Walled Gardens Can Kill

> but no doubt other times it’s changing behavior in the app itself, OS decided to wipe cache, app has bad info, whatever

GaiaGPS, which advertises is offline capability, after an update (but not immediately after the update) recently required users to login to continue using the app. Which was impossible if you happened to be out of cell phone range 10 miles from a trailhead when this login popup happened. Incredibly bone-headed move, and dangerous for hikers that aren't smart enough to carry backup map sources. But Gaia has been trending this way for several years.

Very minor life hack, but when hiking with a phone map I always take a screenshot of the map to ensure I have at least that. Also a good habit to photo the map whenever starting a known trail with the big map at the start - I do that as a habit now.

At least in the US, all of the topographic maps are available for free download from the USGS and can be printed at home or at a copy center.

You can also purchase printed copies.

A gallon ziplock bag makes for cheap lamination. So does clear packing tape.

I remember years ago in the era of paper maps that very few people took "orienteering" type classes to know how to locate themselves on said maps.

Generally best to have some redundancy there.

My ass has been saved more times by an iPhone compass and offline OrganicMaps than the other way round. Quote the situation a couple of years back where the state issued paper maps were completely wrong and my Suunto compass turned out to likely be a fake one and froze and cracked open overnight. 30km from humans on a mountain range in central asia.

I have never had an iPhone crap out on me I will add. Has completely replaced my dedicated GPS.

The worst thing I've ever seen though is a compass app on Android that won't work if it can't contact the ad server.

I don’t understand why an app should even be necessary here, a phone call should be sufficient, or at least access through a website.

> This is really the fault of the insurance company (they geo-locked the app, Apple is just respecting that).

This sounds like a verbose way of saying "this is really the fault of Apple".

> Gollygee I hope this gets better

It's not. I'm not a history buff so I won't speak for the past. But right now there is a huge accountability problem.

Government literally can't exist without ignoring accountability.

Corporations are incentivised to ignore accountability.

Individuals want to ignore accountability.

You only have control over yourself. If you want your life to go better then you have to take the accountability.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, have backups, understand how the things you participate in work. Ask questions like "why would this be free".

It's a long road for everyone but if you want to be safe and happy you gotta take the solutions into your own hands.

There are real positive tradeoffs made by locking down an os. a phone existing that can’t get bona-fide spyware on it (when kept updated) has saved countless people from the stress and grief of eg being blackmailed or having their private browsing habits made public.

People should be able to buy the phone that fits their needs.

Software when done right is magical. What about the times that the software helped people?

I agree that this is might not be the most-likely-to-kill-you aspect of using walled gardens, but since it's what the article is about... No, the vendor of your hardware should not be participating in schemes like region locking. You paid them for the device, they're supposed to be working for you, not against you.

The fact that google does it also doesn't make it ok.

> Maybe region locking is easy to get around if you’re technical, but in an emergency for most non-technical people, the outcome will be the same on Android as it is on Apple, no?

Unless something has change in the past few years since I needed to do this, you can get around it on iPhone by creating a new Apple ID for the new region and logging your phone into that account.

[added] probably not the first thing one thinks about if they are in a heighten anxiety/panic state though

Apple Music was the app that prevented them from changing regions, is there a Google app that would prevent the same?

On Android, you can sideload an APK that you got from somewhere other than Playstore.

> Is the Android version of the app in question not region locked on Android?

It probably is, I didn't check. I was able to grab the APK and install it directly

> Android supports region locking and has some region locked apps too, it appears, according to Google.

No, Android does not support region locking. Neither does iOS. (Technically, you can make your app look at the SIM country and exit if it's not what you want, but nobody does this.) App stores on those platforms support region locking. The problem the author is highlighting is that you can't just get the ipk and install it directly to get around the app store's restrictions like you can on most Android phones.

Similarly it’s very annoying not being able to use banking apps on a phone I bought here in Europe, even when they work fine on the phone I brought from the US

FWIW when sth like this happens, you can try to go to a place like APKPure and actually download the damn thing without anyone telling you that you can't.

Also works for pinning versions of apps that ship some malware (like safetynet detection) with a new update. Apps installed from there are not linked to play store by default and so updates are not checked.

Vodafone UK does this. It's infuriating.

Thanks for sharing this. I agree with others that this issue is primarily caused by the insurer (why does this need an app?) and dysfunctional healthcare governed by money and greed.

Still it's a good reminder of what you're getting into with walled gardens.

More broadly, it is a real shame how corporations have turned mobile internet into the complete opposite of what it could achieve.

Ideally, the only thing tied to a specific hardware or software provider should be your identity.

And imho, said provider should be controlled by state government, and be accessible from any device, given the proof of identity.

"side-loading"? you surely mean "installing software that you want on a device that you own". don't use abusive corporate language.

I must have missed this one among... you know, everything. What happened with Apple?

If I am understanding, you were in United Arab Emirates (UAE), but your phone was logged into an account set to a different region?

If that is the case I am surprised that is the first time you ran into a geo locked app and didn't already have another Apple account for that region that you could log into. This was one of the first things I quickly learned to do if I wanted my iPhone to be useful at all when I spent many months living in a (non-Western) country. (using apps for their services)

Isn't this more an issue with your insurance company not having a phone number or web site you could have used instead of the app?

The same where a bank doesn't provide the same data and services on their website than on their phone application. And that application in addition to being region-locked requires a non-rooted phone with GApps installed.

It felt like we were closer to that 10+ years ago compared to now.

Some things indeed make sense on a global scale. But if I would have a local problem, I would not like to have to deal with a obscure world government agency (partly or largely run by AI) somewhere far away.

Indeed. Avoid any critical service if it requires having an app (or even a cell phone for 2FA, although sadly it's becoming the norm).

I got locked out of Google because my second number was not a cell phone. Back then, they had the option to call and read the code. Suddenly they took that option away and only allowed texting.

Mobility decisions are often dictated by visa-policies for people with weak passports (which is a big chunk of the world population). UAE, with all its flaws, is a lot more accessible than other countries may be

> "a country where the health services do not treat seriously ill people without question."

Your point here and below have the whiff of committed insincerity off them, but nonetheless, if we take you at face value, a quick search reveals this astonishing quote from https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-...

> "UAE's hospitals can handle any medical emergency. During medical emergencies, a hospital will accept you for initial treatment and may transfer you to a hospital better equipped to deal with your problem.

The UAE provides standard medical care and visitors can easily obtain medical treatment from either private or government hospitals. In case of emergency, treatment to stabilise the case is free. Other treatment must be paid for by cash, credit card or insurance."

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