I Don't Have a Smartphone—and the 10 Assumptions Behind Every App Request
Ploum, a European writer and engineer, explains why he tells people he doesn't own a smartphone, even though he actually keeps three devices. He details the ten unspoken assumptions behind every request to install an app or scan a QR code—from owning a working phone to having a Google account—and argues that these demands are unreasonable. He describes his minimalist Mudita Kompakt, his Google-free /e/OS phone for banking apps, and an old OnePlus 5 as a last resort, lamenting that modern life increasingly forces everyone into Google, Meta, and proprietary app ecosystems. He criticizes European politicians for ignoring this dependency while pushing AI and blockchain, and he advocates for a life less tethered to big tech.
We are putting all our eggs in the same basket. And our milk, our water, our house, our furniture and our loved ones.
- bufordsharkley
I've still never had a smartphone (technically my flip phone, a Kyocera Dura, is an android device, but it can't install apps so I'll consider it suitably "dumb")
Occasionally I need to tote along a tablet because several places (some MLB venues, for one thing) will either require a smartphone, or impose a severe surcharge for the convenience of not using it.
Anyway, I really regret that we didn't impose dumbphone protection laws back when we had a large enough bloc of seniors that didn't "upgrade" to a smartphone yet
- eddieroger
I do have a smartphone, but I don't seem to feel the pain the author feels about being inundated by QR codes and apps. Maybe I have all the apps I need already? Maybe I just don't mind having an app on my phone because I know that I can set it to basically never bother me. Most of my apps have notifications silenced. My home screen is empty, save the handful of apps I do want. And for the little bit of effort I put forth to tweak the device to my liking, I get the world in my pocket - a full browser, every song I've ever liked, every picture I've ever taken, all my scanned documents, etc - not to mention all my loved ones available at a moment's notice. My battery lasts long enough, and when it doesn't, it's because I was using the device. I just don't understand the complaint I guess. Make the device work for you, not the other way around?
- simu1acrum
I don't pretend to have things I don't have, and I don't pretend that I don't have things I do have. Why buy a powerful machine only to create an illusion of it being a weak one?
The decision of whether to be party to the supply and the demand of what is arguably the most corrupting, degrading and stupefying of inventions in the history of mankind is one mere moral agency can adequately advise.
Alas, such agency is influenced by, if not entirely delegated to smartphones, by none other than their users. Predictive text proposes the words to be written, and algorithmic feeds present the words to be read. It is only natural that a dependence is formed.
The allure of knowing all there is to be known is a rather enticing one. Hence why the addict now scrolls and scrolls rather than smokes and smokes. Everyone needs a vice. I'm glad mine isn't virtual.
- bilekas
> They are willing to accept all the conditions of your apps, including sending you personal data, registering an account, etc.
I've had this exact problem this morning, I wanted to download the ASD-STE100 https://www.asd-ste100.org/STE_downloads.html#article02-2l and they use a request form to get the download.
Unfortunately the last question:
> Do you consent to us collecting your data? This form has the only purpose of requesting a copy of ASD-STE100. Details are for record and statistical purposes only and will not be used or disclosed in any form to anyone. You can find out more about STEMG privacy policy here.
Only has a "Yes" option, and so I couldn't submit the form.
Great success.
- burningChrome
I have a motorola smartphone. I don't have google play installed. I mainly use obtainium for app installation. Its a bare bones phone and it drives my business partner crazy.
"Just log into our instagram account and. . .right, you don't have insta installed on your phone."
"Can you log into our scheduling app and. . . right, you don't have that installed on your phone either."
Some of the more painful things you have to deal with:
- Chromite and Iron Fox filtering out a ton of stuff so a lot of sites simply don't work
- Organic maps is slow and hard to use compared to Google and Apple maps.
- Fairmail that blocks a ton of images and other code - which is good, but had to get used to seeing everything blocked visually.
- Not having any banking apps on my phone. Every time my son needs a few bucks in his account, my wife has to do it if we're out.
- The open source weather apps are not very accurate. Usually within a few degrees, and the radar is hit or miss.
Kind of odd that we have to try so hard to ensure our own privacy. I'm up for a new phone this Fall so I'll most likely be moving to a newer Pixel and will get Lineage or Graphene installed on it.
- Animats
I have no business-based "apps". If it's not on F-Droid, I don't have it.
Google Play Store is turned off.
So far, the only thing I've found that absolutely requires a Google account is Waymo. This is probably a violation of common carrier rules, since Waymo is legally a common carrier. That forces Google's terms of service, including the binding arbitration and no class action terms, on Waymo riders.
- FigurativeVoid
As a T1 diabetic, I wish that we weren't tying things like medical devices to smart phones. It's just one more failure point.
- zkmon
When you buy something from a medium-sized shop in India, they would insist for your phone number, as their POS app have that field as almost mandatory. I had to fight at a pharmacy checkout, holding up the queue behind me, as I refuse to give my phone number.