Why is everything an app these days?

[TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot]

Probably making myself look ancient and out of touch...

But practically every website has an app version now, and usually a little box or message pops up encouraging me to download the app.

I don't get why a website can't just be a website, why does it have to be an app?

I do use apps for banking and Nectar but I think if I downloaded the app for every website I visited I would quickly run out of space on my phone. And isn't it easier to access everything from one web browser instead of having to keep opening different apps?

Does anyone use apps for everything? Is it better than using websites?

I just find the idea of all websites being apps instead weird.

But maybe I'm the weird one...

I don’t mind if it’s something that I use everyday but I don’t want to download an app for things I only use occasionally like a parking app. Those are a pain and often don’t work properly anyway.

I have thought this ever since apps first started appearing. Sometimes they are of added value - much easier to navigate on a phone, bit often nit much difference. Especially if you are happily using a desktop or a device with a bigger screen than a phone.

I'm not a technophobe but I agree. I don't want to download an app I'm only going to use once. I'm happy for example to download a banking app as it's easier than using the website

How else can society continue to marginalise the disabled ?

Some people don't have a laptop of PC. Just a mobile. In some cases a tablet.

YANBU. It really pisses me off that I have to download an app and/or create an account to do almost anything online now. Even stuff like check the bin day info on the council website. And there is no way to cancel an account once you have one. Yes you can unsubscribe to marketing emails or delete the app but they still have your data. In fact I've been using a website today where I haven't had to do either (car breakdown cover) and I had to check several times that all I needed to do was select the level of cover and pay!

I agree. I think it’s easier for them to keep track of customers via an app, or something like that- funnily enough I was googling around on this subject recently. But I prefer the websites and still use them as I find they’re easier to navigate. So far I’ve always had the choice.

Massively prefer apps to websites -easy to organize on the phone (group in widgets) a -so happy that my life is immeasurably easier than it it would have been in my youth (I am on my 60s and relish the convenience)

The worst thing about apps is when they fail (unbelievable as that may seem) and you then can't reach anyone to sort it out because assuming you are lucky enough to find alternative contact details (and I have unanswered problems going back to when Twitter was Twitter) and you try to speak to someone you hit a wall of "Why not use our app ???". Which on occasion will then just hang up.

@SerendipityJane
Sorry I quoted you in error. I can't edit the quote out. My apologies.

I don't use banking apps.

I've got accounts at multiple banks - not with a tremendous amount of money in them I hasten to add - and I don't want to download an app for each bank. Especially when I'm mainly only accessing accounts once a month.

What annoys me is the number of banking services which aren't accessible in online banking and are only available via the banking app. So on occasion I've reluctantly downloaded the app, done what I need to do , and then deleted the app again. I feel as though I'm being pressurised into using the app.

This is the most reliable bus tracker I’ve found. All buses. Not an app just a website. https://bustimes.org

Ah, that would make sense if it's easier for companies to keep track of you via an app rather than a website.

I did download the Facebook app once, but it was no different from using the website so I deleted it because there was no point in it taking up room in my phone.

That's what I don't get, why have apps using up your storage space when the websites are perfectly usable?

I don't mind apps, but my (ancient) Iphone won't support some of them. I'm not going to shell out for a new phone that I don't need/want just to be able to download the bloody trainline app to prove I have a valid senior rail card.

They can still use a website?

Same here, the apps are gradually becoming defunct.

"How can you go to work? There's no work anymore, there's just apps."

Can be fiddly. Sometimes forms don't work. Depends how old your phone is.

I also think apps are part of the whole gamification trend for younger generation (not me I'm old now). There's functionality you get on apps that you don't on websites.

@WinterIng2025 this particularly annoys me with banks, having extra functionality on the app

Obviously, they want to do away with the website altogether

I don't think it is a gamification thing

I knew someone who was working on apps 20 years ago and I thought it was a data thing?

So they can track you and also send you push notifications so you buy more

Yes it’s this they also make loads of money from the data it’s the same as the loyalty cards nectar / club card etc - they also track user behaviour so they can see when purchases “fall off” and tweak the app to make it less likely you’ll click off and more likely to buy. Also send you “abandoned cart” emails x

I refuse to use apps. They are more useful to the companies because they track you much more easily and can harvest so much more data, which is very profitable for the company. Usually you 'allow' them to use that data (ie. make a profit out of it) by agreeing to the T&C. Having things on your 'phone also enables cookies if you don't take steps to reject/deny them.
I don't use any pay-by-phone methods as they tend to require apps too.

Believe me, my son works in data security and has shown me the extraordinary amount of personal information, tracking and invasions of privacy that can be achieved by any company which has access to it, and how much money can be made via advertising by using such data.

I do home workouts, and there are a couple of trainers who look really good from the clips on YouTube, but the only option is an app and then video casting to your TV etc

I absolutely don't want to. I know that if they had a website I would have a login and then they would still be tracking data to promote their workouts better and I'm okay with that.

But somehow going to the faff of downloading an app just doesn't seem worth it. However, I was thinking about that model specifically and wondering what kind of data they would get from an app that they're not going to get from the website.

Also, poster saying about annoying emails telling you you left something in your basket, I get those from websites too.

I suppose the app makes all their data analytics much more tailored. Mostly, I don't do it because it's annoying and it's a faff.

A lot of things became apps because phones turned into our main computers. People want quick access, offline use, and more control instead of relying on web tools. At the same time, apps have grown more powerful than they used to be. Some aren’t just simple utilities anymore, they replace full desktop workflows. For example, file managers on Android now handle tasks that once needed a PC, like editing app resources or managing archives. I’ve been exploring tools like MT Manager recently, which really shows how deep mobile apps have gone. I came across a detailed breakdown of its features.

Data mining as a PP suggested.
I do not use my phone for very much online at all, despite having a mobile since 1996 and a smart phone since 2011. To me the phone is just now an over-inflated camera.
For online stuff I either use my iPad or laptop.
A colleague of mine had his iPhone stolen recently and his reliance on apps caused no end of issues due to absent phone, which he hadn't secured that well either.
However, I do find the phone useful for boarding passes and e-parking tickets at my local airport.

I don’t use apps other than banking, diabetes apps and tescos. I use my laptop for website stuff, got my nerves having all those apps it cluttered my phone up and kept killing the battery not even a old phone either iphone 15!!

Honestly, I love apps (I have hundreds) and get annoyed by things that still have to be done on a website. They’re often not optimised for phones. Though I do wonder how some large corporations can have such terrible apps (looking at you, BA).