There are restaurants with only digital menus, there are bars that only take electronic payments, gyms that only have a digital membership card, parking lots only payable via app, during covid there were countries that required quarantine apps on entry.

Sure you could say "just don't go to those places" but then you're slowly withdrawing from society as these things gain in ubiquity.

This is doubly annoying as a tourist or immigrant: no, I don't have a local phone number, I don't have a bank account here, and I don't want to install $APP that is ubiquitous in your country but controlled by $Evilcorp.

Examples from several different countries: getting around without rideshare/taxi hailing apps, 'self check-in' gyms in Seoul, Covid-related QR codes to get into restaurants, stores that only take mobile payments.

I hate digital menus. I don't like being on my phone when I go out for dinner (unless I'm by myself) and looking at a nice menu was part of the experience.

Seoul has been 'modernizing' bus stops. The route information, which used to be printed on posters at 1200 dpi, is now visible on large screens at 300 dpi, but the graphics have not been updated. As a result it is very challenging to see the details of most routes.

Dang. Literally none of those things exist where I live in the US. In fact, there's a food truck that comes through every once in awhile that is still cash-only.

>Sure you could say "just don't go to those places" but then you're slowly withdrawing from society as these things gain in ubiquity.

conversely the only reason that these companies enforce such policies is because they get away with doing so and people participate.

> Sure you could say "just don't go to those places" but then you're slowly withdrawing from society as these things gain in ubiquity.

Not only, you are also casting a vote:

"I am very sorry, but I usually don't have my phone with me, seems like I need to bring my money to another business."

> Sure you could say "just don't go to those places" but then you're slowly withdrawing from society as these things gain in ubiquity.

I do say that, that all sounds crap and I don't want any of it even though I have a phone. (And it isn't my experience, I believe it exists but it's absolutely not hard to ignore.)

Again, if they all-caps-hate it so much...

> There are restaurants with only digital menus

I've walked out of places because of that.

SMS and app-based confirmation codes, phone number verification requirements, app-exclusive features, QR codes to see the menu, etc etc.