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People say this a lot, but really, what can a native app track that a web app can't? To track location, you need to give the app permission, just like the web.

People say this a lot, but really, what can a native app track that a web app can't? To track location, you need to give the app permission, just like the web. To receive push notifications, you need to give the app permission, just like the web. I think this claim is unfounded.

deleted 5y ago
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Jensson 5y ago
On the web you can browse most sites without even logging in. Not so in mobile apps. This is makes a huge difference in terms of data gathering. And no, you can't just force everyone to login to your web app since then your search ranking will tank. Some sites tries to work around this, but so far most sites people use lets you browse without logging in.
brundolf 5y ago
On Android an app can do all kinds of crazy stuff without permission like draw over other apps; I assume some of that could be useful for tracking On iOS though you can't do that stuff, and I would tend to think apps are more sandboxed than websites (no cookies, for one). I don't know for sure though; I'd love to hear more from someone who has more firsthand experience.
kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
Computers are kept in a fixed or limited number of locations. Phones are tracking devices that follow you throughout the day. The data they generate is far more valuable for building a consumer profile.
- amw-zero 5y ago
  You're talking about desktops vs. laptops / mobile phones. That has nothing to do with mobile vs. web. A phone can run a web browser.
  - kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
    A mobile app can get location updates every 15 minutes even when you're not using it. A web page can only request location when the browser is processing its requests.
manigandham 5y ago
Native apps have much more access to lower level APIs and had fixed identity that could be shared with all other apps. The web was always limited by JS access, processing power, network connectivity, and a very fragile identity graph that was routinely reset. That's why Safari's battle on privacy is routinely seen as a misguided effort by most of the adtech industry that knows that SDKs in mobile apps reveal a magnitude more data.
schwartzworld 5y ago
To give you an idea, web apps can't track location while running in the background no matter what permissions you give them. Native apps can track you while running in the background
- kaba0 5y ago
  And they only do it with specific permissions.

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Jensson 5y ago

On the web you can browse most sites without even logging in. Not so in mobile apps. This is makes a huge difference in terms of data gathering. And no, you can't just force everyone to login to your web app since then your search ranking will tank. Some sites tries to work around this, but so far most sites people use lets you browse without logging in.

brundolf 5y ago

On Android an app can do all kinds of crazy stuff without permission like draw over other apps; I assume some of that could be useful for tracking On iOS though you can't do that stuff, and I would tend to think apps are more sandboxed than websites (no cookies, for one). I don't know for sure though; I'd love to hear more from someone who has more firsthand experience.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago

Computers are kept in a fixed or limited number of locations. Phones are tracking devices that follow you throughout the day. The data they generate is far more valuable for building a consumer profile.

amw-zero 5y ago
You're talking about desktops vs. laptops / mobile phones. That has nothing to do with mobile vs. web. A phone can run a web browser.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
  A mobile app can get location updates every 15 minutes even when you're not using it. A web page can only request location when the browser is processing its requests.

manigandham 5y ago

Native apps have much more access to lower level APIs and had fixed identity that could be shared with all other apps. The web was always limited by JS access, processing power, network connectivity, and a very fragile identity graph that was routinely reset. That's why Safari's battle on privacy is routinely seen as a misguided effort by most of the adtech industry that knows that SDKs in mobile apps reveal a magnitude more data.

schwartzworld 5y ago

To give you an idea, web apps can't track location while running in the background no matter what permissions you give them. Native apps can track you while running in the background

kaba0 5y ago
And they only do it with specific permissions.