Smartphone Required 📱(digital exclusion of people without smartphones)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47171718

The guy could not use “Convection Roast” mode in his oven unless he connects to wi-fi and registers personal data. Apparently because this was a cook mode that was added after the oven was marketed.

Sure, it is useful to be able to get new features and upgrades after the thing is produced. But because of that, it’s as if they are making the store version deliberately excessively basic in order to twist people’s arms to run their proprietary closed-source spyware.

I was originally going to tag this as [a/d] (for asshole design), but opted to call it crappy design because upgradability is still a good thing. What’s crappy is the fact that:

• it’s not FOSS
• GE’s server is needlessly in the loop for everything
• ppl must register on GE’s platform and give copious personal info which is then certain to be abused

To avoid both c/d and a/d, I would insist:

• the app must be FOSS
• the app and appliance both must have no cloud dependency and talk to each other in an off-grid LAN-only scenario
• upgrades must be fetchable over Tor without registration, and side-loadable; users must be able to connect over Tor from a public cafe/library to fetch upgrades

Before this rumor emerged, I used to have some respect for Ing because they had a “Homebanking” PC app that ran on linux. It was likely closed-source but at least it wasn’t some browser-dependent JavaScript garbage.

I suppose it’s expected that banks become increasingly enshitified in Belgium now that forced banking has emerged. Even those of us not addicted to convenience are no longer free from banking. So the incentive for banks to win business by offering good service has ended.

It’s largely the fault of consumers. When a vast majority voluntarily make all payments electronically and use the smartphone app (not hesitating to lick Google’s boots), it makes marginalisation of the remaining shrinking demographics viable.

Important to realise if you are an Ing customer not keen on being a pushover, now would be a good time to switch banks.

A bank sent emails instructing customers to take a KYC interview in their app.

What if you don’t have the app? You get a get-out-of-jail free card? I’m betting marginalisation. Those without the app will lose access to their money.

Even if you have the app, an app-based interrogation is likely rife with shenanigans. Banks are sneaky. Bankers are like cops. They will ask one question at a time. They can track how long you sit on a question. You won’t know how many questions are ahead. The sensitivity of the questions will gradually escalate. If you reach a question that goes too far and say “fuck this, I’m out”, you would have already given them excessive sensitive data, creating a “point of no return” scenario. You can’t take the previous answers back at that point.

When I get a KYC interrogation, I require seeing ALL the questions at once before answering the 1st one. If just 1 question goes beyond my threshold of tolerance, I need to say “fuck off” and give them nothing.

geteilt von: https://slrpnk.net/post/23278154

Smartphones are making us unhealthy, miserable, antisocial, and less free. If we can’t yet nationalize the attention economy, maybe it’s time to abolish its primary tool — before it finishes abolishing us.

I recall successfully renewing my registration several times online before, but now they want a phone number and they are pushing some weird government smartphone app "to handle your government todo items"?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1jPv45CHN8

RCS seems to be replacing email-SMS gateways. RCS is supposedly an open standard, but apparently if you do not have Android 8.1 or newer, you cannot use RCS to send an SMS in Belgium.

In principle, iiuc, you should be able to use a desktop app or browser to send an RCS msg. But for some reason it’s a shitshow.

The closed-source app is exclusively available in these places:

• Google Playstore
• Apple store
• Huawei store

The app will only run on quite recent phones. So anyone who does not keep their OS up to date (which implies periodically buying new hardware for the shitshow platforms people much choose between) are locked out of their account. Also:

• No walk-in service
• Over the counter service requires appointment and a fee for many staff-assisted operations
• No paper statements. No phone → no statements.

The app requires SMS 2fa, so non-phone or landphone users: don’t even think about trying to use an android emulator.

If you want to close your account to escape this shitshow, you have 2 options:

• In the app use the account closure feature, OR
• Send a shit load of sensitive information (ID/passport, utility bill, bank account numbers to close, account numbers of your new external account to transfer the money to, etc) via Google (gmail) from an IP address that Google accepts.

(edit) Worth mentioning an aspect of these cashless banks that should be embarrassing for them: when you close an account, they have no cash so they cannot pay you your balance. You can pull money from an ATM but obviously only in denominations of paper banknotes. So how do you get the rest out? They expect you to open an account elsewhere and transfer it. How silly is that? Maybe you don’t want another account, or maybe you’re moving to a completely different part of the world and the transfer cost will exceed what remains.

You can hack around this various ways, like dining out and paying an exact amount by card and the rest by cash. But really, banks should be embarrassed they cannot give you cash. They shouldn’t need a vault just to secure €20 or so in change.

Happened a while back to me. I own an Android phone, but when I went to use my $200 in tickets to a local event, the app wouldn't display them. Contacted AXS support and they were explicit in denying any recourse or access to a paper ticket.