I hate how everything requires you to download a shitty proprietary data harvesting app nowadays when everything can be done just fine without an app.

I have recently started university and am required to use an app that has three Facebook trackers, one of them being a Facebook location tracker according to Exodus App Privacy, for the dining plan, when it would literally work perfectly fine using your student ID and ordering to a real cashier, LIKE HOW IT HAS BEEN DONE FOR DECADES.

I have also read many stories of people that live in apartments that require them to use a mobile app for god damn LAUNDRY. All you need, is a card reader, and it will work perfectly fine like it has been for the longest time.

Privacy concerns aside, it is just annoying that you need this app and that app and this app and that app and it just clutters space on your phone. Security concerns too as now they have all of this additional info on you online, such as your phone number your email your real name, instead of just your credit card info like a card reader would have. And I am willing to guarantee that their security model is absolute horseshit because they have such a small team of engineers working on the app and the servers.

Literal enshitification

phoneymouse,

NextDNS.io can block the trackers in the apps

jawbrakelong,
@jawbrakelong@lemmy.world avatar

This is why if a service cannot be used in a hardened browser, I usually pass.

I am okay-ish about a service collecting some of the data I generate while using the service, but not much beyond that.

Poob,

I’m guessing the reason for most things forcing you to use an app is less because of data harvesting, and more because it increases repeated use.

When you have to go to your browser and remember to check a website it’s harder to create a habit. If you have an icon flashing on your home screen every day it’s much easier to remember to go to their site. Sure you can “Add to Home screen” functionality, but average users don’t even know that exists.

It also feels like a bespoke app is more “professional” than a website, despite many apps secretly just being a website anyway.

That said, they are definitely harvesting your data. I just don’t think that’s the main reason for most apps.

piexil,

Similarly I hate that everything requires an app when a webpage works absolutely fine.

Nothing more infuriating than sites that have a fully (or half) working mobile version but then force you to use the app (stars eyes at reddit)

JackbyDev,

Tangentially related, but I hate eating at Chili’s because they have little screens on every table. I don’t mind restaurants having a ton or TVs because they’re playing sports games and people want to watch them. Each of these POS machines has constant ads playing though. You can pay with it (and probably order stuff) but you can also pay to play games. It’s insane.

ChefTyler1980,

You don’t hate eating at Chilis due to the poor quality of the food?

JackbyDev,

Sorry, I should’ve been more clear, it’s not like I’m choosing to go there all the time but over the past few years it’s happened every now and then.

AlexWIWA,

I went to Buffalo Wild Wings the other day and they tried to have me download an app to pay my bill. I almost had my first Karen moment when I saw that.

JackbyDev,

I can understand refusing to accept cash (to an extent) but holy shit that’s insane.

SlothMama,

No, cash is legal tender. Refusing legal tender for services rendered should be considered insane by everyone.

nudnyekscentryk,
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

Sure, but at the same time paying some amounts in cash is immediate red flag.

In particular, when I worked cash register in a business where people often made transactions that expensive (but usually with cards), whenever anyone wanted to pay more than equivalent of around $700 cash I had to ask an extra employee to do the recount after me and the customer had to sign a paper that they are not using illegal obtained money. It went to a separate register and had to be deposited the following morning. They didn’t fuck around but at least never got in trouble for money laundering

SlothMama,

You make me want to go out, withdraw 29k in cash and buy a car just out of spite for that. Do people launder money? Sure, but it’s usually gift card scams, and very rarely done in cash at point of sale.

The only thing a card does is make something more traceable, so that if a crime were committed, you could theoretically tie it back to a person, but I don’t know that it prevents these things from happening, just makes them easier to investigate?

I live in an area where I come upon cashless businesses with shocking frequency and I hate it even though I usually pay with a card. I see it as a way to hurt people without cards or bank accounts, and I’m old enough to remember pumping gas and paying a cashier in cash afterwards and people weren’t constantly stealing gas.

Maybe I’m just an idealistic person, but your comment makes me sad.

nudnyekscentryk,
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

let me put on a freedomite hat and say: they are a private business and are free to dictate how they do their business regarding bill-settling methods; if a customer doesn’t comply they can simply go someplace else

really though, I have never EVER seen a business which would not take cash. sure, I have seen businesses encouraging card payments and there are plenty of reasons to: one is money laundering I mentioned in the previous comment; cash is fucking expensive to handle (where I live it’s 0.25% markup on card transactions vs 3 to 5% markup of a cash convoy); cash can be stolen by employees or simply misplaced. I know all this varies in different countries but where I live every single shop has cashless options, even farmers’ markets stalls take cards because it costs them close to nothing and they save time and money not gathering cash.

I see it as a way to hurt people without cards or bank accounts

well if a business should accept cash or not make a transaction at all then they are not acting rationally by refusing business. why do you they would intentionally hurt people with no bank accounts?

wanderingmagus,

One Starbucks I went to in California wouldn’t, they were “fully cashless” and proud of it. I tried, they just wouldn’t accept it.

nudnyekscentryk,
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

Lol that’s absurd

AlexWIWA,

Yeah I was flabbergasted. They said “scan this QR code to pay your bill” and then the website said I needed the app. I’d be fine with online pay but not a fucking app.

JackbyDev,

My buddy works as a software engineer at a ace that develops parking apps. He’s a pretty vocal advocate for allowing people to pay through the website. They do allow it thank goodness. The last thing anyone wants to do after parking is get an app running they’ll probably never touch again.

MagneticFusion,

Insanity

FontMasterFlex,

i was looking for a new toothbrush yesterday… they have app enabled toothbrushes. bluetooth. why the fuck do i need an app to brush my fucking teeth?

deafboy,
@deafboy@lemmy.world avatar

So that your neighbors can keep track of your oral hygine, or even trigger an automation every time you brush your teeth.

ChefTyler1980,

Need? You don’t. I would suggest that the majority of people don’t brush their teeth properly and the app-based tooth brush can help people reach all their teeth, brush for the right length of time, etc…all that has the knock on effect of helping those who use the app-connected tooth brushes avoid painful and costly dentist visits.

Sygheil,
@Sygheil@lemmy.world avatar

If an “app” has a web version I’m definitely on that. My exception would be installing it if thats not available via a webpage or so. Plus having a full control over my device (magisk/kernelsu + modules) and app manager on fdroid, warden to disable such trackers with the help of adaway.

One thing pissed me off was my banking institution, disabled its normal functionality (now only acts like a cpanel for your account) over webpage and the full functionality was transfered to the app (which contains 20 trackers) why tf you need that for in a financial app? Im done with them.

lemmesay,

what’s worse, they don’t work with “safety” net disabled.

I’m happy to use their functional ASP.NET website rather than being tracked by dozens of trackers on their 200mb app.

piexil,

Nothing worse than websites that fool you into thinking they have a mobile friendly website but turns out it’s super restrictive and they force you to down the app to actually do anything.

nudnyekscentryk,
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

Synology is guilty of that as well. You can login to your server via mobile browser but then do literally nothing, it’s pretty much only links to separate apps for each functionality (file backup, photos, video streaming, music streaming, torrent server…)

M0oP0o,
@M0oP0o@mander.xyz avatar

I still find it kinda funny how everything was made to be run on some sort of browser instead of in its own program, and now they want you to use an app to run these things instead of the browser, that in turn opens a browser in the back ground…

neolib,

Not sure if you’re on iPhone or Android but I root my OnePlus 9pro and use several ad blockers and privacy apps. A good one is xprivacylua, because it doesn’t just block trackers but instead feeds them phony data so it interferes with the function of the app as little as possible. I would recommend you install shamiko as well to prevent apps from detecting that your phone is rooted. I’m sure there are similar options for iPhone but I’m not familiar it’s been too long since I’ve had a jailbroken iPhone.

SocialMediaRefugee,

Reminds me of the episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia where they pick up people in the “Paddy’s Wagon” and Dennis forces them to use a painfully overblown app just to buy a couple of beers. It seems to have cooled off a bit but the rush for every little business to have its own app reminds me how every pizzeria and dry cleaner felt the need to have a website and social media presence.

I have 3 goddamn parking apps I have to keep on my phone, each with its own account, just so I can park in various cities when I travel. I’m sure my data is 100% secure too…

nudnyekscentryk,
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

no physical park meters in the streets?? can they even enforce parking fees then? like, I understand private companies doing such bullshit, but not public entities

Arrayrepairman,

Wait until you find out that some cities sold or leased parking rights to private companies.

nudnyekscentryk, (edited )
@nudnyekscentryk@szmer.info avatar

that’s some backwards-ass capitalist dystopia, even if you account for car-centrism

herrvogel,

The final episode of the latest season goes harder on this issue. This time the turns have tabled though.

Tom_bishop,

Wait until you need an app to visit your child’s grave

Ignisnex,
@Ignisnex@lemmy.world avatar

I work on the enterprise apps team at my university. We’d dump that so hard you’d think we were using it to get liftoff. Definitely complain. Also, it’s not inclusive to students without smart devices (they exist!).

If they do still have the option for manual use (with ID card scanners), there are a number of membership card / ID card wallets that are free on most platforms. You can just type the barcode into the app, and it’ll make a virtual card that can be scanned. Same convenience, no physical plastic. If you’re not offended by Google products, Google Wallet works pretty well. Or Stocard, but I’m not sure what level of tracking they implement. Granted, you’re still installing an app, but you get to pick your poison a bit, instead of being railroaded into Facebook shenanigans.

KonalaKoala, (edited )
@KonalaKoala@lemmy.world avatar

In which case, the only liftoff app that would be best for you to be getting is this one.

Liftoff for Lemmy

burgundymyr,

Seriously email your IT and/or privacy team at the university level. I work at a university and that would be removed ASAP for sharing PII. If you’re in the US or UK it’s a major violation of your privacy. Unfortunately most IT offices aren’t involved in many of the decisions and many of the people making those decisions are complete ignorant to the situation.

HurlingDurling,

All I can say it’s the fault of marketing and the statement of “we want more information from our users, but we don’t know exactly know what information to collect, so we collect everything possible in hopes to see some connection and predict what the user wants”. I wish companies would actually ask the user what they want. Do users want to use their phone? Cool, make a nfc enabled card that can be added to the phone’s wallets, and give users a portal to manage their funds if needed, no more app needed.

Jako301,

Problem with that is that most users have no idea what they want. And user wishes often enough don’t line up with user needs.

HurlingDurling,

Users know what they need to accomplish a task just fine, they might not know how to best implement it, but they do know.

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