Against auto-update
People flip out over rearranged or occupied desks at work. Someone moved their stapler, shifted their monitor, took their place, and suddenly it’s a whole thing. I, personally, can handle an occupied or rearranged desk. I flip out over rearranged apps.
Software usually comes with the “automatic update” setting on by default. You probably know what I’m going to advocate for. In my opinion, this setting should almost always be turned off.
Reasons against auto-update:
- I don’t know what changed. The “here’s what’s new” popup appears when I open the app to do something, so I immediately click the popup away. I’m more likely to actually read what’s different when I consciously update.
- Many new changes aren’t really beneficial, sometimes software just gets strictly worse and your muscle memory becomes a liability.
- Downgrading is hard, sometimes impossible — iOS for example won’t let you go back.
Of course, everything is a trade-off. One reason web applications are popular is because they basically force every user to auto-update.
Reasons for auto-update:
- Security updates
- The “app version not supported” screen is annoying and you might be forced to update at an inconvenient time
The security argument is strong, however, software providers pivoted to either using a different update channel for critical security fixes or they stop supporting vulnerable apps outright, which is sane behavior. In that sense, the “app version not supported” banner might be a good thing, heh.
The tradeoff is worth it in my eyes. Since turning auto-update off, I have more calm about my frequently-used apps and I don’t flip out about someone rearranging my apps.
Related
- Enshittification, although I am not as pessimistic as Cory Doctorow about the state of software
- “Let that be a lesson to you, son: never upgrade.”