Ask Lemmy

I usually just use the website in a mobile browser as I generally avoid websites that require an app. It's an unnecessary waste of space when the website could just work in a mobile browser but some developers, whether it's because of incompetence or it's actually intentional, either limit what features are available in mobile browsers or just make the website not work at all.

I have too many fucking apps on my phone already. I'd much rather use websites.

I try to use mobile web versions saved as an app shortcut. When you install a real app it usually comes with a bunch of permissions needed and trackers collecting your info in the background. Bad for privacy and battery life. Classyshark helps scan the trackers and a firewall can disable wifi access on app by app basis but thats a lot more trouble than just not installing a bunch if junk apps.The exception is that I trust open source software from fdroid with a public github repo.

Mostly mobile web for everything, apps for a couple of restaurants/groceries and for tickets to concerts because that is unavoidable at this time.

For Lemmy, website.

If its open source and privacy respecting then I'll use the app. If its not and I have to use the service then website

Apps 💯

I use a lot of web apps on my iPhone. Like for memos the moememos app adds nothing…

Mix of both. Messengers, Mastodon and YouTube, mostly apps (except when I want to listen to YT in the background). Maps and games, also apps. But for Lemmy I use the web frontend because I haven't yet found a convincing app and the web frontend is good enough.

Uhaul wanted me to download their app to return a truck after hours. I will at most use uhaul once a year, but I'm not moving more frequently than that. In cases like that I'll use websites. Same goes for restaurants and other stores

I've recently cleaned up my Android phone and switched from apps to websites where possible and it's a surprisingly good experience!

Most apps these days seem to be web browser wrappers ether way. Firefox on Android allows to turn any page into a self contained instance (like an app) which is very convenient. I can also install Ublock Origin to block ads and other firefox addons which is amazing. In particular I use addon called Stylus to adjust styling of some pages.

It definitely feels like we're going full circle now: early desktop apps -> web browser -> smartphones launch native apps -> back to web browser The only thing holding back web browsers is Apple purposefully breaking the web to protect their 30% appstore cut.

Apps I can't handle websites on my phone

Websites wherever possible.

I will fight the dark patterns trying to manipulate me into using the app also.

If I cannot do anything without the app I will not use said service.

Something I use infrequently: website 10/10 times

It’s only if I use something almost daily that I’ll install an app for it.

I hate apps with a passion, desktop version is almost always better unless it's a shit website like tiktok or "x".

YouTube desktop has always been better than mobile for instance.

I use the mobile versions instead of apps, largely because it's easier to block ads and better for one's privacy.

I hate using apps for things that could be websites, to the point that I don't use certain kinds of services that are app-only (e.g. e-scooter rentals).

I might use an app, but when the app is just a browser with no additional effort, that enrages me

I very rarely adopt apps anymore, most of what I do with my phone is in Firefox or the default utilities.

Desktop websites. Mobile sites are just garbage.

The website, I prefer to switch on the desktop site than using an app. Only exceptions? FOSS apps that are on F-droid

Apps if I use the website enough to justify it. I have apps for all my favorite fast food places so I can order ahead.

I mostly use websites in order to use ad blockers and many apps use far more storage than necessary. I mostly use apps when they have functionality that I want that the website is missing or when the app just offers a significantly better experience than the website.

Usually apps.

Right now I'm trying Instagram and Facebook as website shortcuts. I watch reels on Instagram and people send event invites on Facebook (birthdays and whatnot) but I don't like having them installed. The reels scrolling fucks up very often but otherwise it's fine.

In the end I don't know why I'm bothering, since I use messenger with a few people and I can't seem to use that without an app (or going to my PC every time).

Apps for things I use frequently. Websites are just inefficient in general.

App if I use it often, website for everything else. The UI is usually better in the app. Many mobile websites are a pain to use. Plus I have a system-wide ad blocker

I usually use apps but I still block the creepy tracking and stuff with DNS and disable location permissions.

Whatever is more convenient.

Generally speaking I try to look for the app first, because that's the most optimized experience for mobile, while the browser version is often not very smooth. But apps lately are getting so awful that the browser version is better.

E.g. YouTube is in the browser for me, because Firefox + uBlock combo is the only way to avoid ads.

As ads today are to be avoided due to privacy and security reasons, I got rid of all apps that are flagged as "contains ads" in Google Play store.

Just a funny story from a few months ago: one day when I opened LinkedIn, an unusual screen welcomed me, that I couldn't jump over: I had to pick where I wanted ads to appear without the LinkedIn app, with two choices: either above private messages or in-between posts. I deleted the app instead. Then I wanted to use it in the browser, but it didn't work in Firefox, the website just froze after login. So yeah. No more LinkedIn for me. Sometimes I log in on desktop to see if there's anything, but it's getting so rare, basically there's nothing to see there.

So if neither is convenient to use, then I use neither.

I really hate it when they make the website unusable to force you to use their app. So for that reason alone I’ll never download the yelp app.

If what I want to do is no different on an app than on the website through a browser, I just use the browser.

Website.

The only exceptions are imdb

YouTube when on mobile

Gmail app when on mobile

Other then that use the website. If the company is too stupid to fix their website and make it use standards so it supports normal browsers and not just one specific browser, then I just don’t go there

i use mobile sites whenever possible, but if it's something i use often and the app is more convient i'll relent. looking at my home screen it's all mostly things that don't have a web equivalent. i'll use an app for things that i WANT notifications for, so really only mastodon and email. for mbin specifically i use the PWA because i'm not sure if any kbin/lemmy/whatever apps work with it, and the user CSS themes are pretty neat

I don't use websites on mobile.

I generally prefer the app, in most scenarios. But it depends on what the platform is. Some will just perform better in the app because the app is the main focus of the platform, but others are just a web wrapper for the mobile site and just eat up space on your device for no discernible reason.

I find that it's also generally easier to sandbox permissions on a per-app basis than a per-website basis. So even though a lot of times the app is meant to be a vector to harvest more data out of the user, in the right setting it can actually be more secure than just using the website. But that's very situational.

i tend to only use the mobile version or desktop-in-mobile on firefox, because it works 90% of the time without me having to worry about yet-another-fucking-app

one big exception is banking.. but social media? im not using an app for a generic website.

If I use it daily, app. Else, website. I dont understand why every website that noone looks at more than twice a year needs an app.

For frequent use-cases, and where the technology is superior, I will use the native app version, and the web version for all other cases.

Web technology is generally slower than native apps

I use an app (Hermit) that allows me to appify and sandbox websites.

It's not perfect, but better than relying on Chrome or Firefox PWA mecanisms.