Reasons not to use site-specific apps.

From a programmer.

I’ve been a computer programmer for about 40 years now. Here I’ll discuss why companies develop their own apps to access their social media site, and why you should not use those apps.

They develop those apps so they can control security and access to their site. And to add features when they want to. But they need money to do all this.

Telegram requires usage of the app to see most of the media, so I don’t use Telegram at all. I don’t use the Discord or Guilded app, I use them through a web browser which has good security by itself, which is strengthened by browser plugins like Malwarebytes. But Malwarebytes censors content they don’t like.

At any point the company could be compromised and they could add a back door to access more info on your device. Or the back door could have been there from day 1. They might delete files making your device unusable, snoop for unencrypted passwords on your banking site, or other creative mischief.

TikTok is seen as a security risk by the US government. It is claimed it is a way to collect psychological information on Americans. That doesn’t mean they collect just usage patterns, they collect how other countries think, they look for patterns. The stated goal of the CCP is to bring America and western society down. America is just one of their biggest targets.

Here’s a story about banned apps connected to the CCP.

Indian army banned from using 89 apps. Tensions between India and China ramp up. Apps are probably linked to Chinese companies and CCP. Now how in the world are they going to enforce that ban on those apps on thousands of cell phones and other devices? https://twitter.com/i/events/1281127173202432000 This includes We Chat, QQ, Kik, TokTok, Facebook, Baidu, Instagram, SnapChat, and many more.