Discussing smartphone use with various people recently, I quickly come back to the same question - what do you need it for? This is not a masked way of saying they don’t need a smartphone, but a genuine question. I’m personally happy to accept that people use smartphones for a variety of reasons, from professional work, to having to pay for parking, and from medical technology to not having access to laptops or computers.

So maybe a stepping stone to better co-design of smartphone use is to be more open about what we need to use our phones for, and why we carry them around with us. This post, then, is a bit of an experiment to start surfacing thoughts. The question is applicable to all devices, but I figure a) better to start somewhere specific, and b) smartphones are a particularly “invasive” device. So…

Which functions on your smartphone do you feel you NEED it for, and why?

To start, I’d say there are some things I like to have my phone on me for - camera, photo editing, note-taking. But the things I probably need it for on the go are:

  • Necessary contact from family and friends via phone call, text and (specific) group chats
  • Parking apps, as paying by machine often isn’t available here
  • Finding directions in strange places
  • Access to passwords and one-time codes
  • Transferring emergency funds to kids’ bank cards
  • Checking my calendar

I guess there will be a lot of overlap, but that’s good to know. And it would also be interesting to know what less common cases exist: I think a mindful tech movement risks coming from a privileged position, and so awareness of these less common needs is all an essential part of the discussion.

There are no right or wrong answers here, just the opportunity to open up and find out from others :)

  • Fleppensteyn
    2•4 months ago

    It’s assumed you have a phone on you at all times, so you get things like “contact us to check in”, “scan QR for time table” and digital locks that you open by phone. Of course banking is practically impossible without a phone.

    I need my alarm and Google Maps and would be OK with my 10 year old phone that still works if it wasn’t for banks and such. Stuff like browsing and watching videos are better on a computer anyway.

    • @[email protected]
      2•4 months ago

      Of course banking is practically impossible without a phone.

      I’m a bit disgusted by the state of affairs that has inspired your comment. But I notice you say “phone” and not “smartphone”.

      IMO, just about all banks require being reachable at a phone number (VOIP or mobile). Some banks have taken the extra shitty step of obligating customers to have a mobile phone number provably registered in their name which is then used for SMS 2fa verifications. Some even nastier banks have taken the abusive step of closing down their website and forcing customers to always have an up-to-date smartphone running their closed-source phone app which is exclusively available from Google or Apple.

      All banks are shitty but at least today we still have the ability to reject the worst of the worst and go without a smartphone, AFAICT. Though this would vary from one country to another.

        • FleppensteynEnglish
          1•4 months ago

          For my first bank I do everything on the app. If I log in through a browser, it requires me to scan a QR.

          My second bank also requires the app to log on, but SMS would be an option too (so still a phone is needed).

          My third one is Revolut, which can only be used with an app.

          Some other investment platforms I use, all require SMS for phone verification.

          I think it’s hard to find a bank that doesn’t require a phone. Maybe some banks can still send printed codes for additional fees or something.

          • @[email protected]
            1•4 months ago

            I think it’s hard to find a bank that doesn’t require a phone.

            It really depends on where you are. The US has over 6000 banks to choose from, so the highly competitive region somewhat helps. You probably could find some small town rural banks in the US that will open an account without a phone number. In some parts of Europe they insist on having a mobile number. But what some people do not know is EU banks cannot refuse a request for a “basic” bank account. I don’t think all banks offer basic accounts, but when they do, the application form does not even have a field for a phone number. Just name, address, and date of birth.

            • Fleppensteyn
              1•4 months ago

              The point is banks purposely make their browser versions terrible and still require an app or sms for 2FA. They may offer alternatives but discourage this by making it impractical or by charging fees.

              There’s no point to getting a “basic” account to get around using a phone because you won’t have a savings account, no investing, no multiple currencies etc.

              • @[email protected]
                1•4 months ago

                I refuse to do online banking entirely because the websites have become so shitty. And I will not touch non-FOSS smartphone apps. So I only bank offline. And yes, I get screwed because most banks charge a fee for paper statements. So my options are very limited.

                If you are offline you can probably still invest and have savings (in the US, not sure about Europe) but I would expect that to be quite costly. I think manual trades with human involvement are like $20 per trade or so in the US. That’s really the most fucked up part of this. If offline consumers had equal rights in terms of pricing, it would be fair enough and the online options would have pressure to be less shitty.