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Sadly, the reddit website has become a travesty - especially on mobile. A huge "DOWNLOAD THE REDDIT APP" banner obscures literally 30% of the page. There is a t

Sadly, the reddit website has become a travesty - especially on mobile. A huge "DOWNLOAD THE REDDIT APP" banner obscures literally 30% of the page. There is a teeny-tiny "view on mobille site" link in small, low-contrast text that can be used to dismiss the annoying banner. Due to its size and user-hostile design, the Reddit banner is even worse than most news sites that try to push their newsletter/app/subscription with similarly annoying banners.

zmb_ 9y ago
They have also periodically been A/B testing a popup with only two options, login or get mobile app, when clicking on a topic -- as far as I could tell it was not possible to just pass to the comment thread. Luckily that seems to have been phased out.
netzone 9y ago
I think that's now removed no? Or at least, I haven't noticed it for a while. I got hit with the Google hammer regarding a similar banner, where they threatened to stop indexing the site completely, so I assume they had a similar message. Or maybe they're large enough to be exempt. I don't know.
- azernik 9y ago
  For logged-in users, the banner goes away (I think after the first time you click to stay on the mobile site).
  - stochastic_monk 9y ago
    I'm always logged in, but it often asks me to consider using the app. I detest it. Why are they pushing it so hard?
    - opencl 9y ago
      You have to be logged in and toggle a preference to disable the popup. But then it forgets I'm logged in and I see it again. I agree that it's extremely obnoxious and has just resulted in me never bothering to look at Reddit on a phone anymore.
- dmitriid 9y ago
  It's a small banner on Reddit's AMP pages. Once you click "view more comments", you're taken over to the mobile version which has the huge banner. Shamless plug: you can see this behaviour in the two screenshots in lower left corner in this post https://grumpy.website/post/0PhBPyfR- https://grumpy.website/post/0PhBPyfR- Reddit redesigned the AMP page to include some comments, but the behaviour is essentially the same.
dredmorbius 9y ago
Hit https://old.reddit.com https://old.reddit.com Unfortunately intra-reddit links cause all the usual problems. But yes, mobile behaviour is rage-inducing.
- syrrim 9y ago
  You can ask to always recieve the desktop website via the hamburger menu. Really the best option IMO.
  - dredmorbius 9y ago
    You've got to: 1. Click though the Mobile nag overly. 2. Turn off the Mobile nag, or you'll see it again. 3. Specify "desktop" via, for the second time, the motherfucking hamburger. That is: this is what I'm doing. Every. Goddamned. Time. It's motherfucking rage inducing. I've mentioned this more than once at Reddit.
liotier 9y ago
On Android, use the "Reddit if fun" application - classic Reddit, fit for mobile: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.android.reddit&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu....
- StavrosK 9y ago
  "Relay" is also amazing. I realized just today that I browse HN from mobile Firefox, but reddit from Relay, and I realized that that's because Relay is so much better than any HN mobile app. It really makes a difference.
  - severine 9y ago
    Have you tried Materialistic[1] for HN? Apache licensed, also on F-droid[2]. [1] https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic [2] https://f-droid.org/packages/io.github.hidroh.materialistic/ https://f-droid.org/packages/io.github.hidroh.materialistic/
    - StavrosK 9y ago
      Yes, it's what I currently use, but it has some problems (comment formatting shows up weirdly, the built-in browser uses desktop mode and doesn't let me resize sites so many are illegible, etc). It's the best I've found, though.
    - Outpox 9y ago
      I use both Relay for Reddit and Materialistic for HN and they're absolutely brilliant. Didn't take me that long to pay for Relay Pro.
    - hivacruz 9y ago
      Materialistic is nice. The only feature I miss with it would be a custom filter. If I could hide automatically stories based on keywords (like "Facebook"), that would be great.
  - skykooler 9y ago
actsasbuffoon 9y ago
Their mobile app rarely works for me. There was a bug for a few months(!) where I couldn't log in. It worked again for a month, and now the app can't connect to the server at all. To be clear, I'm running this on a brand new iPhone X, so I've got plenty of power to run the app. The site works in my mobile browser, but the app has serious reliability problems. If anyone at Reddit is reading this, please stop pushing the mobile app so hard. You're actively making things worse by pushing a highly unreliable app! Also, please make it possible to sort by "Rising" on the mobile site and app (should I ever be able to connect again). On busy news days, things move fast enough that "Rising" is the only way to keep up, yet the option is mysteriously inaccessible on mobile.
- chii 9y ago
  use the .compact version of reddit's website: append a '/.compact' to the end of a normal reddit url like www.reddit.com/r/programming/.compact , and see how fast and user friendly it is!
  - yoodenvranx 9y ago
    The day they kill the .compact page is the day I stop using reddit.
  - knz 9y ago
    I agree that .compact is their most mobile friendly website but I'm not sure I'd call it "user friendly". It's difficult to edit comments, difficult to switch between subreddit's, and defaults to their main mobile format or prompts you to download their app if you click on any internal links that don't have .compact in the URL (include the default /r/$subreddit formatting).
  - grogers 9y ago
    Luckily taking 15 seconds to type this in the address bar and load the old version is still faster than loading any "normal" mobile Reddit page. This is what I've been doing for years.
  - nostromo 9y ago
josefresco 9y ago
I dropped the mobile app because it was occupying over 200MB of space, and my inadequately equipped iPhone ran out of space. I switched to the mobile site, but now avoid that as well due to the constant, in-your-face app promotion. Every website with a mobile app these days: "I get it, you have an app, I don't want the app, stop telling me to download it." Edit: Thanks for the helpful replies - however staying completely off Reddit is probably better for my overall wellbeing. Reddit is no longer a "happy place" for me, the racists, trolls, shills, and bigots have ruined it for me. To top it off, I was recently banned by admins (not mods) for "attempting to evade a subbreddit ban" which was a result of my using a VPN - no thanks.
- wor3q 9y ago
  It actually has a switch to turn nagging about app off. It's 'ask to open in app' in menu. No banners or popups about the app since I've flipped it.
  - bdefore 9y ago
    Which not useful if you prefer to lurk rather than login or use incognito/firefox focus to browse.
    - josefresco 9y ago
      This is why I never saw the setting to disable the app prompt. Reddit tracks every single action on their site (no duh) and I don't feel like being monitored when I'm on the toilet looking for LULZ
      - teach 9y ago
        For the record, I'm sure they track you just as much even if you've never created an account.
        josefresco 9y ago
        I smiled when writing that, expecting this very response ;) - I'll just stay away completely as per my parent comment edit. The kicker is that Reddit's "activity feed" in the right hand sidebar is what revealed, or reminded me of this behavior. Without it, I probably would have continued to ignore the obvious / bury my head in the sand. Thanks Reddit!
ChrisSD 9y ago
It's not just the splash that's frustrating on mobile. I dislike staring at a logo for ages just so I can eventually read one comment page. I'm sure this is fun for people who use reddit regularly but as only an occasional visitor I would rather do without it.
Vinnl 9y ago
You can disable that banner in the hamburger menu when logged in. Yes, you'd expect it to be gone after the first time you dismiss it, but you will probably still want to know that you can remove it :)
hyperpallium 9y ago
protip: append ".compact" to the URL (before the "?" query string, if any). All reddit links will also now automatically have .compact. Bookmark it. Starter pack: https://www.reddit.com/.compact https://www.reddit.com/.compact https://www.reddit.com/r/all.compact https://www.reddit.com/r/all.compact https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/.compact https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/.compact This gives the old reddit mobile experience, which is far lighter and better. But some things are broken, e.g. "submit" is broken; "parent" take you to the modern mobile version (but "conext" works); "sidebar" needs a separate page. To any reddit admins reading: please don't take this functionality away.
- wanda 9y ago
  You can also just change the subdomain to i.reddit.com instead of www.reddit.com to achieve the same effect. e.g. https://i.reddit.com/r/all https://i.reddit.com/r/all I personally find this quicker to type.
  - hyperpallium 9y ago
    TIL BTW another breakage is no comment "delete" link; need to switch back for that.
api 9y ago
I never download "the app" because I know the privacy and security settings of my browser will not apply there and everything on my phone will get hoovered.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Fifer82 9y ago
I completely agree and even when you just accept all this and actually get the App, it is pretty terrible (on IOS). As in, it stops loading posts, and stops infinite scrolling, so you have to basically kill the app, then go back into it. I don't see how that is more useful than the website or a better experience. Also another issue is that many links just don't work. I can't see `streamable` and many others because the page that opens has no touch detection. I have to select `...` then go to `Open in Safari` to make it work. Reddit and YouTube are the only things stopping my IPad from gathering dust.
dingaling 9y ago
There's not even any content to be obscured if JS is disabled, as I tend to do on phones to minimise data usage.
andrepd 9y ago
Try i.reddit.com. I still use it, and I'm still annoyed to no end when the "modern" mobile website loads instead, with its ~5 second splash screen that loads less information than the former does in goddamn instant.
akkat 9y ago
And after clicking that small hard to see button, get ready for another popup if you want to watch a gif
josteink 9y ago
> the reddit website has become a travesty - especially on mobile. A huge "DOWNLOAD THE REDDIT APP" banner obscures literally 30% of the page. Somewhere under preferences you can disable this bullshit forever. The website is still a travesty though.
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  Not: 1. That I've found. 2. For unauthenticated sessions. I hit Reddit via Incognito mode frequently. That goddamned nag shows up every goddamned time.
akvadrako 9y ago
It's a lot worse than that; m.reddit.com hasn't displayed anything except a white blank page on Safari on iOS for over a year.
hiccuphippo 9y ago
I use one of the third party apps. I tried the official app but it forces you to open external links in their embedded chrome/webview. The third party simply opens them in my browser.
nimbix 9y ago
It's because they want your device's advertiser ID so they can associate it with your interests based on subreddits you visit. There's gold in them ad targeting data hills.
ProAm 9y ago
i.reddit.com is what I was using. Super compact and pretty easy to use. But its not meant for participating only for browsing.
JoshMnem 9y ago
Also too much animation. Material Design has accessibility problems for motion sensitivity.
steveklabnik 9y ago
Even worse, the app loses features of the site that are super super important, like the "duplicates" tab.

zmb_ 9y ago

They have also periodically been A/B testing a popup with only two options, login or get mobile app, when clicking on a topic -- as far as I could tell it was not possible to just pass to the comment thread. Luckily that seems to have been phased out.

netzone 9y ago

I think that's now removed no? Or at least, I haven't noticed it for a while. I got hit with the Google hammer regarding a similar banner, where they threatened to stop indexing the site completely, so I assume they had a similar message. Or maybe they're large enough to be exempt. I don't know.

azernik 9y ago
For logged-in users, the banner goes away (I think after the first time you click to stay on the mobile site).
- stochastic_monk 9y ago
  I'm always logged in, but it often asks me to consider using the app. I detest it. Why are they pushing it so hard?
  - opencl 9y ago
    You have to be logged in and toggle a preference to disable the popup. But then it forgets I'm logged in and I see it again. I agree that it's extremely obnoxious and has just resulted in me never bothering to look at Reddit on a phone anymore.
dmitriid 9y ago
It's a small banner on Reddit's AMP pages. Once you click "view more comments", you're taken over to the mobile version which has the huge banner. Shamless plug: you can see this behaviour in the two screenshots in lower left corner in this post https://grumpy.website/post/0PhBPyfR- https://grumpy.website/post/0PhBPyfR- Reddit redesigned the AMP page to include some comments, but the behaviour is essentially the same.

dredmorbius 9y ago

Hit https://old.reddit.com https://old.reddit.com Unfortunately intra-reddit links cause all the usual problems. But yes, mobile behaviour is rage-inducing.

syrrim 9y ago
You can ask to always recieve the desktop website via the hamburger menu. Really the best option IMO.
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  You've got to: 1. Click though the Mobile nag overly. 2. Turn off the Mobile nag, or you'll see it again. 3. Specify "desktop" via, for the second time, the motherfucking hamburger. That is: this is what I'm doing. Every. Goddamned. Time. It's motherfucking rage inducing. I've mentioned this more than once at Reddit.

liotier 9y ago

On Android, use the "Reddit if fun" application - classic Reddit, fit for mobile: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu.android.reddit&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andrewshu....

StavrosK 9y ago
"Relay" is also amazing. I realized just today that I browse HN from mobile Firefox, but reddit from Relay, and I realized that that's because Relay is so much better than any HN mobile app. It really makes a difference.
- severine 9y ago
  Have you tried Materialistic[1] for HN? Apache licensed, also on F-droid[2]. [1] https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic [2] https://f-droid.org/packages/io.github.hidroh.materialistic/ https://f-droid.org/packages/io.github.hidroh.materialistic/
  - StavrosK 9y ago
    Yes, it's what I currently use, but it has some problems (comment formatting shows up weirdly, the built-in browser uses desktop mode and doesn't let me resize sites so many are illegible, etc). It's the best I've found, though.
  - Outpox 9y ago
    I use both Relay for Reddit and Materialistic for HN and they're absolutely brilliant. Didn't take me that long to pay for Relay Pro.
  - hivacruz 9y ago
    Materialistic is nice. The only feature I miss with it would be a custom filter. If I could hide automatically stories based on keywords (like "Facebook"), that would be great.
- skykooler 9y ago

actsasbuffoon 9y ago

Their mobile app rarely works for me. There was a bug for a few months(!) where I couldn't log in. It worked again for a month, and now the app can't connect to the server at all. To be clear, I'm running this on a brand new iPhone X, so I've got plenty of power to run the app. The site works in my mobile browser, but the app has serious reliability problems. If anyone at Reddit is reading this, please stop pushing the mobile app so hard. You're actively making things worse by pushing a highly unreliable app! Also, please make it possible to sort by "Rising" on the mobile site and app (should I ever be able to connect again). On busy news days, things move fast enough that "Rising" is the only way to keep up, yet the option is mysteriously inaccessible on mobile.

chii 9y ago
use the .compact version of reddit's website: append a '/.compact' to the end of a normal reddit url like www.reddit.com/r/programming/.compact , and see how fast and user friendly it is!
- yoodenvranx 9y ago
  The day they kill the .compact page is the day I stop using reddit.
- knz 9y ago
  I agree that .compact is their most mobile friendly website but I'm not sure I'd call it "user friendly". It's difficult to edit comments, difficult to switch between subreddit's, and defaults to their main mobile format or prompts you to download their app if you click on any internal links that don't have .compact in the URL (include the default /r/$subreddit formatting).
- grogers 9y ago
  Luckily taking 15 seconds to type this in the address bar and load the old version is still faster than loading any "normal" mobile Reddit page. This is what I've been doing for years.
- nostromo 9y ago

josefresco 9y ago

I dropped the mobile app because it was occupying over 200MB of space, and my inadequately equipped iPhone ran out of space. I switched to the mobile site, but now avoid that as well due to the constant, in-your-face app promotion. Every website with a mobile app these days: "I get it, you have an app, I don't want the app, stop telling me to download it." Edit: Thanks for the helpful replies - however staying completely off Reddit is probably better for my overall wellbeing. Reddit is no longer a "happy place" for me, the racists, trolls, shills, and bigots have ruined it for me. To top it off, I was recently banned by admins (not mods) for "attempting to evade a subbreddit ban" which was a result of my using a VPN - no thanks.

wor3q 9y ago
It actually has a switch to turn nagging about app off. It's 'ask to open in app' in menu. No banners or popups about the app since I've flipped it.
- bdefore 9y ago
  Which not useful if you prefer to lurk rather than login or use incognito/firefox focus to browse.
  - josefresco 9y ago
    This is why I never saw the setting to disable the app prompt. Reddit tracks every single action on their site (no duh) and I don't feel like being monitored when I'm on the toilet looking for LULZ
    - teach 9y ago
      For the record, I'm sure they track you just as much even if you've never created an account.
      - josefresco 9y ago
        I smiled when writing that, expecting this very response ;) - I'll just stay away completely as per my parent comment edit. The kicker is that Reddit's "activity feed" in the right hand sidebar is what revealed, or reminded me of this behavior. Without it, I probably would have continued to ignore the obvious / bury my head in the sand. Thanks Reddit!

ChrisSD 9y ago

It's not just the splash that's frustrating on mobile. I dislike staring at a logo for ages just so I can eventually read one comment page. I'm sure this is fun for people who use reddit regularly but as only an occasional visitor I would rather do without it.

Vinnl 9y ago

You can disable that banner in the hamburger menu when logged in. Yes, you'd expect it to be gone after the first time you dismiss it, but you will probably still want to know that you can remove it :)

hyperpallium 9y ago

protip: append ".compact" to the URL (before the "?" query string, if any). All reddit links will also now automatically have .compact. Bookmark it. Starter pack: https://www.reddit.com/.compact https://www.reddit.com/.compact https://www.reddit.com/r/all.compact https://www.reddit.com/r/all.compact https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/.compact https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/.compact This gives the old reddit mobile experience, which is far lighter and better. But some things are broken, e.g. "submit" is broken; "parent" take you to the modern mobile version (but "conext" works); "sidebar" needs a separate page. To any reddit admins reading: please don't take this functionality away.

wanda 9y ago
You can also just change the subdomain to i.reddit.com instead of www.reddit.com to achieve the same effect. e.g. https://i.reddit.com/r/all https://i.reddit.com/r/all I personally find this quicker to type.
- hyperpallium 9y ago
  TIL BTW another breakage is no comment "delete" link; need to switch back for that.

api 9y ago

I never download "the app" because I know the privacy and security settings of my browser will not apply there and everything on my phone will get hoovered.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Fifer82 9y ago

I completely agree and even when you just accept all this and actually get the App, it is pretty terrible (on IOS). As in, it stops loading posts, and stops infinite scrolling, so you have to basically kill the app, then go back into it. I don't see how that is more useful than the website or a better experience. Also another issue is that many links just don't work. I can't see `streamable` and many others because the page that opens has no touch detection. I have to select `...` then go to `Open in Safari` to make it work. Reddit and YouTube are the only things stopping my IPad from gathering dust.

dingaling 9y ago

There's not even any content to be obscured if JS is disabled, as I tend to do on phones to minimise data usage.

andrepd 9y ago

Try i.reddit.com. I still use it, and I'm still annoyed to no end when the "modern" mobile website loads instead, with its ~5 second splash screen that loads less information than the former does in goddamn instant.

akkat 9y ago

And after clicking that small hard to see button, get ready for another popup if you want to watch a gif

josteink 9y ago

> the reddit website has become a travesty - especially on mobile. A huge "DOWNLOAD THE REDDIT APP" banner obscures literally 30% of the page. Somewhere under preferences you can disable this bullshit forever. The website is still a travesty though.

dredmorbius 9y ago
Not: 1. That I've found. 2. For unauthenticated sessions. I hit Reddit via Incognito mode frequently. That goddamned nag shows up every goddamned time.

akvadrako 9y ago

It's a lot worse than that; m.reddit.com hasn't displayed anything except a white blank page on Safari on iOS for over a year.

hiccuphippo 9y ago

I use one of the third party apps. I tried the official app but it forces you to open external links in their embedded chrome/webview. The third party simply opens them in my browser.

nimbix 9y ago

It's because they want your device's advertiser ID so they can associate it with your interests based on subreddits you visit. There's gold in them ad targeting data hills.

ProAm 9y ago

i.reddit.com is what I was using. Super compact and pretty easy to use. But its not meant for participating only for browsing.

JoshMnem 9y ago

Also too much animation. Material Design has accessibility problems for motion sensitivity.

steveklabnik 9y ago

Even worse, the app loses features of the site that are super super important, like the "duplicates" tab.