Hi all,
I’ve written an analysis of the onboarding experience for Facebook’s Messenger app. Here’s the quick summary:
tl;dr: to install Messenger without enabling notifications, giving Facebook your phone number, or giving Facebook access to your contacts, you have to refuse 6 times via deliberately inconspicuous links.
Here’s the link:
Would love to hear thoughts about:
- this specific example
- other examples of tech companies aggressively seeking to enable notifications and get your data via design
- a piece of potential legislation I write briefly about in the article, entitled ‘right of single refusal’ (tech companies can only ask you once for notifications or data). What are the downsides?
Also, while I’m here: an excellent resource for other examples of manipulative design:
https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/
1 Like
no downside we need the phones all open sourced from factory.
1993: Man I want netscape but imma dunna know how install. I’ll use IE. I want to have lycos as my start page, but i dont know how to change in ie so I’ll keep hotmail.
2019: Samsung flagship costs a car payment or apple flagship costs more goes obsolete off the lot faster than car depreciates.
The internet / the hardware of end users / the networks (5g and other new cancer spreaders) = not sustainable, and I think the powers that be are aware and that’s why they are digging in with bs and fees. Too many people are going to realize there is enough food haha and party’s over.
Humane tech is a small part of a snowball of freedom that is going to nonviolently bowl them over imo, and this gouging will be short t erm (globally)
Don’t get me started on usa phone numbers and oversold wireless radio spectrum…
An outstanding article, super appreciate you doing all that work, totally fascinating, I was definitely duped into this. Going to see if I can amend anything! Will let you know. Best, M ツ
Whoa, thanks a lot @stayingaliveuk, really glad you enjoyed the analysis!