HN Explorer

Reddit keeps pushing me to use the app. Why?

12 points by allstunned ↗ HN
To be fair this isn't isolated to reddit. I confess my technical acumen leans on the SA side of the house. I am curious: can they soak up more user data versus a browser? I am referring to "industry accepted practices" for reputable sites/apps, not malicious ones. I just always seem to be getting pushed towards an app, often with missing functionality, and i just want to understand why.

6 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 24.7 ms ] thread
db48x
Yep. An app can get very accurate location info, unique device ids, and more. Plus nobody can run an adblocker in an app like they can in a browser.
cratermoon
Apps can access a lot more info about your device and your profile, and that data is all rolled up to sell ads.

in short: greed.

allstunned
Thanks for the link and all who replied! Will read that thread and keep avoiding apps.
readonthegoapp
I'm assuming the native app makes each user worth 5x a web user. There's prob a number out there somewhere.

So, if a web user is worth $1/user/month in profit, an app user is worth $5/user/month in profit.

kevinherron
The app can and will show you a lot of ads and you can't block them.

Your browser happily blocks them.