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Comment by thombles | Hacker News Reader

Smartphones are much less optional now too. To log in to government webapps I need to use a mobile app (https://www.mygovid.gov.au/) which is (naturally) only available via App Store/Play Store, which implies I need an Apple or Android and have an account open and in good standing with either Apple or Google respectively. Then there's MFA - every week on this site you'll read how using anything less than app-based MFA is reckless.

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Yeah, AU resident here and my phone (the cheapest possible thing I could buy at the time) is "too old" (less than 5 years!) to run the mygovid app (it barely ran the Covid login one), and I do really feel the squeeze from many directions to upgrade my phone.

I'm also rural, and I feel like this push is being largely driven by people who can regularly afford new phones and upgrade to the latest thing, and who live in cities with excellent reception.

A major part of this in computing is security standards - old browsers and phones don't have encryption / controls that meet modern standards, plus manufacturers stop supporting the OS or providing patches.

The people operating mygovid & other identity apps would like the widest device support possible but to some extent their hands are tied by compliance requirements and what their security auditors tell them.

I live in the city with excellent reception and it takes me less than a day to make enough money to afford the latest flagship phone, yet I hate being forced to upgrade my phone.

I like my current S10+ which is 3.5 years old, and the fact that it's no longer on the latest Android version is completely ridiculous.

I don't even know what I can upgrade to if I want to keep using my microSD card and my wired headset.

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