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I stopped using reddit when they put a "USE OUR MOBILE APP OR DIE" message that cannot be closed conveniently on their mobile page. There is no possible advanta

I stopped using reddit when they put a "USE OUR MOBILE APP OR DIE" message that cannot be closed conveniently on their mobile page. There is no possible advantage that can accrue to me by giving them app-level access to my device rather than running in my browser, which I trust far more than I trust them. They are literally a dynamic, partitioned page-ranking system, why in the heck would I ever let that escape the browser's sandbox? I'm (obviously) not the target market, but I absolutely detest disingenuous behaviour like this.

intruder 9y ago
OT: but I feel the same about imgur. You can't use their mobile site to upload pictures anymore. You have to request the desktop site or install their app.
- fiblye 9y ago
  I've been bypassing it by manually entering http://imgur.com/upload http://imgur.com/upload
- erikpukinskis 9y ago
  Yelp also. They put up bizarre barriers, like you can't view the 11th photo in a gallery without installing the app, can't read specific reviews, etc. It has bred surprising resentment in me! I'm plotting a Yelp killer in the back of my mind now.
  - simlevesque 9y ago
    Yelp does all sorts of shady stuff.
wingerlang 9y ago
If you're on iOS, you'd just move it from one sandbox to another.
37 9y ago
I sort of believe that the push to mobile is to utilize technologies like GPS, and for tracking purposes / more information points. To get to know the [s]customer[/s] mark better than they know themself. Also, the ISPs may help this push since mobile data is more costly to the consumer than regular ethernet cable type data. wired > wifi /takes off tinfoil hat
- G30401 9y ago
  Well... why would I need them to "serve" me content. When I am supposed to subscribe to what I want?
- dorfsmay 9y ago
  I don't know the reasons, but it is getting really annoying. I book a flight in Delta, from a browser on my laptop and it kept saying "Download our apps, it will be such a better experience!" I do not want to have to download a different apps for each vendor, that's why we invented browsers. If the your browser experience sucks, fix it, don't push your mobile apps on people!
yskchu 9y ago
The workaround I use is appending "/.compact" to the url, it shows the old mobile format. It still works fine for all pages/comments. But yes, I find this highly annoying also.
circadiam 9y ago
This is the most neckbeard, privacy-obsessed comment of the thread. Can’t tell if trolling or actually serious.
kermittd 9y ago
Noticed as well a while back. It is super annoying but they got me anyway. I downloaded the app but use the browser still about 50% of the time.
SteveGregory 9y ago
Really? I don't know if Reddit has been AB testing, but they seem pretty reasonable to me with their app ads. It's always been easy to clear and stays cleared for a while for me.
- frou_dh 9y ago
  They absolutely have been A/B testing it for a curiously long time. Sometimes it's dismissable, sometimes it's not. IIRC it's even more hassle if you aren't logged in.
arkitaip 9y ago
Reddit's mobile site is designed to be a bad experience to such a degree that it's comical. I use it everyday and still get confused wrt to basic functionality like what to click. It's also suspiciously slow in a way that Reddit proper never is.
- anthony_franco 9y ago
  Their new mobile version is pretty bad. I use their old mobile site and it's fast to load and easier to use. I hope they don't sunset it... https://i.reddit.com/ https://i.reddit.com/
- jmkni 9y ago
  I think that the regular Reddit site bypasses the API somehow, but the mobile site and app uses it, hence the slowness.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
JosephLark 9y ago
I very rarely load up reddit on mobile but did so this morning and noticed the exact same message and couldn't believe it. The selling feature they use for the mobile app on that message was that it was faster than the mobile site. I don't see why that needs to be the case - it seems the reason the mobile site is slow is because they force it to do client side rendering. Or at the very least, just that it's Javascript heavy. I'm not sure why reddit needs to be like that given the content.
- methodin 9y ago
  I can't help but think to myself "it's faster because I don't have to erroneously click out or onto this obnoxious popup ad"
dorfsmay 9y ago
You can use the desktop/classic version from a mobile device.
luca_ing 9y ago
For your and any other readers' benefit: On Android, you might try using the app "reddit is fun". It requires no permissions and its style is delightfully basic and compact. It's my preferred way of redditing these days.

intruder 9y ago

OT: but I feel the same about imgur. You can't use their mobile site to upload pictures anymore. You have to request the desktop site or install their app.

fiblye 9y ago
I've been bypassing it by manually entering http://imgur.com/upload http://imgur.com/upload
erikpukinskis 9y ago
Yelp also. They put up bizarre barriers, like you can't view the 11th photo in a gallery without installing the app, can't read specific reviews, etc. It has bred surprising resentment in me! I'm plotting a Yelp killer in the back of my mind now.
- simlevesque 9y ago
  Yelp does all sorts of shady stuff.

wingerlang 9y ago

If you're on iOS, you'd just move it from one sandbox to another.

37 9y ago

I sort of believe that the push to mobile is to utilize technologies like GPS, and for tracking purposes / more information points. To get to know the [s]customer[/s] mark better than they know themself. Also, the ISPs may help this push since mobile data is more costly to the consumer than regular ethernet cable type data. wired > wifi /takes off tinfoil hat

G30401 9y ago
Well... why would I need them to "serve" me content. When I am supposed to subscribe to what I want?
dorfsmay 9y ago
I don't know the reasons, but it is getting really annoying. I book a flight in Delta, from a browser on my laptop and it kept saying "Download our apps, it will be such a better experience!" I do not want to have to download a different apps for each vendor, that's why we invented browsers. If the your browser experience sucks, fix it, don't push your mobile apps on people!

yskchu 9y ago

The workaround I use is appending "/.compact" to the url, it shows the old mobile format. It still works fine for all pages/comments. But yes, I find this highly annoying also.

circadiam 9y ago

This is the most neckbeard, privacy-obsessed comment of the thread. Can’t tell if trolling or actually serious.

kermittd 9y ago

Noticed as well a while back. It is super annoying but they got me anyway. I downloaded the app but use the browser still about 50% of the time.

SteveGregory 9y ago

Really? I don't know if Reddit has been AB testing, but they seem pretty reasonable to me with their app ads. It's always been easy to clear and stays cleared for a while for me.

frou_dh 9y ago
They absolutely have been A/B testing it for a curiously long time. Sometimes it's dismissable, sometimes it's not. IIRC it's even more hassle if you aren't logged in.

arkitaip 9y ago

Reddit's mobile site is designed to be a bad experience to such a degree that it's comical. I use it everyday and still get confused wrt to basic functionality like what to click. It's also suspiciously slow in a way that Reddit proper never is.

anthony_franco 9y ago
Their new mobile version is pretty bad. I use their old mobile site and it's fast to load and easier to use. I hope they don't sunset it... https://i.reddit.com/ https://i.reddit.com/
jmkni 9y ago
I think that the regular Reddit site bypasses the API somehow, but the mobile site and app uses it, hence the slowness.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

JosephLark 9y ago

I very rarely load up reddit on mobile but did so this morning and noticed the exact same message and couldn't believe it. The selling feature they use for the mobile app on that message was that it was faster than the mobile site. I don't see why that needs to be the case - it seems the reason the mobile site is slow is because they force it to do client side rendering. Or at the very least, just that it's Javascript heavy. I'm not sure why reddit needs to be like that given the content.

methodin 9y ago
I can't help but think to myself "it's faster because I don't have to erroneously click out or onto this obnoxious popup ad"

dorfsmay 9y ago

You can use the desktop/classic version from a mobile device.

luca_ing 9y ago

For your and any other readers' benefit: On Android, you might try using the app "reddit is fun". It requires no permissions and its style is delightfully basic and compact. It's my preferred way of redditing these days.