This may be an unpopular opinion, but is Yelp really being slimy by pushing users to download their app? Seems to me it's more that they are being too cheap/lazy to properly maintain both a mobile app and a mobile site. Certainly not behavior that benefits their users, but I feel slimy implies that they are doing something dishonest.

Here's a screenshot of the mobile site: https://i.imgur.com/WDDnKJk.png

In the top left, there's an "open in app" button. It's not very intrusive, it's just sitting there in the header to remind you that there's an app. The rest of the website looks usable, right? Nope.

Click on "open in app": redirected to app store

Click on user's avatar: redirected to app store

Click on "read more": redirected to app store

Click on one of the reactions: redirected to app store

It's dishonest because the site isn't interactive at all -- there's a huge overlay that prevents any meaningful interaction with the site. It's quite the opposite of lazy, because there's a functional site under there, they just refuse to let people use it.

I don’t understand Why doesn’t google penalize them? They used to be pretty hard on links doing something other than what is expected. Maybe not anymore..

Isn't Yelp one of the main forces behind the slew of complaints against Google? That must tie Google's hands to some extent.

they're using app.adjust.com to force the user to get the app and track the behavior -- using Firefox and something like uBlock will prevent the behavior and block the redirect attempt

I'm using Firefox and uBlock Origin, it still kicks you to uBlock's warning/whitelist page.

the only option I've found is to force desktop mode, otherwise virtually all engagement with the mobile site will redirect to the app

Yelp cares a lot about app installs because web traffic is fragile. When Google ranking changes their traffic immediately changes, which is not desirable for building a stable buisness.

Feels a bit like looking for your keys under the streetlight. App users may be 10x more valuable but it doesn’t mean you can force them. There are lots of services that I will use frequently through a website but would never install an app.

In that case just deep six the app and let everyone use the website. Surely running just a website and a mobile website has to be less work than running a website, a half functioning purposefully neutered mobile website, and and app. They're user hostile, so slimy or not, fuck 'em.

"Seems to me it's more that they are being too cheap/lazy to properly maintain both a mobile app and a mobile site."

The article is talking about their financial struggles but they are too cheap and lazy to maintain multiple platforms?

reddit and imgur are two of the worst offenders as well.