Re: [w3ctag/design-reviews] Question: Review manifest-first Web Install API (Issue #1245)

slightlyoff left a comment (w3ctag/design-reviews#1245)

Per today's discussion, cross-origin install seems to be less a focus for the TAG's discussing regarding prompting and for any potential Finding (@christianliebel can correct me if that's wrong).

The concerns about prompt rates and dark patterns that were expressed in the meeting seemed particularly salient, and it seems to me that vendors that want to whatabout regarding prompts and user needs should start by disabling the ability for random websites to link to or launch native app stores. This would have many benefits, not least of which would be to channel developers away from dark patterns that might confuse users and harm their privacy.

On that topic, the discussion highlighted that many publishers are pressing native apps onto users _because_ they degrade privacy relative to browsers. Again, browsers that are expressing concerns regarding prompting rates on the basis of user welfare cannot have it both ways. Either they should make it much harder to acquire native apps using web surfaces than to install PWAs, or privacy arguments are a sham.

The large, durable "tracking gap" that native mobile apps have exploited to achieve persistent reidentification and reduced reach for privacy-enhancing adblocking features should, if anything, encourage the TAG to recommend to browsers that they reduce the availability of native apps from browsers and promote top-level ambient and API-driven acquisition processes that will encourage the use of safer, more privacy respecting web apps.

-- 
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1245#issuecomment-5625187625
You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.

Message ID: <w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1245/5625187625@github.com>