Post #3700485

2026-07-09 17:03 UTC

Fucking "app culture" drives me crazy. I got asked to install a mobile app just to look at the itinerary and accommodation information for a trip I'm going on. Why isn't it just a web page? So obviously I said "fuck that noise, hold my beer", reverse-engineered the app, and re-implemented it as a web page generator. It does all the same things as the "app" except now there's no tracking, no ads, and you get all the Web's features "for free" (deep links, copy-pasting, search-in-page, printing, works on anything, etc.). Here's the full story: 🔗 https://danq.me/your-app-could-have-been-a-webpage #appCulture #app #android #web #webPage #openStandards #reverseEngineering

Replies (8)

@hellomiakoda@pdx.social 2026-07-09 17:54

@dan@m.danq.me It's gotten to the point that "If you just download our app..." causes me to snap back with "Fuck your app!". Menu is only an app? Not worth it, not that hungry. App required to get the displayed price? No sale. Phones wouldn't be so expensive if they didn't need so much storage for thousands of apps. It was a while ago, but I think it's Fridays that lists cheese sticks under "Apps". It struck me as really really dumb.

Open ##3701399
@lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me 2026-07-09 18:13

@dan@m.danq.me > except now there's no tracking, no ads Which is probably why they made it an app, much more of a pain to block that crap when they have way more permissions for their code and users much less abilities to block things.

Open ##3702209
@AskPippa@c.im 2026-07-09 21:49

@dan@m.danq.me So many people get confused when I refuse to install apps. Some assume I don't know how to use them or I'm tech illiterate (an older female bias some people have) so I have to explain why they suck. And I explain things like security and privacy concerns. Seems like every shop and business wants you use their apps. Also, I won't eat at restaurants where they don't take cash and want you to pay digitally ahead of time -- some ask for your email address and/or phone number. If I could, I'd consider ditching the phone altogether -- but sadly they've become essential in many other ways.

Open ##3704272
@raymierussell@mastodon.scot 2026-07-09 20:39

@dan@m.danq.me Yup, I absolutely refuse to use any apps that could be a website. I do most of my online banking on my laptop and don't have the bank's app on my phone. I can log into my bank on my phone via the web browser if I really need to, which is rarely. I do have some app that are my go to's. VLC as my media player. Fossify Notes. Tune in radio and BBC sounds for radio etc.

Open ##3704311
@threatresearch@infosec.exchange 2026-07-10 20:34

@dan@m.danq.me great job. Thank you for taking one for the team and sharing your knowledge

Open ##3724688
@jaredwhite@indieweb.social 2026-07-09 17:46

@dan@m.danq.me I hardly use any mobile apps at all. In fact, the number of non-web apps I use on my phone in any given week I could probably count on one hand, two at the very most. As far I'm concerned, “there's an app for that” is a dead end…at least on mobile. Still plenty of room for pro-quality native apps on tablets/laptops/desktops.

Open ##3728680
@Viss@mastodon.social 2026-07-09 18:09

@dan@m.danq.me outstanding

Open ##3743644
@frumbly@mastodon.world 2026-07-09 18:10

@dan@m.danq.me Thank you for doing a good thing https://youtu.be/EqWRaAF6_WY?si=hfaeXjRKL3eQK4cI

Open ##3743645