All Devices Browser or app?

[CommanderCute]

Hi guys,

since today i have my first iPad and now i am faced with the question if i do different things in the browser or in the available app.

For example Amazon. On the MacBook I use the browser of course, on the iPhone also (because I do such things 99% of the time on the MacBook).

But now the iPad is supposed to replace my MacBook to a greater extent and now I ask myself the question whether I should use the browser for everything or switch to apps like Amazon, Paypal, Twitter etc.

How do you do it?

 

[one more]

My take on it that apps allow you an “always-on” solution, which can often mean they also use more storage and system resources in your device. Facebook app is one good example of it - a massive storage and battery eater. The on-line analogues are lighter in that respect, but then you need to log-in periodically.

I would suggest you test it both ways to see what works better for you. You can always delete an app and all its data from your device without losing anything on its online counterpart. 🖐

 

[twdawson]

If I can I always use the browser. Take YouTube as an example, the app always shows you ads unless you pay the subscription every month for ad free.
The browser with an ad blocker installed is a much better experience for me.

 

[Bazza1]

...and if there is a browser equivalent, of course you can always add a Homepage shortcut directly to the site - so pretty much access much as an app.

 

[twdawson]

That’s exactly the way I am doing it

 

[calliex]

I tend to use the browser more than the apps. Everyone has an app for everything. I think it would become unweildy to manage lots of apps. Sites I access a lot like imDB I use the app, infrequent sites I tend to use the browser.

 

[teeshot44]

IMHO, an app might use less data and battery that Safari. Can't offer accurate statistics though.

 

[sparksd]

One particular case I use Safari over the app - Prime Video. In the app, it will only stream at 720p but the browser will stream 1080p.

 

[one more]

IMHO, an app might use less data and battery that Safari. Can't offer accurate statistics though.

In Facebook example it seems to be the opposite. Also, web-developers are directly interested in the site’s light footprint and loading times, whereas iOS apps get considerably more chunky.

One advantage of an iOS app over Safari is instant notifications and working on the background. If this is not the case, though, the web version can offer a lighter way.

 

[MisterSavage]

I almost always use the app but for services where there's not an iPad app (hello Instagram) I use the web version. It's personal preference.

 

[digitalexplr]

And there are some cases (Amazon) where there are things you cannot do concerning your account via the app. You must logon from a browser.

 

[1193001]

brave browser for youtube no ads no privacy issues , amazon on browser also allows you to buy kindle books because apple doesn’t allow competition on appstore

 

[sparksd]

brave browser for youtube no ads no privacy issues , amazon on browser also allows you to buy kindle books because apple doesn’t allow competition on appstore

No, Amazon didn't want to pay the Apple surcharge on in-app content purchases. Don't blame them.

 

[Clarkk]

Choosing between browser or separate application, it always depends on certain situation, and what exact features do they have in this or that service. It looks like Apple makes more functions and features in their applications, comparing with website versions.

 

[throAU]

Be aware that every app is sandboxed and has its own permissions for what it can access.

If you run everything in your browser everything runs in the same sandbox.

So if you want to lock down what an application can access, you either need to block safari's access to everything or open it to everything rather than on an app by app basis.

I run most stuff in apps.

Facebook is an exception - I run it in a browser because I don't want that app running in the background doing who knows what. Once I close the browser tab its gone.

 

[Paco II]

Easy answer for me is, whichever is the better experience. In some cases, the native iPad-focused app is excellent. In other cases it is terrible and the web version is far superior.

 

[960design]

Browser over app any day. Web apps (PWAs) have come so far in the last few years. Native apps require a second ( or fifth ) development / maintenance cycle.

 

[Shirasaki]

If I can I always use the browser. Take YouTube as an example, the app always shows you ads unless you pay the subscription every month for ad free.
The browser with an ad blocker installed is a much better experience for me.

The catch is scribbling is harder on browser than app cause browser does not support double tap forward/rewind, which is rather inconvenient. Pause/resume is also somewhat harder than using it in the app.

 

[TheIntruder]

Unless there actually is a good reason to use an app, like a special feature that is omitted from a website, or only possible through an app, a browser is just fine, and there are reasons to be leery for those who are privacy conscious.

Time and again, apps have been revealed to collect information not relevant to their function, or outside of the scope of the intended usage. Uber (which continued to track users when the app wasn't in use, and actively tried to hide it from Apple), Facebook, some weather apps have all been fingered. Even if unintended by the developer, third party libraries employed in the app can do the same.

This data mining occurs in the background, and while it may not explicitly violate the terms of the App Store, or iOS, there is a trade off involved that most are unaware of, and the conscientious should object to.

Companies that push so hard to have users download their apps have more than your convenience as motivation. It's merely the carrot.

In the extreme, like Yelp, which has rendered their mobile site almost unusable to drive users to their app, it's adios.

It's too bad there isn't a Little Snitch for iOS.

 

[throAU]

Time and again, apps have been revealed to collect information not relevant to their function, or outside of the scope of the intended usage. Uber (which continued to track users when the app wasn't in use, and actively tried to hide it from Apple), Facebook, some weather apps have all been fingered. Even if unintended by the developer, third party libraries employed in the app can do the same.

This data mining occurs in the background, and while it may not explicitly violate the terms of the App Store, or iOS, there is a trade off involved that most are unaware of, and the conscientious should object to.

Replace the word "apps" with "websites" in your post and it is just as true. Especially if you use your browser for everything and state for everything you do is contained in your browser....

Not saying "don't run the browser version, apps are better" - merely that if you think you are getting away from that sort of thing by running the web version.... you aren't.

Running the web version can give you better battery life though because safari will be killed in the background and a lot of apps can/will run in the background by default.

 

[Abazigal]

Hi guys,

since today i have my first iPad and now i am faced with the question if i do different things in the browser or in the available app.

For example Amazon. On the MacBook I use the browser of course, on the iPhone also (because I do such things 99% of the time on the MacBook).

But now the iPad is supposed to replace my MacBook to a greater extent and now I ask myself the question whether I should use the browser for everything or switch to apps like Amazon, Paypal, Twitter etc.

How do you do it?

Depends on which is better, I guess.

For example, I use the apple store app in the browser since the app seems to be lacking the educational discount option (or at least I can't find it).

I browse Macrumours using the tapatalk app and view reddit in Apollo, which I find offer better reading experiences over the browser versions.

One advantage of using the browser version is that ad-blockers work with the websites, though I am also using the lockdown app (an on-device adblocker) and it seems to block out ads and trackers in apps themselves pretty well too.

Try both and see which works, I suppose.

 

[Shirasaki]

It's too bad there isn't a Little Snitch for iOS.

And probably never will be one. Apple also has their own dirty secret inside iOS that don’t want someone else know, outside the scope of intellectual property and copyright.

 

[throAU]

And probably never will be one. Apple also has their own dirty secret inside iOS that don’t want someone else know, outside the scope of intellectual property and copyright.

If you care, look at your home firewall logs.

 

[TheIntruder]

Replace the word "apps" with "websites" in your post and it is just as true. Especially if you use your browser for everything and state for everything you do is contained in your browser....

Not saying "don't run the browser version, apps are better" - merely that if you think you are getting away from that sort of thing by running the web version.... you aren't.

Running the web version can give you better battery life though because safari will be killed in the background and a lot of apps can/will run in the background by default.

Granted, there are no guarantees either way.

Using a browser can reveal PII as well, but at least with them, there is some measure of control over what it stores, connects to, and permissions guiding what it has access to. Their processes can be killed, and not operate in the background, or in a completely opaque manner like an app.

To take one example:

If I want to know the weather forecast, and visit a site to obtain one, it's implicit that I'm telling the company that is where I'm located, or plan to be, or have it roughly geo-located according to IP. In exchange, it shows me an ad along with the information, and that's pretty much the extent of it.

If I use the company's app, it will ask me to permit Location Services to determine precisely where I am, and ask me to agree to a EULA to proceed. That legalese (which people never read) may, but may not contain the fact that it will collect other information unrelated to the primary purpose of the app, share or sell that information with third parties, for purposes unrelated to the simple need to provide the relevant forecast.

If that app is allowed to operate in the background, it can collect and dispatch that information unabated, even when I haven't asked to see the weather for a particular place; it will know about it, and forward the information. The Weather Channel and WeatherBug are two that have been found to do such things.

The financial incentives are just too great for developers, large and small, to ignore.

Because so many tech companies live by the creed of "It is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission," they do not get the benefit of the doubt, at least from me.

Scott McNealy is famously quoted as saying there is no privacy on the internet, and the a large extent that's true. But, I'm not going to just roll over, and play dead either.

 

[tarsins]

Website as much as I can. If their mobile site is rubbish and they have an APP I may use that - or not use their cheaply developed site at all.