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Mobile apps better support their business model: - Push notifications. Last time I installed the app (to test this) the default notification settings are unrea

Mobile apps better support their business model: - Push notifications. Last time I installed the app (to test this) the default notification settings are unreal - literally dozens of push notifications per day. If you change your notification settings in the app to essentially turn off everything Facebook will still send you a few per day as in "Hey, you don't seem to be addicted to the app and use it every hour. Here's a reminder for you to jump back in and get those dopamine hits you're missing." This of course translates to more add views (and potential clicks), more DAUs, etc. - Greater access to XYZ on mobile. Apple famously cracked down on this a bit but it's still more data. - Doom scrolling. It's easier for people (and I think they're more conditioned) to swipe endlessly on a mobile device vs scrolling on desktop. Again more add views/clicks, etc.

Cenk 4y ago
- No ad blocking on mobile
- kkielhofner 4y ago
  Thanks, can't believe I forgot this one!
  - i67vw3 4y ago
    It is the main one, no-adblocking at all or limited, but only DNS based.
- HWR_14 4y ago
  I think -greater access to XYZ also needs to be expanded It's the way FB can track you in the real world, via GPS, have direct access to various sensors, locate people you are in the same room as, etc. I honestly think that might be worth more than the "no ad blocking", given that FB can use that data to deliver ads on many other people's apps.
danpalmer 4y ago
I suspect all of these also apply to Reddit. The new Reddit web interface makes the Facebook web interface look fast. It's amazing just how slow it is – many buttons take multiple seconds to respond, scrolling is nearly unusable, all on high-end modern computers in modern browsers.
- driscoll42 4y ago
  I'm sticking to old.reddit.com as long as I can, I dread the day they get rid of it as an option.
  - folkrav 4y ago
    The day old.reddit.com disappears is the day I stop browsing Reddit on desktop, just like the day their API access gets too restrictive for third-party clients to make sense (which I wouldn't be surprised to happen at some point, given how they're treating it with the newest features) is the day I'll stop browsing on mobile. Their main site and app are both utter garbage.
    - seqastian 4y ago
      Apollo.app on apple silicon macs to the rescue.
    - dkarl 4y ago
      > The day old.reddit.com disappears is the day I stop browsing Reddit on desktop I know threats like this are cliche, especially about UI refreshes of long-loved web sites, but this one rings true for me. Like Facebook, I'll miss some of the content, but at a certain point the experience isn't worth it.
      - Fatnino 4y ago
        Reddit should know. It was a major beneficiary when digg did then same thing to themselves.
    - 4y ago
mavhc 4y ago
The notifications don't actually work either, I'm not taken to the post/comment they're referring to
michaelchisari 4y ago
There's a lesson in here about how A/B testing around KPIs that don't account for user experience will eventually drift your app into an unusable mess. You'll hit your metrics every month but every month the site will get worse.
sebazzz 4y ago
The mobile website is also a joke. I don't care it hasn't adopted their latest design language, but they killed the messenger function - and even didn't bother to put a proper message up. Instead you just get a "page not found".
- philsnow 4y ago
  mbasic.facebook.com is like old.reddit.com; crusty and still largely works
  - sebazzz 4y ago
    Thank you, I didn't know that one but it is much more efficient than m.facebook.com.
tomjen3 4y ago
I am not sure about 1, at least it has been a long time since I got a dopamine hit from FB. Mostly it seems to be trying to guilt me into liking somebody else post, but most likely somebody just needs to keep some numbers up for internal use. As for access on mobile, they are far more contained to within app, at least on iOS. On the web they can have their cookie everywhere.

Cenk 4y ago

- No ad blocking on mobile

kkielhofner 4y ago
Thanks, can't believe I forgot this one!
- i67vw3 4y ago
  It is the main one, no-adblocking at all or limited, but only DNS based.
HWR_14 4y ago
I think -greater access to XYZ also needs to be expanded It's the way FB can track you in the real world, via GPS, have direct access to various sensors, locate people you are in the same room as, etc. I honestly think that might be worth more than the "no ad blocking", given that FB can use that data to deliver ads on many other people's apps.

danpalmer 4y ago

I suspect all of these also apply to Reddit. The new Reddit web interface makes the Facebook web interface look fast. It's amazing just how slow it is – many buttons take multiple seconds to respond, scrolling is nearly unusable, all on high-end modern computers in modern browsers.

driscoll42 4y ago
I'm sticking to old.reddit.com as long as I can, I dread the day they get rid of it as an option.
- folkrav 4y ago
  The day old.reddit.com disappears is the day I stop browsing Reddit on desktop, just like the day their API access gets too restrictive for third-party clients to make sense (which I wouldn't be surprised to happen at some point, given how they're treating it with the newest features) is the day I'll stop browsing on mobile. Their main site and app are both utter garbage.
  - seqastian 4y ago
    Apollo.app on apple silicon macs to the rescue.
  - dkarl 4y ago
    > The day old.reddit.com disappears is the day I stop browsing Reddit on desktop I know threats like this are cliche, especially about UI refreshes of long-loved web sites, but this one rings true for me. Like Facebook, I'll miss some of the content, but at a certain point the experience isn't worth it.
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      Reddit should know. It was a major beneficiary when digg did then same thing to themselves.
  - 4y ago

mavhc 4y ago

The notifications don't actually work either, I'm not taken to the post/comment they're referring to

michaelchisari 4y ago

There's a lesson in here about how A/B testing around KPIs that don't account for user experience will eventually drift your app into an unusable mess. You'll hit your metrics every month but every month the site will get worse.

sebazzz 4y ago

The mobile website is also a joke. I don't care it hasn't adopted their latest design language, but they killed the messenger function - and even didn't bother to put a proper message up. Instead you just get a "page not found".

philsnow 4y ago
mbasic.facebook.com is like old.reddit.com; crusty and still largely works
- sebazzz 4y ago
  Thank you, I didn't know that one but it is much more efficient than m.facebook.com.

tomjen3 4y ago

I am not sure about 1, at least it has been a long time since I got a dopamine hit from FB. Mostly it seems to be trying to guilt me into liking somebody else post, but most likely somebody just needs to keep some numbers up for internal use. As for access on mobile, they are far more contained to within app, at least on iOS. On the web they can have their cookie everywhere.