Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)
2 days ago
- #reverse-engineering
- #privacy
- #web-vs-app
- The author is frustrated by being forced to install the 'Travelbound' app for a school trip itinerary, arguing it should be a webpage instead.
- He reverse-engineers the Android app by intercepting traffic, finding it fetches JSON data from a simple URL using username and password.
- He creates a Ruby script to pull the JSON and build a better HTML page, removing ads and tracking, and hosts it with the same password.
- The author criticizes 'app culture' for being unnecessary, more expensive, and offering fewer features and accessibility than webpages.
- Comments and replies show widespread support for avoiding apps, citing privacy, storage, battery life, and accessibility concerns.