I realized, a long time ago but coming to clarity recently, that I trust browsers far more than I trust mobile apps.
I don't particularly trust anything connected to Meta's technology.
Facebook: I haven't actively used for nearly a decade. I am on it, but I neither seek it out nor choose to peruse unless there's a necessity. HOA—a hyper-local government & association of homeowners in suburban communities of United States—is one of them.
Instagram is in its last legs with me, but I interact to catch up with people & content that isn't anywhere else.
Whatsapp is something else; entirely.
-tops: Web
On my desktop and laptop, I use WhatsApp Web exclusively.
mobile: App
It's a native sort of phone-thing. Part of it's purpose is the intrinsic and explicit ways of interacting. Different patterns, etc.
It's a service that hasn't gotten too out of control for me. Trust it too much, though. Or, maybe, healthy skepticism. Or, too much trust in Before Times level of enforced regulation. Or...
...that's why I'm so conflicted.
And why I'm leaning more into the native web.
Relatively, a personal rule
To trust in a complex array of global regulation, standards, browsers, websites and the many people people building them— -ish.
Remember: healthy skepticism.
There are some pretty cool ones out there:
- Horse Browser
- Polypane
- Ecosia
- DuckDuckGo
- Tor
Then, the more standard, corporate set:
- Firefox (Mozilla)
- Chrome (Google)
- Edge (Microsoft)
All with the foundations of:
- Alphabet's or
- Mozilla's.
Mostly Alphabet.
There's a reason they're called anti-trust lawsuits
TODO: Big ole list of lawsuits
Also: interest, accessibility, and skills to contribute
For me, the native web is one of the most accessible ways of interacting with other humans on the internet.
From being able to peek, relatively, under the hood of—at the very least—a website's structure, style, and interaction (HTML, CSS, and Javascript; respectively). And learn from it.
From just getting onto a browser and things "just work" wherever you are, on whatever device: just need a device, browser, and Internet access. If it's developed with intention, inclusive of the vast borders & margins that encompasses. That said: it's easy to do.
From being able to create a full personal website, information network, second brain, marketing campaign, etc...fully on your own computer with basic web development skills.
LLMs drastically increase the accessibility of using the native web in learning, hobby, and local networked home-cooked software.
Then! There's interoperability!
With webmentions, ATProtocol, bi-directional links, open data through public API's.
It's complex stuff—for me—that I hope (and want to contribute to building towards) becomes more accessible to a broader level-set of acquirable skills for people who interact with the Internet through the web.