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We can thank developers for the widespread usage of "telemetry" in apps. (Even the word "telemetry" is designed to mask it's real meaning: tracking. Would any d

We can thank developers for the widespread usage of "telemetry" in apps. (Even the word "telemetry" is designed to mask it's real meaning: tracking. Would any developer use the more honest word? Of course not.) If you want to learn how your users use your software - simply ask them. There are lots of cheap research methods from the usability field. Expect more telemetry in desktop apps, particularly with the rise of Electron. Developers don't oppose these developments, they are often the ones who initiate these tracking features in the first place. Witness the popularity of Electron-based Visual Studio Code with built-in telemetry. Most developers could not care less.

tazjin 5y ago
> If you want to learn how your users use your software - simply ask them And thus lose input from most of your users. This then skews your decisions towards the slim fraction of users that can be bothered to fill in surveys and such, and eventually you lose the other users. (Opt-in) telemetry is totally fine, IMO. It would be preferable that companies self-host the backend though.
- rhn_mk1 5y ago
  While the observation seems correct, I would not be too hasty to view it as a justification of telemetry. Instead, I propose viewing it as a vicious cycle that should be fought.