Ask HN: Is there a reason a coffee app would block other apps

2 points by Greyfoscam 3 years ago | 1 comment

In the pacific northwest there is a popular app for paying for coffee called Dutch Bros. After a required update to continue using, the app now states it detected teamviewer and requires me to uninstall TeamViewer on my phone to continue to use their app or redeem any points towards free coffee accrued. When I contacted them I discovered it was not limited to Teamviewer, all remote access apps are triggering this lockout. Their customer service explained this is limited to android phones, so if I switch to apple,I can use their app. I am not switching phones just to get a coffee. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why a coffee app would need to detect and not allow remote access apps on Android devices only ?

anigbrowl 3 years ago |

Contact their legal department and ask them to explain their privacy-breachiong activity. Oregon has a technology aware US senator in Ron Wyden whose office would likely give you a sympathetic listen.

There's more info in this Reddit thread (possibly contributed by you, of course): https://www.reddit.com/r/dutchbros/comments/z33rea/anyone_su...

Of course, if they're so hostile to TeamViewer that suggests a yawning security hole that it might be interesting to investigate.