Aggressive App Installation Practices in Taiwan: Personal Experiences with Unwanted App Downloads
By
speckx
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
The article discusses the author's personal experiences in Taiwan with aggressive app installation practices by businesses. Shop staff and service providers frequently pressure customers to download apps, sometimes going as far as installing apps without explicit consent. The author shares specific incidents where staff attempted to install apps on their phone, including one case where a phone plan setup resulted in an e-commerce app being installed using their personal information without permission. The piece critiques the invasive nature of these practices and the lack of consumer control over their own devices.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledCompanies want you to download apps. Here in Taiwan it's particularly bad: I've had shop staff tell me about some discount if you download their app, and when I decline, say something like 'It's really easy! Here, just give me your phone and I'll do it for you.'
Once when I was setting up my phone plan, the staff wanted my phone to, idk, note my IMEI or something, and then when I wasn't paying attention, installed a local e-commerce app, using my new phone number and name as login details.
The personal blog of Caleb Jay Rogers, Software Engineer
You might also wanna read
The Growing Small Web Movement: Non-Commercial Alternatives to the Mainstream Internet
The article discusses the growing "small web" movement, which refers to private websites using ordinary web browsers and servers but free fr
kevinboone.me·2mo ago
Smartphones as Desktop Computers: The Ownership Rights Debate in Modern Computing
The article discusses how modern smartphones like the iPhone are essentially full computers capable of running desktop operating systems, us
Why Leaving Google's Ecosystem Improved My Digital Life and Privacy
The author shares their personal journey of leaving Google's ecosystem after years of frustration with the company's decisions. The tipping
pseudosingleton.com·3mo ago
Analysis of Apple's Unencrypted Server Connections and Surveillance Concerns
The article presents a conspiracy theory that Apple intentionally preserves unencrypted server connections in its operating systems to enabl
Personalized Pricing in Ride-Sharing: How Algorithms Create Different Prices for the Same Service
The article describes a personal experience where the author and his wife received dramatically different price quotes ($28 vs $47) for the
digitalseams.com·4mo ago
Advocating for Mandatory Open-Sourcing of Software When Hardware Reaches End-of-Life
The article argues that when hardware products reach end-of-life (EOL), companies should be legally required to open-source the software to
marcia.no·4mo ago