I asked a relative to look for RealVNC on the Play Store and install it. Once they were done, I asked them to fulfill a basic task inside RealVNC and they were really confused by my instructions. I took a look at their phone, lo and behold, they had installed a different app. I asked them to repeat the install procedure while I watched. They punched in “realvnc” in the search box, two identically formatted results appeared. Their finger instinctively clicked the Install button on the top result. It was an ad. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️🤦

  • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
    01·
    3 months ago

    This seems like a case of user error, considering the sponsored result is clearly not the application you asked them to install. However, the Play Store is undoubtedly trash and anti-consumer which is why I primarily use the Aurora Store even on non-deGoogled phones. Performing the same search in Aurora, that Zoho Assist app is not even in the first 20 results while RealVNC Viewer and RealVNC Server are the top two results.

    • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      No, fuck that. The ads being listed before rhe first result are intended to cause people to misclick. That isn’t all on the user.

      Don’t excuse predatory business practices.

      • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
        01·
        3 months ago

        Are you illiterate? My very next sentence was:

        However, the Play Store is undoubtedly trash and anti-consumer which is why I primarily use the Aurora Store even on non-deGoogled phones.

        • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
          1·
          3 months ago

          If the practices are predatory, blaming the user is excusing the predatory practices. Bragging about how you use something else in that context is doubling down on blaming the user instead of the practices.

          So no, I am not illiterate. You ahould have just left off the sentence blaming the victim.

          • Zorque@lemmy.worldEnglish
            0·
            3 months ago

            is doubling down on blaming the user instead of the practices

            They blamed both, though.

            • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
              1·
              3 months ago

              Blaming a user for falling for malicious practices designed by multibillion dollars companies is like blaming the victim of a hit and run. “It was their fault for using the crosswalk, but the driver was also wrong for not stopping.”

              Both sides!

              • Zorque@lemmy.worldEnglish
                01·
                3 months ago

                Yeah, no one should have to look at what they’re doing to stop themselves from making mistakes! Everyone should be able to blindly make decisions and they should always be correct!