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It’s been one less since their app started spamming my phone with notifications a few months ago. I suspect those kinds of engagement hooks are part of the reas

It’s been one less since their app started spamming my phone with notifications a few months ago. I suspect those kinds of engagement hooks are part of the reason they have been pushing the app so hard, but I got so tired of it that I uninstalled it from my phone. Fortunately they’ve also made the mobile/web experience so horrible that I’m not even tempted to wade back in. I had been a daily user for more than 10 years until that point.

NortySpock 6y ago
If i.reddit.com (which actually has a usable mobile web interface) ever gets pulled down, my mobile usage will go away with it. The modern mobile web experience of reddit.com is garbage.
free2OSS 6y ago
What kind of phone doesn't let you turn off notifications by app?
- EvilPaticus 6y ago
  I mean, that's not really the point though. It would be nice to be able to use the notifications that make sense without the spam. Way to many apps do this these days.
- cgearhart 6y ago
  None, but the app had notifications enabled because they were previously using them reasonably (eg when someone replied to a comment). Then they started using them for all kinds of other things like “did you see the new post in /r/funny?”, and while I _could_ just turn off the notifications this was the last of many signals that their objectives and motivations no longer align with a positive user experience for me. The overall quality of my experience on Reddit was slowly degrading for the past few years. I didn’t enjoy the culture of the subs I visited any more, or the apparent culture of the site overall—and Reddit itself seemed to be funneling me towards those people and places because that kind of mild controversy drives engagement. But it felt like it had become an unjustifiable waste of time because I wasn’t even being enriched or entertained anymore. They started pushing harder to share my location, watch live broadcasts, use their chat, started abusing app notifications, and the ads became surprisingly intrusive. Eventually I just decided to leave. I don’t really begrudge them any of the changes if it helps them build a successful, sustainable business that their users enjoy—I’m just not interested in the new experiences and functionality they have prioritized.
vxNsr 6y ago
I don’t understand this mentality, I have 3 apps that can send notifications: phone, messages and WhatsApp. Everything else is blocked. I don’t want to see notifications for 99% of apps every once in a while I’ll be tempted into letting an app use notifications and immediately regret it and disable.
- rantwasp 6y ago
  yeah. notifications are an attention drain. i virtually have no notifications on my phone. pull, not push for me.
  - flukus 6y ago
    One of the best comments I've ever read on HN said that they should be called interruptions not notifications. Interruptions are fine for certain things, but not the vast majority of them. The biggest one I've switched off is email notifications and it's made me so much more organized. Instead of swiping away an interruption when I can't respond properly I'll pull the information when I do have time/ability to respond, bills now get paid on time for example. Google is one of the biggest offenders at re-enabling it's own notification though. Youtube, an app I don't want and can't remove decided to start spamming me again last week.
    - vxNsr 6y ago
      Yup. This is one of the reasons that I don’t like android. Unfortunately now that apple is becoming a service provider also (Apple TV+, News+, etc) with apps that rely on engagement metrics I’m worried that I’ll start having this problem as well. The shortcuts app already doesn’t have a notifications setting but still can do notifications that buzz and make a sound.
- airstrike 6y ago
  I don't even let Whatsapp send notifications, and I only allow messages because I hardly ever get them... Even then, I silence message alerts most people other than my wife For me it's essentially my work e-mail (not personal), the WSJ, my credit card, my calendar and Accuweather. Everything else can forever hold its peace
fnord77 6y ago
can't block ads on the app unless you go through a pihole or something. plus I suspect they can gather more info on people with an app than with a mobile browser

NortySpock 6y ago

If i.reddit.com (which actually has a usable mobile web interface) ever gets pulled down, my mobile usage will go away with it. The modern mobile web experience of reddit.com is garbage.

free2OSS 6y ago

What kind of phone doesn't let you turn off notifications by app?

EvilPaticus 6y ago
I mean, that's not really the point though. It would be nice to be able to use the notifications that make sense without the spam. Way to many apps do this these days.
cgearhart 6y ago
None, but the app had notifications enabled because they were previously using them reasonably (eg when someone replied to a comment). Then they started using them for all kinds of other things like “did you see the new post in /r/funny?”, and while I _could_ just turn off the notifications this was the last of many signals that their objectives and motivations no longer align with a positive user experience for me. The overall quality of my experience on Reddit was slowly degrading for the past few years. I didn’t enjoy the culture of the subs I visited any more, or the apparent culture of the site overall—and Reddit itself seemed to be funneling me towards those people and places because that kind of mild controversy drives engagement. But it felt like it had become an unjustifiable waste of time because I wasn’t even being enriched or entertained anymore. They started pushing harder to share my location, watch live broadcasts, use their chat, started abusing app notifications, and the ads became surprisingly intrusive. Eventually I just decided to leave. I don’t really begrudge them any of the changes if it helps them build a successful, sustainable business that their users enjoy—I’m just not interested in the new experiences and functionality they have prioritized.

vxNsr 6y ago

I don’t understand this mentality, I have 3 apps that can send notifications: phone, messages and WhatsApp. Everything else is blocked. I don’t want to see notifications for 99% of apps every once in a while I’ll be tempted into letting an app use notifications and immediately regret it and disable.

rantwasp 6y ago
yeah. notifications are an attention drain. i virtually have no notifications on my phone. pull, not push for me.
- flukus 6y ago
  One of the best comments I've ever read on HN said that they should be called interruptions not notifications. Interruptions are fine for certain things, but not the vast majority of them. The biggest one I've switched off is email notifications and it's made me so much more organized. Instead of swiping away an interruption when I can't respond properly I'll pull the information when I do have time/ability to respond, bills now get paid on time for example. Google is one of the biggest offenders at re-enabling it's own notification though. Youtube, an app I don't want and can't remove decided to start spamming me again last week.
  - vxNsr 6y ago
    Yup. This is one of the reasons that I don’t like android. Unfortunately now that apple is becoming a service provider also (Apple TV+, News+, etc) with apps that rely on engagement metrics I’m worried that I’ll start having this problem as well. The shortcuts app already doesn’t have a notifications setting but still can do notifications that buzz and make a sound.
airstrike 6y ago
I don't even let Whatsapp send notifications, and I only allow messages because I hardly ever get them... Even then, I silence message alerts most people other than my wife For me it's essentially my work e-mail (not personal), the WSJ, my credit card, my calendar and Accuweather. Everything else can forever hold its peace

fnord77 6y ago

can't block ads on the app unless you go through a pihole or something. plus I suspect they can gather more info on people with an app than with a mobile browser