Are we being over-apped? Does anyone actually download all these apps?

We don’t. They do. For tracking purposes, and so where they know to spend their advertising bucks.

I hate that they track us and I also am reluctant about downloading apps.

One really frustrating thing is sometimes I cannot easily send information to someone else if it is in an app, and sometimes I try to open a webpage and it automatically switches to the app, and I cannot always figure out how to stay or go back to the webpage.

There are a few apps I really like: Walgreens, Quest, my community app, Find My, Walmart for ordering food. What’s that like five apps out of the 90 on my phone? There are some other good ones, accuweather, WhatsApp, Itunes, but most of my apps sit on my phone doing nothing.

I have a few apps on my phone that are very useful such as the local transport app but I also have dozens I never use. I don’t like being asked to download apps for this that and the other. I don’t see any real benefit for me.

It is one of my pettest of pet peeves. I don’t really want an app to park in this town and another to park in the town next door and another for each beach and another for my wireless…..

And all the theater tickets now send you a QR code that you have to show on your phone instead of a printed ticket and they charge you a service fee for that!

Yes, I think there are many negative aspects to the normalization and even requirement to use a mobile app to do anything.

If it’s useful or fun, doesn’t spy on you, and is optional, ok fine.

Otherwise, please no.

My least favorite was going to some annoying corporate chain “sports” restaurant (i.e., with TVs showing sports in all directions, and overpriced food), and having them want you to download an app to see the menu, order and pay the bill. Argh…

Some of my friends use apps for everything and encourage me to do the same. They say “You should download the Dunkin Donuts app! They give you specials and you order on your phone and just show the phone at the window.” No thank you. Giving you specials for having the app is just a come-on to lure you in. The apps know, if you enter it, your age, family size, income, and then they know what you tend to drink or eat, when you tend to get it, where you travel to, all kinds of stuff.

I use Waze and I use Shazam. I recently uninstalled Facebook and Messenger from my phone. Other than Waze and Shazam, I use no apps voluntarily.

I recently had a choice to buy a toothbrush that had an app. I declined, but it had me chuckling for days.