So I joined a new gym last year and was pleasantly surprised. They gave me a smart card to get in and out, that’s it, no app, no accounts, no nothing. Well, today I got to the gym and saw the announcement that they are phasing out the access with the smart card and starting to use, you guessed it, an app.

Now, I know this is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I’m just tired of this trend of replacing perfectly functioning systems with apps (public transport tickets come to mind). Just more ways to harvest people’s data, I guess…

Ah and by the way, in my previous gym they not only required an app for accessing the place, they also incentivized people to track their workouts, meals and bodyweight using the gym’s app (of course I never used any of these features).

  • IllNess@infosec.pub
    2·
    2 months ago

    Bring them a dumb phone. Ask them to install the app on it for you. Tell then you are not buying a new phone just to use the gym.

    • originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 months ago

      And they will say you can’t go to the gym, then. I agree this is enshittification but this isn’t a magic trick that lets you bypass the app

      • nexas_XIII@lemm.ee
        1·
        2 months ago

        It’s not, but I pushed back on my gym and they got me a barcode key tag. The app just shows a barcode anyway so I lucked out. I took a picture of the barcode and use that to get into the gym. Doesn’t hurt to try

        • Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          2 months ago

          Doing that makes it so they need to support the old system since some people keep asking for it. All I’m saying is, your actions help so thank you!

      • IllNess@infosec.pub
        1·
        2 months ago

        This isn’t a magic trick. This is more about pushing and seeing how far they would bend.

        Like what you said, if all else it’s a way out of the stupid agreements with gyms.

  • DreitonLullaby@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    I’m going to be moving into a van in the next few years full-time, travelling around Australia and using gyms for showers and, well, exercise. I don’t know if it’s already an issue over here or not, but I sure hope it won’t be by the time I can move out in the van full-time, cause this is one of the best ways of accessing showers without building one into the van.