Comment by MisterTea
4 days ago
> - Not having any banking apps on my phone. Every time my son needs a few bucks in his account, my wife has to do it if we're out.
This is the most tyrannical things about smart phones -- banking apps. I get it, the bank wants to ensure the platform is not a liability. But it forces most of us to use one of the only two "trusted" mobile providers on earth: Google or Apple, both of which are American (and I'm an American.) The only alternative is a browser which comes with its own set of problems.
In my experience in the U.S., I can manage my accounts at various banks and brokerages just as well from the website as from a mobile app. I’m ok with them restricting how their apps can be used as long as the browser remains an option. The requirement to use an app for all account management (or for authenticating to a website) seems to be mostly a European phenomenon.
Mobile check deposit is usually app only. I think Ally lets you use their website, but they are an outlier.
I don't need to deposit checks often, but I'd rather not have to mail it in when I do.
True, that is the one feature that is app-only usually. Sounds like someone who wants to go smartphone-free should open an Ally account!
One might by Jelly Star and use it just for banking apps. And have a proper phone with their own free selection of software.
...and switching phones/devices with all these banking 2FA apps is the worst...
Many work on GrapheneOS
Which is based on Android, a Google product. What if I don't want to run Android or iOS? What if I want to run something that isn't Linux based?
Strictly speaking it's based on AOSP. Which has Android in its name if you expand the acronym, but it's really not the same beast...
I realize this is true. This is more of a personal choice since apps like Venmo can still track you on Graphene:
GrapheneOS does not strip proprietary tracking code embedded directly inside third-party apps like Venmo. If you log into Venmo, the app collects your financial activity, device analytics, and interactions
Venmo requires a verified account tied to your real identity, phone number, and bank account, meaning the service already knows who you are regardless of your operating system.
Venmo can see your IP address and any location data you permit the app to access, or data derived from your connection