[kmlx]

of course you can.

but since every device is as persistent as its weakest point (e.g. physical damage, loss/theft, etc) shouldn't apps that need to save essential/important data basically give up the argument of persistence because of using localstorage in the first place? your data is one breakdown/loss away from permanent destruction when using localstorage exclusively.

that is why, from my experience, you always rely on the server and only use localstorage as a backup in case the server is down, there's no internet, etc.

claiming massive loss of data because localstorage got emptied is basically saying "our app wasn't designed correctly".

what am i missing?

[zmzrr]

If my phone breaks, I lose my data, and that is my responsibility. You are saying that everything should be backed up on the cloud, I think that's crazy.

localstorage disappearing overnight IS a bug. If I put stuff in My Documents folder on Windows and Windows decides to delete it, that IS a bug too. You could argue that I should have backups, and you would be right, but that's no reason for Windows to delete my files, and that is no reason for me to never use my hard disk.

[kmlx]

of course not everything should be backed up to the cloud. but if it's important and only available on your phone, then yes please back it up, or better yet, have it up there in the cloud.

regarding your comparison between a windows folder and localstorage feels a bit exaggerated.

yes, the Chrome team really fumbled it. and yes localstorage and important data should be mutually exclusive.

[tsimionescu]

You're right that important data needs to be backed up, but I disagree that it is the app builder's responsibility to do that. It is the end-user's responsibility to think about backups, to choose where to backup and how often. From the app developer's perspective, it is commendable that, in this day and age, they allowed users to retain control of their own data, instead of automatically uploading the user's data to the developer's server.

Local storage and/or SQL DB were touted as features for exactly this use case. That Google did not consider their persistence as that important for the release is perhaps not surprising for a company used to storing all your data in their cloud (not claiming they did so knowingly, just that it's probably in their culture, just as in your comments above).

[kmlx]

interesting take. i agree with it in spirit.

but unfortunately i don't think your average user has any idea about what you wrote.

[jessaustin]

...localstorage and important data should be mutually exclusive.

It seems like we could say "don't trust this" about any aspect of any platform. Categorizing every application as "really important, don't update the UI until securely written to three AZs" and "totally ephemeral purge every minute" excludes a lot of stuff in the middle. Sure, nothing made by humans is perfect, but many things could be improved. One improvement to localstorage would be to simply not delete all the data.

[WA]

Are you serious? Maybe you missed the entire privacy conversation around cloud storage in the last couple of years. Also, with your reasoning, your entire laptop should merely be a client for a remote storage.

Saving stuff locally is good for privacy, for performance, for offline-capabilities. You can back up your entire phone LOCALLY, to have a solution of your stated problems (theft, physical damage).

[kmlx]

i am very serious. people lose their devices all the time.

never save important data on a single device. you simply delay the inevitable "i lost my data" scenario.

non-important data on the other hand should have no problems living on a single device. or even localstorage.

and as i said before, i don't think your average user has any ideas about backing up. that's why it almost always comes back to the developers to implement it.