So, what exactly did Apple break in the EU 🇪🇺? A new blog post in which I analyze the current situation for Home Screen Web Apps on iOS 17.4 in the European Union.
I did some #UX consulting for a non profit in Nairobi a while ago, and in addition to various UX stuff, I suggested they use a #PWA (a simple cached website) instead of an app.
I talked to them this morning. They shipped it and are thrilled. It's SO much smaller than an app, a critical issue in rural Kenya, and it's significantly easier to get people to find and install it.
So exciting when people discover the value of the standard, unfussy web
A must have, if you want to browse the web without ads, trackers, malware and more. There are other browsers you could use, but with #firefox, you can install add-ons to help you mitigate all the tracking and ads. You can even install desktop only add-ons now, and supporting a engine which is not #chromium (controlled by Google) like every other major browser.
There are multiple forks available on the F-droid if you don't want to use plain firefox. This works on desktop too, I recommend #LibreWolf.
My favorite way of blocking ads, you have control over which domain the app can connect. It works like a VPN, but it does not make any outgoing connection. The bad thing is, if you want to use an actual #VPN, you can't have both at the same time and you need to disable your custom DNS.
I recommend to enable in settings > advanced options > block system apps, and individual domains too. When you open the app for the first time, it asks you if you want to block essential request for the apps to work, I recommend to enable this if you don't want apps breaking.
You android vendor may be killing the app, for this reason is necessary to add the app in the list of apps not be optimized by the system. If this issue keeps happening follow the guide from dontkillmyapp.com (advanced)
A DNS works like a translator, computers are good with numbers, but we are not good at memorizing long numbers. Computers communicate with each other using the Internet Protocol (IP), which are pure numbers. For example, your instance #IP is 104.26.8.209 but is easier to us just type lemmy.world.
A DNS is like a table where it has a relationship between keys pointing lemmy.world to 104.26.8.209, so your computer knows where is the computer is trying to connect.
Let's imagine an app is trying to connect to "https://ads-from.company.com", if you are using a DNS which blocks known domain ads it will redirect that request to "0.0.0.0" which is like sending it to a black hole. There are multiple DNS available, which different purposes, for ads, malware, porn, gambling, etc.
Have in mind that these are not full bulletproof protections, one may work better than the other, and can break from time to time. With popular services with ads, like social media, you could use alternative front-ends to their official client or website.
Here is a list of alternative front-ends and an add-on to automatically redirect to them, you have to use it with a browser and you can add as a shortcut to the home screen, better if it works like a #PWAhttps://libredirect.github.io
Anyone else having issues using the #mastodon#pwa app with #firefox on #android ? With Chrome it works fine, but with Firefox it keeps crashing, freezing and restarting. I'd prefer not to use Chrome, as I don't otherwise.
Apple has already decided to disable Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in the EU, but PWA developers in the EU should have an option to run and test their PWA apps on an real iPhone for users outside the EU.
A developer mode or Safari feature flag to enable PWAs would suffice.
Apple has given up and announced that in the European Union version of iOS 17.4 'web apps' will be able to be installed on the homescreen and work offline. As the developer of the web apps FindMeSAR and GeoJPG, this is great news. #WebApp#PWA#ProgressiveWebApp#webDev
I was just prompted that a PWA was available for kbin. I now have it installed, really great to see this. IMO it is a great stopgap until native apps are available.
FindMeSAR has been updated to v3. This webpage displays your coordinates in several formats and can be installed so it works offline.
Calling 911? Use the yellow screen to give decimal degrees and the accuracy.
I volunteered to develop this #PWA as a public service after seeing news stories of people that called 911 and there was confusion over their location. Some people died as a result of that confusion.
Not in any app store! To install it so it will work offline delete the FindMeSAR icon if it is already anywhere on your screen, then browse to https://findmesar.com and carefully follow instructions you will see.
We’re reaching an interesting stage of #PWA development. There are now two #ActivityPub PWAs (= web apps) that provide a best-in-class experience to those service (IMO): @voyagerapp is a beautiful #Lemmy client, and https://phanpy.social is the prettiest #Mastodon client I've tried so far where push notifications just work, even on iOS. Pretty cool! What enables this? Technically, CORS enabled APIs, and improvements on web tech on mobile recently.
Apple support for Progressive Web Apps has always been minimal. Look no further than searching for "PWA" on Apple Developer website; 0 hits. But Apple's move to support PWA push notifications lured developers into thinking that Apple would empower PWAs more in the future.
.....
PWAs won't work on iOS, but only in the EU.
Q: Why is it a big deal?
A: 🧵
Most businesses choose PWA apps because they want to:
1- Avoid app stores
2- Write one code for both iOS and Android
With Apple removing PWA support in iOS for EU users, businesses now have to:
1- Write a PWA app for Android users and iOS users outside the EU
2- Write a native app for iOS users in the EU
In the end, Progressive Web Apps will disappear. Although Apple has removed support for PWA in the EU only, the ripple effect of this change is poised to end PWAs entirely. This means businesses will have to rely on app stores and their gatekeepers again.
Regardless of whether you are a business or developer in or outside the EU, you will be affected. This is why you should sign this letter:
Magenta Musik is an entertainment service -part of the German telecom company - offering information about concerts and festivals. In 2022, Magenta Musik shut down their native apps on both #iOS and #Android and replaced them with a single Progressive Web App (PWA). #PWA#Web
I saw a comment on a recent ArsTechnica article on #Apple killing #PWA s in the EU that stated "nobody uses PWAs". (Protip: never, ever, read the comments 🙄). Not including @phanpy , I have an entire folder of PWAs on my #Android homescreen.
Additionally, these run in the browser of my choice @Vivaldi so they include ad and tracker blocking. I get UberEATS without having to install the Uber app. It's brilliant and extremely sad so many have been deceived about these. #webdev
Bonjour Masdodon,
J'ai une question aux experts du développement web.
J'ai une appli qui gère ma liste de disques. Jusque là tout va bien. Pour mieux la gérer, j'ai imprimé des étiquettes avec QR Code, pour chaque disque, avec un code unique, que j'ai collé au dos des pochettes de disques. Pour aller plus vite et me passer d'une appli de scan de QR Codes, j'ai simplement développé dans mon appli de gestion de disques, une page qui fait ce taf. J'ai juste une zone pour scanner les étiquettes et ça fait la mise à jour dans la base de données. Maintenant, je voudrais transformer cette page en #PWA.
Des recommandations pour faire un truc rapide et simple ?
YouTube can't stop showing me AI deepfake ads (www.spacebar.news)
Progressive Web App
I was just prompted that a PWA was available for kbin. I now have it installed, really great to see this. IMO it is a great stopgap until native apps are available.