5 ms·

So unless I’m mistaken, PWAs in their most “ideal” form (vs how Apple has implemented them) kinda hang around after I’ve visited them, can use some arbitrary am

So unless I’m mistaken, PWAs in their most “ideal” form (vs how Apple has implemented them) kinda hang around after I’ve visited them, can use some arbitrary amount of disk space, leave background processes running, and can send push notifications even after I’ve navigated elsewhere. It sounds like to some extent they effectively get to install themselves on my device without my permission, with visiting the site in question acting as consent. Am I incorrect? If all the above is true, I can’t say I’m too happy with the feature as a user and hope there’s a universal off switch buried in settings somewhere. If I choose to use a website over a native app it’s due to its ephemerality, so I have no interest in web apps that stay past their welcome. If on the other hand the behavior is 100% opt in, that’s fine as long as I’m not shown banners trying to sell me on the PWA all the time.

mcintyre1994 9y ago
My understanding is that this behaviour is all only if you save the web app to the home screen (from Safari).
aeharding 9y ago
Just like a native app, the process requires user approval ("add to homescreen" vs "install"). A large difference, however, is that native apps go through Apple's approval process.
- madeofpalk 9y ago
  Does the Service Worker caching ability require approval?
  - anderber 9y ago
    I don't think so, just SSL is needed.
nfRfqX5n 9y ago
they will "hang around" after you visit in terms of caching. it'll cache whatever they've coded for.
- kaycebasques 9y ago
  In other words, you (the web developer) can control what gets cached via the Cache API. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Cache https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Cache Workbox is my team's (Google Web DevRel) library for making it easier to manage caches (there's lots of gotchas you can potentially encounter if you roll your own). https://developers.google.com/web/tools/workbox/ https://developers.google.com/web/tools/workbox/
laythea 9y ago
Its crazy isn't it. First we had desktop applications, then webpages that try to be desktop apps, now websites are changing their very definition to being desktop applications (using the browser as a framework). It's similar with the UI. First flat, then 3D, now back to flat. Its crazy.
- bastawhiz 9y ago
  In truth, _all_ iOS apps were web apps in the beginning. Steve Jobs wanted all apps to be based on HTML5, but developer pushback forced Apple to change its mind. iOS didn't get native apps until almost a year after the iPhone was announced.
  - alwillis 9y ago
    iOS didn't get native apps until almost a year after the iPhone was announced. Obviously the apps Apple shipped on the original iPhone were native apps. Even before the official App Store was announced, developers reversed engineered their way to native apps. It wasn’t a good look for Apple: it could create native apps but 3rd party developers couldn’t, especially game developers. HTML5 wasn’t nearly as capable 10+ years ago as it is today and developers let it be known that wasn’t tenable. Apparently allowing 3rd party native apps was the right thing to do.

mcintyre1994 9y ago

My understanding is that this behaviour is all only if you save the web app to the home screen (from Safari).

aeharding 9y ago

Just like a native app, the process requires user approval ("add to homescreen" vs "install"). A large difference, however, is that native apps go through Apple's approval process.

madeofpalk 9y ago
Does the Service Worker caching ability require approval?
- anderber 9y ago
  I don't think so, just SSL is needed.

nfRfqX5n 9y ago

they will "hang around" after you visit in terms of caching. it'll cache whatever they've coded for.

kaycebasques 9y ago
In other words, you (the web developer) can control what gets cached via the Cache API. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Cache https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Cache Workbox is my team's (Google Web DevRel) library for making it easier to manage caches (there's lots of gotchas you can potentially encounter if you roll your own). https://developers.google.com/web/tools/workbox/ https://developers.google.com/web/tools/workbox/

laythea 9y ago

Its crazy isn't it. First we had desktop applications, then webpages that try to be desktop apps, now websites are changing their very definition to being desktop applications (using the browser as a framework). It's similar with the UI. First flat, then 3D, now back to flat. Its crazy.

bastawhiz 9y ago
In truth, _all_ iOS apps were web apps in the beginning. Steve Jobs wanted all apps to be based on HTML5, but developer pushback forced Apple to change its mind. iOS didn't get native apps until almost a year after the iPhone was announced.
- alwillis 9y ago
  iOS didn't get native apps until almost a year after the iPhone was announced. Obviously the apps Apple shipped on the original iPhone were native apps. Even before the official App Store was announced, developers reversed engineered their way to native apps. It wasn’t a good look for Apple: it could create native apps but 3rd party developers couldn’t, especially game developers. HTML5 wasn’t nearly as capable 10+ years ago as it is today and developers let it be known that wasn’t tenable. Apparently allowing 3rd party native apps was the right thing to do.