Comment by Declanomous | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Declanomous | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

Anecdotal, but I don't use an app for any service that offers substantially similar service on their website. For instance, Facebook and Amazon have horribly bloated apps. They run in the background and eat up my battery. Their apps ask for permissions for unfathomable reasons. I place a link to the website on my desktop instead, since I can at least trust my browser won't eat up all my battery after I thought I closed it.

While I'm more tech savvy than most people I know, a lot of my friends have uninstalled the Facebook app as well, for a variety of similar reasons. Several have noticed what a battery hog it is, others got pissed off when Facebook added the messenger app, and others did it for privacy reasons.

Interestingly, I've noticed I use Facebook a lot less since deleting the app. I should see how my friends usage trends compare. I wonder if the friends who deleted the app have noticed a decrease in their Facebook usage, or if all my friends have decreased their usage and it's just a function of us being older/in different stages of life.

I'm relentlessly unwilling to use banking or shopping apps for similar reasons. Not only are they bloated and wasteful, they're typically pretty opaque, with a totally unknown attack surface.

My bank is barely competent to use HTTPS with valid certificates - why on Earth would I chance using their new-and-untested app when I can't see if it's worse than their website?

For banks specifically.. I can use an app to deposit checks via picture. I cannot do this via the website. So of my 20 apps I have installed, something like 3 are banks, 10 are games, and 7 are utilities...

It's a sweeping statement to say that banking apps are bloated. Some are very well made. I'm pretty happy with Chase's banking app to say the least.

There is very little reason to be tied into a particular bank these days. Why not switch to a more tech-literate one?

Most recently, regional branches. I was living somewhere pretty limited in in-person options, but I may switch now that I'm not.

The other answer is loans. If you get a good rate on a mortgage through a tech-illiterate bank, you're pretty solidly locked in.

There is no need to keep your checking where you have loans. I've also had success with running my main "hub" checking account out of an internet-only bank, with an account at a local credit union I use more rarely, when I need to do something in person.

In fact many of the banking apps seem to have stored usernames, passwords etc in the clear.

http://www.cnet.com/news/firm-finds-security-holes-in-mobile...

That was from 2010. Most banking apps on iOS use Touchid. If they are using TouchID, they have to store the passwords in Keychain which is encrypted. It's only after the user uses their password that the OS gives the app the stored password.

It's almost certainly correct that they use the Keychain for Touch ID. But I'd hedge that if they were bent on being insecure, they could use a different Touch ID mode that just returns a boolean. Does anyone know whether app review examines which mode they choose?

But they really really want you to use their app! They're hungry for those permissions, which will give them more data and give them more chances to "engage" you! They're tired of the limits of the web as a platform, and excited for the limits of native! And that app is a whole feather or kingdom for someone who's really killing it and going places, because apps are How We Do Things Now. Or maybe that's bots.

Same here. Deleted Facebook app long time ago. And now use their website every now and then. - Also the excitement of finding and trying out the latest and greatest apps are gone years ago.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com