I was trying to watch a show on a paid streaming service through my phone, but the webpage doesn’t let me use my browser, I have to download an app to run a video. Which got me thinking “why?” What is a good reason they won’t let me watch using my browser and would force me to download an app?
P.S. I can’t login right now, that’s why downloading the app is so inconvinient
In: 1
A few different factors can contribute.
* Web browsers limit what websites can do, for security reasons. Native apps have fewer (but also different) restrictions. For example, a banking app can use biometric sensors to log you in. A website doesn’t have access to that.
* Technically subset of above but worth pointing out separately: easier to track users for advertising purposes because you have access to more identifiers.
* Every web browser is a *liiiiiitle* bit different. Except for the ones that are fuckballs-different. This is annoying to develop for and unreasonable to test. If you’re doing anything fancy (e.g. drawing a map), you have to invest an unreasonable amount of resources in cross-browser testing. App development can be cheaper.
* They already built a desktop program, easier to port it to a mobile app than a website.
* An app has a shortcut. Makes it easier to convince users to come back. Free advertising, really, every time they open their phone to check the weather.
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