrote:
| 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 break: users can try different browsers or devices to
| get around instead of being bricked.
|
| I can't be the only one who _never _ updates software on my
| phone until I absolutely have to. Everything is so brittle. I'm
| sick of being gaslit that apps make that better. Despite it's
| own horrible implementations, the web is far more stable.
| urbandw311er wrote:
| Don't forget the ability to send push notifications. I think
| that's one of the main reasons -- it turns your whole
| relationship with a product on its head: you lose control over
| when you're engaging, instead they can literally push their
| services and ads on you.
| baby_souffle wrote:
| I have never liked notifications on iOS so I can't say for sure
| but I do know that on Android it's been possible to disable
| certain types of notifications or demote the urgency for at
| least 5 years now.
|
| Whether or not most people are aware of this ability is another
| question, I guess.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| Can do same on iOS. I get very few notifications - lots of
| apps want me to authorize them but I only do so for the ones
| that actually need to do it (PagerDuty, instant messaging,
| pushover). Also if any app abuses the privilege it loses it
| immediately (looking at you Twitter, eBay and Amazon).
| teagoat wrote:
| You can get push notifications to your phone from a website
| through the browser, even when that website isn't still open.
|
| But presumably developers have more control over app
| notification look & feel vs browser notifications?
| deepsun wrote:
| > If you've ever opened Reddit, LinkedIn, Pinterest
|
| And Facebook. I swear they intentionally make the website as bad
| as possible for mobile browsers. Explicitly disabled sending
| messages a few years ago. Do they really think someone who
| resisted their push to apps for 10+ years would submit one day?
| huqedato wrote:
| Well good advice... in theory.
|
| Most of websites I use regularly are simply not "optimized" for
| mobile: broken features, display errors, inadequate UI, just
| unusable on the phone. And it's intentional: they're sabotaging
| the mobile experience just to push you into downloading their
| app.
|
| I have no option than using their f..g app.
| frakt0x90 wrote:
| Yelp is one of the worst. So much so that I will do everything
| in my power to never download their app out of spite.
| jeffbee wrote:
| Why would you even use Yelp the website?
| fsflover wrote:
| Another argument is apps force you to use the Apple/Google
| duopoly on mobile, whereas websites can be opened on desktop and
| on GNU/Linux phones.
| creatonez wrote:
| The Discord web app is nearly identical to the desktop app. The
| main things you are missing are global push-to-talk and rich
| presence (i.e. dicord spies on your process list and tells other
| people what games you are playing). I'm always surprised more
| people don't use it.
| bitwize wrote:
| But the experience is better on the app!
|
| [ DOWNLOAD APP NOW ]
|
| [continue with chrome like a scrub]
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(page generated 2025-07-25 23:00 UTC)