Updates suck.
Everyone loves it when the software they use gets a new feature that they've been aching for. Fact is, most updates aren't like that.
It might be a bit nihilistic to say that everything sucks, but you can make your life better as a user, and developers can make life better for their users - and, in turn, for themselves.
Update texts suck
Facebook, your update texts suck
Facebook Messenger is already on version 180. Every week they push out a new version of their app, promising "bug fixes and performance improvements" without telling you what they actually are.
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How many users benefit from these constant updates? How many people have encountered a bug then noticed that it was fixed? How many people noticed poor performance and then noticed that it was improved? By contrast, how many people get increasingly frustrated with the software they use constantly changing its behaviour and appearance and increasing in size? How much bandwidth is wasted on these updates?
Microsoft, your update texts suck
"A security issue has been identified that could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to compromise your system and gain control over it." Thus spake pretty much every Windows update ever.
This tells me nothing, except that if I click Install, I will have to restart my computer. Honestly, I'm better off not installing it. I have disabled and firewall-blocked Windows Update on all my Windows machines from Windows 7 onwards, because I am tired of unscheduled downtime. This was one of the reasons why I switched away from Windows.
And the rest
The current trend seems to be for update texts to be chummy boiler-plate. "We want you to have the best possible whatever-this-application-is-for experience, so blah blah waffle waffle something something bug fixes and stability improvements". Get to the point. If I can't see the reason for your update in the summary text, I'm not updating.
Some application developers seem to forget that the device manages updates for them. Why, then, provide a notification inside the application to users who have deliberately disabled automatic updates? All it serves to do is annoy those users - especially if the text doesn't have details of the new features (if it doesn't, there aren't any), and if it cannot be dismissed permanently. There is a reason why users disable updates: to avoid things like this.
Changes suck
"Bug fixes and performance improvements" are seldom just that. Several innocuous-looking updates have introduced adverts to otherwise clean software; removed features there was nothing wrong with (Here WeGo, I will not forgive you for removing hi-fi voices); and smuggled unwanted content on to devices (Microsoft, your Windows 10 upgrade advisor will never be forgiven by anyone who suffered it.) Even Apple, who are more transparent than most on the security and feature content of their updates, are not immune to failings - just look at how .0 versions of iOS contain bugs, battery drain issues and more. I want to be on the bleeding edge, but not on the devices that I rely on every day.
Your software is a guest on my device
Whether I've paid for the software or not - whether I'm the customer or the product - your software is a guest on my device. Just like a guest in my home, if your software behaves badly, it can expect to be shown the door. Similarly, your software is not entitled to anything from me. I don't give my guests my wi-fi password, so your software should not expect to be able to phone home. Misbehave and you've lost a customer product.
I don't know of anyone who actually wants their software to update automatically. History is littered with examples of updates gone wrong: never mind the innocuous-looking updates that cause apps to crash, look at how Snapchat's redesign was received. By contrast, when Philips redesigned the app for their Hue lighting system, they released the new version as a separate app, to give the users a choice.
The update manifesto
It's time to restore some sanity. So here are the rules I abide by, and the rules I expect application developers to abide by. It's not hard. And if you not only switch off your automatic updates but also the notification bubble that shows you that there are 51 updates waiting for you (it seems impossible that I even have 51 applications on my phone, never mind that that many need updates), your life will be better.
As a user
I update my software manually, in the following circumstances:
- your software contains a bug that affects me (I will resent updating if your change log does not indicate that you have fixed the bug; doubly so if the update does not actually fix the bug)
- your update delivers a new feature that I can make use of
- your software stops working and tells me to update it (I will resent updating if you break your app and I need to update it)
As a developer
I respect that my software is a guest on the user's device. To that end:
- Application updates will only be issued when they benefit the user.
- Application updates will provide a clear change log, detailing all changes including those detrimental to the user; and known open and fixed security issues
- The summary text for an application update will provide succinct detail of the update content
- Major redesigns will be released as separate applications, to avoid inconveniencing users who update automatically
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