Iā€™ve recently developed a daily habitā€”perhaps one I should cut back onā€”of visiting several subreddits to keep up on things like audio production and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But I was surprised this weekend to suddenly find myself cut off; Reddit simply would not let me visit the site on my mobile phone.

Instead, a new overlay popped up, saying, ā€œGet the app to keep using Reddit.ā€

Source: Why Reddit blocked my daily visit to its mobile website

Yikes.

According to a spokesperson, ā€œWe recently started running a test for a small subset of frequent logged-out mobile users that prompts them to download the app after visiting the site. These users are already familiar with Reddit and weā€™ve seen that the experience is much better for them in the app. The app offers a more personalized experience and users can more easily find communities that match their interests.ā€ ā€¦ Reddit says that the test aims to find out if people like meā€”those who use the service but arenā€™t generally logged inā€”get a better experience with the app.

Source: Why Reddit blocked my daily visit to its mobile website - Ars Technica

Itā€™s likely that reddit will see numbers that support this move and some addicts (I hope to say I am not one) will do whatā€™s necessary to stay on reddit.

This is not the first time I will claim this. Apps do more tracking compared to the web. Apps do more privacy invasion with your device given they just have more access to the bare metal compared to the web.

I use most of these sites in their web form. If they donā€™t want me as a user, thatā€™s totally fine by me.

But as I mentioned at the beginning, I often wonder if I could spend my Reddit time in more productive ways; signing up for a more targeted feed that better plays on my dopamine triggers doesnā€™t actually sound helpful. I think thatā€™s one reason I resist these pushes to log in, to customize, to spend even more time on site. Indeed, if more force continues to be applied, perhaps the better choice would simply be to walk away altogether.

Disclosure: Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent CondeĢ Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit.

Source: Why Reddit blocked my daily visit to its mobile website - Ars Technica

That disclosure is šŸ¤Œ