Mobile App Changes

[Janet H]

In the coming days forum access via the mobile app will be discontinued and we wanted to make you aware of some other options so that your surfing won't be interrupted.

Our forums software already has a mobile view with this same functionality. Use a browser to access the forum instead of the app. Transitioning to this view on smaller screens is straightforward and we'll add convenient links at the top of the page to help you navigate to the mobile-friendly view. You will find those links right at the top of the list of forums as you log in. Click the desired link to toggle the view.

In the coming months, we'll be moving to new software (exciting details soon) so this current change is a temporary one. Deprecating the mobile app has been a difficult choice but we are taking this step in an abundance of caution as security concerns for this aging platform increase. We take member privacy seriously and believe that the inconvenience caused by this change is outweighed by broader privacy issues. Thanks for understanding.

Example of new links location (coming in a few days):

[Chotu]

hi. Just out of curiosity what type of security concerns do we have with the old software? I mean yes, I guess people have been able to make accounts and post some spam and post those private message spams. But what privacy would we be gaining?

also, I don’t know if this is part of the change is going on but I use the mobile web interface and it just became kind of unusable. This is what a screen looks like right now.

As I scroll, that enormous, content blocking ad moves to cover everything so you can't read the thread.

i’m on a different vbulletin forum where they had the same problem and I pointed it out to them and they fixed it. They are nowhere near as technically advanced as this form so I’m assuming it’s not a big deal for you guys

[Franziska]

I really hope that a new mobile does not get pestered with ads.
Why can you not keep using the old version, set the new one up in parallel and then switch?
Would be much more user friendly. So far I only use the forum app. It has its minor quirks but all over it's much nicer than the mobile site.

[Mike OReilly]

This news is kinda funny for me since I just started to use the app after many years of ignoring it. I've been pleasantly impressed with it. The presentation is simple, clear and not bogged down with extraneous fluff or ads.

[akopac]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This news is kinda funny for me since I just started to use the app after many years of ignoring it. I've been pleasantly impressed with it. The presentation is simple, clear and not bogged down with extraneous fluff or ads.

It sounds like the app is going to get more ads maybe, and. Even DNS blocking may not be able to work around it. I’m not too happy about this because the advertisers don’t pay pay for the internet data… we do.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by akopac

It sounds like the app is going to get more ads maybe, and. Even DNS blocking may not be able to work around it. I’m not too happy about this because the advertisers don’t pay pay for the internet data… we do.

This is why I've abandoned Tapatalk -- it became too ad-heavy. I fully agree... it is an insult that I have to pay to get ads pushed in my face that I neither want, nor need.

If this happens, I'll stick to the web interface. At least here I can block all the ad crap. Of course, if they ever move to blocking blockers, I'm outta here.

[sv_pelagia]

I having trouble with Android "permissions" with latest version of app. Can't upload attachments.

[Karanga]

Is it possible that the owners have realised that the app has no adverts, so earns them nothing?
So they are closing the app to force use of the website, to show adverts?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Karanga

Is it possible that the owners have realised that the app has no adverts, so earns them nothing?
So they are closing the app to force use of the website, to show adverts?

That’s what I was thinking, but it’s not very difficult to drop ads into a mobile app. So maybe they just don’t want to maintain it. It’s a lot of extra work actually, for no gain when you can just migrate people to the mobile web app. Plus the app stores can be quite annoying to deal with. They change rules on you constantly and have a lot of red tape..

Any case I was hoping I would get my post answered but I guess not. The big ads seem to have disappeared for the time being which is good. But I’m still wondering what privacy we are gaining by switching software.

[AKA-None]

Hmmm I really like the mobile app

[Matt Johnson]

The app has been really convenient for most of our cruising due to low data usage. It's often the only thing that loads in remote anchorages and forces me to either spend time here or actually read a book or something.

[fxykty]

Until there is app access I’m going to cut back on this forum. I’m so used to the app features that using the website is awful - just so much crap to wade through and no handy links like ‘Participated’ (or am I really lost on the website and there is such a link?).

[sv_pelagia]

Android CF app has stopped working the past 2 days. Is this because it has been disabled?



The "mobile" version of the website is nowhere near as good/easy as the app. Web version (full or mobile) is very awkward on an android tablet.

[Mike OReilly]

Same over here in Apple world. Too bad, because I really think it's the right approach for mobile use. Clean, simple, and low bandwidth.

[dfelsent]

My iOS app failed this morning. The mobile web is much harder to use. I’ll miss the app for sure.