My Android smartphone is weird. On purpose. I don’t run proprietary apps on my phone. So no Play store, for instance.
I opened a bank account lately and when I walked in and told them I wanted to open a bank account they were like “ok, first you install the app.” And rather than saying “fuck no I don’t want you assholes snooping on my phone” I said “my phone is a little weird and it’s not going to be straightforward to get your app installed on my phone.”
And they kindof pressured me to prove it to them. Show them all my apps to prove I didn’t have the play store. Scan their QR code and download it manually (which I think only didn’t work because I (purposefully) opened the download with the wrong app.)
Next time I’m in a situation like that, Imma be like “I’ll make this real simple for you. I’m not installing your app. Now do you still want my business or shall I take my business elsewhere?”
Time for me to get on my soapbox. I’m constantly on the other end of what you just described, and I’m hopping mad about it. I work a large-ish retail chain for office supplies and tech support, and their “rewards” program is now going to be exclusively available through the phone app. The client base is almost exclusively old people. You can imagine how well that’s going. But even if it were allyoungg people, STOP MAKING PEOPLE DOWNLOAD YOUR STUPID APP. Our store’s performance is judged by how many app downloads we get in a week.
TOO many times! Took a while to learn that it’s ok to stand up for yourself, especially with “friends”