Make something people don't want and force them to use it by building an evil moat?
Every platform that grows large/ is successful will eventually "hate it's users" as it needs to be profitable. Currently that means, at least for the solved version, invading privacy/showing ads/selling user information.
Apple don't have any editorial control of iOS Safari, and I doubt they'd ever reject an app because of a website trying to force you to use it.
I believe the point they are trying to make is Reddit is tying access to pornography to installing the app, thus making an explicit connection between porn and their app, while Apple bans apps featuring adult content from the app store completely.
That ban has been leaky for a while -- HBO & Cinemax have carried pornographic content for decades, yet both have apps in the App Store. On top of that, you could buy HBO & Cinemax directly from Apple before the launch of HBO MAX earlier this year.
It’s a stretch to call anything on HBO or Cinemax pornographic.
Cinemax at least shows content that is softcore erotica by any definition. Though from what my [dead] sibling comment says, maybe they no longer have this sort of programming.
From looking over their Wikipedia entry, it looks like Cinemax has backed away from adult content, but the last time I was a subscriber (around 2016/2017), their app had a less-than-obvious "late night" section buried in its navigation.
I dunno. Cinemax had the reputation of being "Skinemax" for a while. They've moved out of the business though.
IIRC iOS rule is that adult content can’t be discoverable. That’s why NSFW subreddits don’t autocomplete, for example.
Best of all, it promises it's anonymous if you install the app.
That seems to be both an implausible claim and hard for a user to verify.
That websites can tell whether a user is using incognito mode is an egregious browser bug.
Does Safari have a "use desktop site" option?
Interesting, forcing mobile Safari to pretend it’s a desktop solves the issue.
Yes, unfortunately reddit pays engineers to obfuscate use cases so they can push notifications and steal your attention. The mobile app didn't even have (lasi I checked) a (n intuitive) way to get to r/friends short of actually clicking on a link to that feed a user has posted. The lights are on but it seems no one is home
They do for their current site, but old.Reddit.com is still available with all content unblocked.