I have an app for programming my chicken coop. My 401k company just created an app for onboarding new participants.

These should have been mobile friendly webpages.

    • Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      Ding ding ding. It’s all about the tracking data. Also, notifications. They want to be able to buzz you with spam, to remind you that the app exists.

    • Teodomo@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Is there a way to insulate apps in my phone from looking at stuff they shouldn’t? Kinda like Firefox Multi-Account Containers.

      • exohuman@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        On iOS, in the App Store entry for each app there is a section called “App Privacy.” You can use that section to see what data the app will collect. I do not know how to prevent it from collecting that data once it is installed.

  • Cam@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    38
    ·
    1 year ago

    I hate propietary apps that are just services or stores and especially when they refuse to have a website and make you download their app.

    I do not need 200 apps on my phone. Just one web browser app will do.

  • Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    30
    ·
    1 year ago

    My 401k company just created an app for onboarding new participants.

    “If you’d like me to run company software, you’ll have to provide a company device for me to run it on.”

    Never install work software on a personal device. Security, Privacy, Expectations (regarding personal resources).

    Along with this, never use personal software/accounts/services with company devices. You can’t be sure who’s watching and can’t be sure you’ll have a chance to remove/collect your personal data before being locked out of said device.

    • Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s not their employer. It’s the company they have their 401k retirement plan with.

      Empower, John Hancock, fidelity, vanguard, whoever.

    • TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      100% this. I put my foot down at my last job after finding out their app demanded device location when it wasn’t being used.

      I got the fuck out the next week. Place is already sliding downhill fast

  • aname@lemmy.one
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I rather have an app and a way to control the chicken coop offline that depend on the internet connection to whether my chicken coop works or not. That is in my opinion a right place for an app instead of a website.

    Most online services don’t need an app though.

    • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Like some kind of self hosted solution on Nextcloud or something. Maybe linked in with Home Assistant or able to access it remotely via Tailscale.

      Feels like overkill but if I had the time and the money, I would love to tinker with a system like that lol

    • aname@lemmy.one
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      I rather have an app when I need that stuff to work regardless of the internet connection.

  • M4775@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    1 year ago

    Not everything needs and app

    But then they couldn’t scrape maximum personal data, collect your contacts, have access to your mic and camera, and track your every physical movement. Your so selfish!

  • shiroininja@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    1 year ago

    I agree. Same with every business doesn’t need a freaking app. It’s why I’ve avoided the app development sector of programming in my career. I don’t want to crank out shitty apps for every local business for the rest of my life. talk about boring.

    • Chozo@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Because not everybody likes the stock interface of Lemmy. Same thing with Reddit, and why people chose to use third-party apps there, as well. Web apps aren’t always designed in the most intuitive ways for every user, and sometimes a native app can fill those UI/UX gaps, or add features that aren’t possible through a PWA.

      • Another Catgirl
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        why PWA and not a plain web app? I think the only difference is that PWAs can ve turned into a pinned pop-up window (that acts a bit like an electron app) when using a chromium-based browser.

        • Chozo@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Even then, there’s a lot of feature you end up missing out on. Even just basic navigation has to be done via the browser’s default navigation options. Even simple things like long-pressing something on the page will typically only give you access to your browser’s long-press menu (though that’s not always the case, in my experience very few web apps handle this effectively).

          Personally, I prefer the experience of a native app. But I get why it’s not appealing to all people.

    • kratoz29@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      The most useful PWA I have found is Voyager, and its app counterpart is way better IMHO.

      Native android/iOS apps are way smoother for daily navigation, you also get some perks like notifications and that.

  • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    Its like when restaurants want to get people to order via a QR code on the physical menu and place your order on their website or app.

    Like no. You are making this so much more awkward than it needs to be for the sake of novelty.

    Restaurant near me tried to implement this during Covid. At the time I get it because people were trying to minimize risk and might have been worried about being around a waiter and getting infected etc.

    But they still haven’t stopped it though. The worse thing is that the signal there is terrible so it takes 5 minutes for the damn thing to load in the first place.

  • SpeedLimit55@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    1 year ago

    Yeah my work just switched payroll companies and they want us to download an app to do timesheets and stuff. No way in hell that’s going on my phone. A least it works in desktop browsers too.