FilterHN

Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?

8 points

3 days ago

| 12 comments

I think its much more convenient to access from a mobile app. My reddit usage grew massively when the reddit mobile came upto on par with other third party apps over last couple of years.

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TimedToasts

3 days ago

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If a mobile app results in higher Reddit-esque behavior then I'm permanently opposed to a mobile app.

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krapp

3 days ago

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Why on earth would a mobile app result in "higher Reddit-esque behavior?"

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MostlyFragile

3 days ago

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Perhaps the concern is more eyes means more poor content?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Fair enough.

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al_borland

3 days ago

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I just use the browser, it works well enough for me. There are apps people have made.

Without ads, the incentives aren’t such that they should want to drive excessive engagement.

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PaulHoule

3 days ago

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Most directly, if somebody replies to your comment and you get a notification about that and it results in an ad impression: ka-Ching!

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Yea, notifications can be considered annoying. but I sometimes miss replies to some posts, cause HN right now doesn't even track these.

Maybe a design decision to reduce infra load.

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al_borland

2 days ago

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I see this as a feature. I check the “threads” like periodically to see if there is anything to reply to, but once it falls off the first page, it’s pretty much over (unless it’s something very specific I wanted to keep an eye on, which is rare).

This prevents a lot of the long back and forths, or getting pulled into an old conversation, that would often happen on other platforms with notifications.

It makes a reply more of an intentional act. With notifications it feels more like a task that needs to be completed.

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kranirudha

2 days ago

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Interesting take. Fair enough.

How about you saw the comment number go up and you open and now have to scroll entire thread to find where the new comment is at.

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al_borland

2 days ago

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If we look at something like Reddit, back when I used that, if I had a really popular comment I would feel the need to go though every notification, read it, and respond if it was warranted. This could end up being a lot of work. It was also an issue, because Reddit’s notification page was broken (last I used it), so the unread list would break when trying to go to a second page. So to catch them all, one had to note down the number of replies, then count, going page by page, until the comment count viewed matched the noted notification count. This was quite a pain.

Here on HN, if I have a popular comment, I can see that it generated a lot of discussion and tend to scroll through it and read/skim it like I would most other comments, especially once they start nesting further.

The net result of the HN model feels like less stress, as notifications imply some form of obligation. Why would I be getting a notification if it wasn’t important?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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That's fair. I guess incentive is the key.

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gdmka

21 hours ago

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The main problem with why mobile apps aren't very convenient is that even on Octal, in heated debates on HN it becomes extremely difficult to read nested comment threads. Personally, I lack focus when a parent comment generates a comment tree with deep nesting on the web, let alone on mobile clients.

What's really missing is a userscript like on imageboards where under each comment there's a link showing who replied to it, with auto expansion preview of in depth reply hierarchy. But honestly, it's not that hard to do now. Just give the task to Codex or Claude Code.

For those seeking ways to track replies to their messages, HNRSS[0] exists.

I don't even visit HN, I just pull the filtered RSS feed, and engage where I feel I'm interested or can provide value.

[0]: https://hnrss.github.io/#reply-feeds

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01jonny01

3 days ago

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If they created a simple webview app and framed the website would you use that or the website in your browser? I am just curious to what the OP classes as "convience and accessibility".

I find this an interesting topic. Since many users have requested my websites have an app, but I'm loathed to go through all the hoops of the app stores.

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Probably not. It's the same experience as the website. I've tried adding it to home screen so it opens immediately like a bookmark.

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01jonny01

21 hours ago

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So you like the responsiveness and snappiness of an app?

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vunderba

3 days ago

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You can just add the site to your home screen on Android / iOS - that addresses the convenience point IMHO.

I’m also not sure how an HN app (buried among the trillions of other in the respective app store) would necessarily be any more "discoverable" than the site itself.

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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as PWA. That's fair actually. I forgot about that.

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powerbook5300CS

3 days ago

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Octal is the best one. Typing this comment from it right now.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id130888...

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Yes octal is one of best the third party apps available and quite popular. My question was why there's no official app.

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replooda

3 days ago

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I'm replying to this using Hacki. Glider has treated me well too. Both are available on F-Droid.

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livinglist

3 days ago

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Developer of Hacki here, thanks for your support!

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frm88

3 days ago

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Finally I found you! Thank you for making Hacki - it's perfect. The most recent updates enhance the quality quite a bit. Do you have a patreon where I can donate?

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livinglist

2 days ago

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Thanks for the love! Simply a five star review on App Store/google play would be greatly appreciated!

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Hack is also brilliant. Thanks for your work and continued maintaining it. But would you know why they never made an official mobile app?

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MostlyFragile

3 days ago

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I use Octal which does everything I would need. Night mode, Pleasant UI, and lightweight

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Octal is brilliant. But it's third party. My question was why there's no official app.

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p1esk

3 days ago

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What’s wrong with reading HN in a browser? What problem are you trying to solve?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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I'm not solving anything. Was just wondering why it doesn't exist. Cause I find it more convenient on mobile.

Mostly from discoverability and experience wise.

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chistev

3 days ago

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It doesn't need one?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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I'd argue in favor of it though. I understand that most folks here might not prefer it, but it does make it more accessible and convenient.

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fullstick

3 days ago

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How is a mobile app you have to install from a third party more convenient and accessible than a website in a browser?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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That's actually the question. I'd not want to use a third party app if there's an official one available. Hence I'm still on browser.

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mac3n

3 days ago

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> My reddit usage grew massively

and that's a good thing?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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That's a good point. Bad for me I guess but should be good for product, no?

I was thinking from a product standpoint, why wouldn't they want one if it increases usage.

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stonecharioteer

3 days ago

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I'm halfway glad HN doesn't have a mobile app. You're not incentivized to maintain karma here like reddit does. HN's unsaid rules make it harder to gain karma and seem to improve the quality overall compared to /r/programming. Have you noticed you can't downvote yet?

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kranirudha

3 days ago

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Fair enough. But it's easy to miss replies or not know unless I re-open old posts to see if there's new replies to it, and so on.

The experience drops there for me. I once forgot to check back on a post and saw it had relevant questions about a year later.