Smartphone Apps. Do we really need an app for everything?

There’s an app for everything these days – often for things where they’re not really needed.

We all managed to do business with each other for years and years without having to rely on an app every time we want to buy or order something. Now were being pestered to download these apps every day and its annoying!

I don’t want another App.

A couple of years ago, at a garden centre cafe in Cheshire, I was asked by a server to order our two coffees by downloading an app or by using their website. This practise is now commonplace in cafes and restaurants. Often, I’m asked to scan a QR code which eventually downloads an app just so I can place an order or pay. I just can’t be bothered. I will order from the counter or I will walk out.

When I go to supermarkets, the tiller at the checkout asks me if I have got the app and I say no and that I don’t want one. It irritates me that I will miss out on price reductions but I have this conviction that ultimately it will cost me more in the long run with these apps.

When I do on-line shopping I decline the offer to download their app and I will order via their website, on my laptop which is full to the brim with security features. I will not use my smartphone to pay for anything or to do on-line banking. (I don’t trust smartphones either) My bank encourages me to use the app but, interestingly, on a recent visit, the bank advisor confessed she didn’t and wouldn’t use the app.

Dentists, doctors’ surgeries, healthcare companies, cinemas and theatres are rolling out apps to make appointments and bookings, even though the old way worked fine. (Perhaps not doctors though; getting an appointment always required cunning, threats and cries of pain and despair.)

I realise this is the mindset of a grumpy, distrustful, older person who can’t be bothered to get with the times and rejoice in the wonders of appage. However, its just the way I am and not because I am e-technically challenged. I just think that these Apps, the companies they serve and my smartphone are a bit smarter than me.

I don’t want a relationship with my product or service provider

I appreciate many of you love fiddling with your phones and enjoy waving them at scanners everywhere for fun. You will argue that using an app will make future purchases easier and more convenient by avoiding phonecalls or speaking to real people. We’re told that an app can make us aware of promotions, offers, etc. and allow us to communicate with the business and its customer community on social media. The thing is – I don’t want a bloody relationship with this business or its customers. I just want to do the deal and move on.

I’m not alone. I read that almost 80% of us have abandoned transactions in the last year because a brand wanted to force us to install their app in order to do business with them.

Apps are clogging up my phone

On a practical level, if I downloaded just a fraction of these apps, my phone would clogg up and die. I know a lot of people download them just to delete them after they have done their business but I really couldn’t be bothered.

I don’t trust Apps and the companies concerned

My real reluctance to use apps stems from my mistrust of the big companies concerned and what they do with my data. Once you’re set up on the McDonalds app, it might make your next order easier but in this age of endless data breaches, is ordering your burger 30 seconds faster worth the risk of a stolen credit card number?

Apps are a way for companies to get customers hooked and to track us, get our data and send it to others.

Many apps are tracking us in a way that is not necessary. The more they know about you, the better they are able to market and sell to you. They will sell your information to other parties that want to reach you too. Over half of all apps share your data with third parties and not just for your benefit. I read there are not many legal restrictions on how much data they can collect and what they can do with it.

I also read that you may download an app not realising that it is in some way connected to another app or is integrated with social media. That way, everyone gets a bit of you. In theory you can restrict the permissions you give to some apps but I have to admit, I struggle to understand all the various permissions that mobile apps ask for and consequently I am probably not as careful as I should be in granting access to my data or to other apps on my phone.

Many of you will say, “What does it matter? Life is too short and I don’t care who has my personal, information, or who tracks my movements, habits and preferences and I don’t mind targeted ads”.

Well I do! I don’t want to be compromised, manipulated or do business on the basis of offering up information that is unnecessary for companies to provide me with the product or service I want. I know the big companies don’t really care about me as an individual but having data on everybody as a whole and being able to extrapolate trends, statistics, public opinions, etc. is unnerving. In a discussion on Reddit, someone suggested, “The possibilities of this are unimaginable power on a country/world level: ability to swing elections, influence public opinions to achieve political goals, huge financial gains by investing in predicted stocks/products, etc. Google wields power a Bond villain could only dream of. And the scariest part is we don’t even know if it’s being used on us already. Most likely yes.”

That’s getting a bit heavy isn’t it so I’ll get back to my point. I’m not convinced apps are for my benefit. They want information about me that they can use for their own purposes. I know I share some of my activities, interests and views on my Blog site but I’m careful about what I say. Here I feel in charge and unintimidated. Using Apps, I feel I’m being controlled and conned. And I’m not convinced they offer more convenience when doing business.