THIS IS ACTUALLY SO REAL FUCKING SMARTPHONES I HATE STEVE JOBS FUCK YOU WHY DID YOU RUIN TECHNOLOGY.

ok rant over, but seriously though, it's so fucked how you basically just need a smartphone to do ANYTHING these days. I don't want a phone, i have no use for one.

I'm young and I fucking hate apps. I have android phone without a google account which works well for the most part. I'm too dumb to install LineageOS. and Linux phones aren't really an option in the US.

Phone apps are nothing more than modern toolbars. And in case you forgot or missed this phase of the internet...

I for one cheer and root for my flip phone friends.

I'd never do it, but we have one at work and he's singlehandedly causing so much grief at work. Because none of the engineers wanna use a security app for login. They want a fob.

IT refuses to pay for fobs and wants us to use an app, but they also don't want to pay for a phone for anyone in engineering just to use the security app because it opens a floodgate of people with company phones.

It's just wonderful to watch this fight from the sidelines sipping tea.

There should be a warning label on any establishment or product that requires a smartphone to use.

I use a dumbphone. I'm not buying a smartphone just so I can play these stupid games, and I'm not installing an app for every fucking business I interact with. I realize there will one day be a point where I won't be able to do things I need to do without one, but until then I have no desire for one. Fortunately they haven't made the parking meters here require a smartphone yet.

My grocery store still uses loyalty cards for most discounts (which is irritating enough), but also has "digital coupons" that require an app so I can't get that. Theoretically I could go to their website and print them off but that's not worth the effort. I have to pay close attention to the price signs they put up because some of them say "with digital coupon" in small print, meaning "not for you, bitch". You know who doesn't pull this kind of shit? Walmart. So I wind up getting a lot of my groceries there so as not to be discriminated against.

I wouldn't mind these apps if there was actually a technical need for them beyond just being a Chromium component, but with added data slurping and pointless notifications.

If I have to use an app to use your product/store, I won't use your product/store, with a side helping of go fuck yourself on top.

everyone wants to force you to use apps instead of websites, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of apps are just websites..in a app wrapper, because normal websites and normal browsers have inbuilt protections for you.

Apps don't.

Idiots install apps, give them the 400,000 permissions they ask for, then go on their merry way..ignorant to the fact that they just installed a data vacuum on their phone thats siphoning everything off of it to be used and sold and resold for marketing purposes.. Even the phone itself its not safe, cause its sitting there, listening to your conversations, even when not on a call, to more "Accurately" spam you with bullshit.

It's true in many ways. If I buy McDonald's without the app I pay more for it. If I fill up my gas tank without an app like upside, I pay more for it. There are services that aren't even available to people without modern phones (I refuse to call them smart phones). Maybe we need legislation to ensure all available discounts, services and benefits are available to customers equally regardless of how they engage services.

I'm open to hear if you guys disagree with me, but that is not simply about not having a smartphone as much as it is about not having cell service, not using data service. If a person uses a libre VoIP app, there is no need for cell service, and people actually can live happy lives disconnected from internet when they are outside or in public.

Society must revert their mentality and not expect constant immediate access to everything. Absolutely nothing happens on the internet for personal activity that can't wait a few hours or the next day.

I use phone only for direct communication, zero multimedia, zero social media on phone. Everything else is done on computer. Especially banking, that is on computer website only for security, never on phone. I despise and resent using a phone for websites

Not having a phone really sucks in this day and age. Imagine getting out of jail for something stupid like marijuana possession and then a parole violation due to a missed appointment. No one will hire you with your rap sheet. You live in a halfway house with a bunch of petty BS every day. And you can't keep up with your parole demands because of how much your lack of a phone gets in your way. At the end of the day, there IS a way to succeed if you make the right choices, but shit, it's just so much harder for some people to make the right choices when every day is crisis mode. And all because of WHAT?

These useless apps make Linux phone adoption harder, fuck them!

I'm in California where we have a grocery chain, Safeway. They've had a loyalty card for decades, which works great, gets you good deals, can be scanned by the checkout clerk or at self checkout. It also racks up points which can be used for discounts.

About 2 years ago I started seeing signs in the store offering even greater savings through the app. There will sometimes be 2 signs side by side for the loyalty card vs the app. The app is always a better deal.

So I downloaded the app and learned

• the app cannot scan your membership at self checkout, you have to be checked out by a clerk
• the app's membership number is different from your loyalty card number and the two cannot be merged.
• because of that your points can't be transferred to the app

It's the dumbest thing ever. Why not just offer the better savings to the loyalty card? Isn't that the whole point behind loyalty? I literally shop at Safeway less often now.

I literally had to switch bank accounts because I couldn't reset my password "on the web" and required me to use Virgin Money's app.

Customer service agent(s) on the phone after prolonged discussions why their app wouldn't work on three Android phones right in front of me surfaced, and I shit you not

Well sir, I have my iPhone here and can login just fine maybe you should buy one of those instead

That day I found out about this

https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/

Any time I'm required to use an app for something that could be a website, I leave the app a one star review.

As I've been making an effort to replace apps with the browser version of the service. It's so abundantly clear that companies don't want you using their website.

Even if they don't outright cripple functionality, they'll hound you endlessly to install the app.

It's infuriating to say the least.