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Ask HN: No cynical answers, why do companies push their apps so hard?

14 points by simonw ↗ HN
Medium and Reddit are two examples of sites that promote their mobile applications aggressively any time I visit their websites on my phone.

I have my own theories as to why they do this, but I'd love to understand the genuine reasons for this. Is it about analytics? Push notifications for re-engagement?

Asking for non-cynical answers here in the hope of getting to the truth... though maybe the truth here is pretty cynical?

16 comments

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simonw
My top theory is that this is about login: keeping users signed in allows for a genuinely better user experience, and staying logged in for an app is way easier than in mobile web - especially given that in-app browsers as seen in Facebook and Twitter and so on don't share cookies with the main browser (at least on iOS).
jka
That theory seems likely to me.

There's a large amount of architecture-and-effort debt built up as a result of it though: duplicate feature implementations, redundant app build and deployment infrastructure, silo'd marketing channels, end-user experience inconsistencies.. the list goes on.

Would there be a way to make applications always-available to users (achieving that goal of reduced friction) at a web address without resorting to this strange attempt to end-run around the browser?

RicoElectrico
Push notifications, which platform owners decided should go through Firebase (Android) or APNS (iOS) for "power saving reasons" (only one connection open all the time)
bdcrazy
It may be along the lines of wishful thinking trying to have a more captive audience than in a browser. A browser has things like a home page, back button, bookmarks etc that are easily accessible. When you're in the app, everything points to more stuff in the app. One large metric appears to be engagement, its harder to track engagement in a browser than a dedicated app. Anything that keeps you engaged is good, anything that may lead you away is not. But its just as easy to hit the home button on a phone as well to get to the next thing.
AnimalMuppet
I think you're right, but you don't go far enough. I think you're missing a mechanism. The browser doesn't notify you. With the browser, you got to reddit (or whoever) when you think of them, and not before. But with the app they can pop up a notification, and have a chance of you looking at reddit before you would have thought of it on your own.
happymellon
LinkedIn. I removed shortly after installing it because it kept want to tell me that I may have missed some recruters update.

What a shitty default, they think they are increasing engagement but it made me uninstall the app, and use LinkedIn less.

qwertyuiop12
Engagement statistics basically.

The first cause is that in general users use more their phone than their computer.

The second cause is a corollary of the first cause and the existence of tools such as push notifications.

james-skemp
In addition to the other answers ad blocking and content access are two others.

The barrier to block ads in an app are higher than blocking it in a browser.

Circumventing paywalls is generally harder in-app than via a browser.

eptcyka
You get to collect a lot more data. Both Reddit and Medium don't earn much from most users directly, so they supplement income by selling data about it's users.
bin_bash
They do? What data and to who?
nitwit005
There are no ad blockers in the apps. There's a higher percentage of people who will allow notifications from an app.
paskozdilar
Because apps can send notifications, which serve as a reward mechanisms that keep you addicted to the app.