I am always suspicious of any device that requires an app. It feels so unnecessary in most cases. Everything from headphones to lawnmowers to air fryers seems t

I am always suspicious of any device that requires an app. It feels so unnecessary in most cases. Everything from headphones to lawnmowers to air fryers seems to have an app now. Often the app is bad in terms of its functionality because it’s an afterthought. But I’m more concerned about the privacy around them. Sure, I can deny all the permissions I want. But as a consumer, I feel like there have been situations where I see something unusual, for example, in search results or recommendations, that makes me feel like I have a leak in my privacy somewhere. And I think these apps are part of it. I don’t fully trust the privacy model of smartphones and the apps on them. But I shouldn’t have to either. There are also many apps that do not work unless you give them a lot of permissions. And it feels like there is no good reason to require those permissions. I feel like such apps should be banned from the App Store. PS: an air fryer is just a small convection oven. You can just use your oven or get a small countertop one.