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by chii 291 days ago
deleting all app store apps is too high a barrier, because there may not be a replacement that could be sideloaded.
1 comments

I don't see that changing either. Banking apps, government auth, Whatsapp¹, public transport apps², etc. The status quo is that a small number of official app store apps are all but required.

1: Still basically required if you have young children and want things like play dates. Oh Signal? Yeah, the recent push means that some tech-savvy users now have both Whatsapp and Signal installed. In the Netherlands, you can do without Whatsapp, but not if you don't want to turn your child into a social recluse.

2: For example, in order to use Germany's Deutschlandticket one of the participating public transport companies apps is required. This is a huge regression compared to the initial paper ticket, but there it is.

I guess requiring a transport subscription to get the ticket, via app or smart card, is rather analogous to the topic of adding friction to the undesired path.