Reddit had/has a plan to block mobile browsers in favor of their app

orientalsniper@lemmy.world to Reddit@lemmy.world – 205 points –

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Why would the owners of a website want to make it harder to browse their website

My guess is this is only for mobile users which would explain why when the OP request a desk top version of the site he can still log in. That way they can push more mobile users to the app and shove all sorts of ads down their throat and there's nothing they can do about it. You can block ads on a browser, you can't in the official Reddit app.

Shut down all the 3P apps. Prevent mobile users from being able to use their browser on mobile, forcing them to grab the official app. Load it to high hell with ads... Profit.

You can not block in the official app "yet" Wouldnt surprise me if we get some form of Revanced reddit app at some point. Same thing which youtube vanced. For me killing off the infinity for reddit app is my call to not use reddit on mobile anymore but a full switch to lemmy instead.

It actually already exists. The ReVanced project, which has continued to update YouTube Vanced after it shut down, has also expanded to other apps. I've only used their YouTube and YouTube Music apps, but I can't imagine the experience on their apps would be any worse than reddit's current app, given that it's essentially the same plus their patches to it.

To force people to use their app, of course. Facebook did that several years ago with Messenger. There’s no real reason to not have mobile browser access to it other than to try to make people use the app so it can spy on you in various ways.

Several years: like going on 15 years ago.

Fuck we're old.

Was it that long ago? I thought they locked it down about 7-8 years back. I don't know, I would just use mbasic .facebook. com when I had to.

I know it was before the 2010 Olympics at least, because they shut it off while I was dating someone I broke up with before that.