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).
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.
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
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
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!
Assume they’d let ask you to have staff let you in every time, same as someone whose battery died. Pretty soon they’d recognize you and quickly buzz/wave you along, I figure.
That’s how I play the game, you get on first name basis with people too that way…
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.
That isn’t how contracts work
So if you can’t get in a gym because of a technology they added after you signed, they will just continue to charge you?
That’s what you think will happen?
Knowing corporate gyms… Probably.
Yes that’s absolutely what will happen. They likely have language in the contract you signed allowing them to do just that.
You are paying for access to the gym. They don’t have to provide you access via a card or a list or an app - they probably specify that they can refuse access for a variety of reasons, including “safety and privacy” or some shit they can shoehorn an app into. You don’t have a legal right to access a place via the mechanism you choose.
Looking online at similar situations people had their membership canceled by management. Other cases showed bring able to enter by a phone number, by their old tag, or ID verification. Looks like it happened for people whose app kept on crashing or a work phone that wouldn’t allow installs.
Which gym would just keep charging you if you said you can’t get in?
I never said they’d charge you, I said they wouldn’t just let you in.
Isn’t that illegal though?
Isn’t what illegal? They are allowed to determine how you access their gym.
Making apps mandatory. Idk about the US but I’m pretty sure here it’s illegal
They’re not a government institution providing necessary services, so I think it’s legal pretty much everywhere. Same with places accepting payment by card only.
Idk. I’ve never seen a card-only place here so I guess they’re illegal too. Even if there are such places, you can easily find ones that accept cash and don’t require apps. You all just live in such enshittificated places that you can’t believe in the existence of much better ones I guess
It’s not like that here. Most accept cash and I think gyms are still “normal”
Sometimes the app just shows a barcode that they scan. I always screenshotted the barcode and deleted the app. Better yet, save the barcode in catima https://catima.app/
Or Barcodes on iOS
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/reward-card-wallet-barcodes/id1610894014
First time i hear of this, sounds handy, although I’ve seen some of those “loyalty card” thingies with chips for hands-free usage, i tend to avoid them as a general principle as they’re the opposite of privacy-oriented but for the few that you do want (like the store where you always buy your groceries from, to get extra discounts) might be handy
This would be the best way. Unfortunately they made it the other way around. A screen at the door shows the code, and you scan it with the app.
In my previous gym the code was on the app, but I’m not sure anymore if it was static or it changed over time. But the reader on the door was awful, I used to spend a good 3 minutes trying different angles with my phone to make it recognize the code.
This desperately needs to become an illegal industry. Perfectly legitimate businesses are letting their real business fall to the wayside as they convert their profits to a fucking consumer spying business. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of all the tracking, and I’m sick of ads popping up in new places all the freaking time. You go to pump gas and a commercial starts blaring in your face. You can’t escape it. You can’t get a moment of peace to sit with your thoughts. It’s negatively affecting our entire society, yet every business is pursuing it with zeal and the politicians aren’t doing jack shit to protect the people. Matter of fact the government is buying the data too. I never imagined this is what the future would look like when I was growing up.
Well ads themselves aren’t that big of an issue for me (though they can be a pain for people with photosensitive epilepsy which can be used as an argument for restricting them btw) but other than that I agree. Unfortunately governments won’t shut it down because it’s not just an amazing data source and optimization of human resources (because they can just buy data instead of hiring a lot of agents) but also a lot of income in taxes when the data is sold
My old college dorm did this, I told them I don’t have a smartphone (lie) and they gave me an access card that works 100% of the time without needing a charge. They might do the same at your gym.
The apps requirement pisses me off. Both Android/IOS have some sort of pass system.
I’d speak to management and voice your concerns regarding the app, and ask if there is another method available for entry. If not, I’d cancel my membership and look for another gym that respects my privacy.
probably best to stay with a locally owned gym if poasible
All of my local gyms in my last 3 areas have been super pricy. Like $75-$150 a month. It may not seem high, but when you can get a franchise membership for $10-$30, it’s a hard sale.
I have had luck with specialty stuff though. Yoga is common to have discounts and decent pricing if that’s anyone’s jam.
I’m guessing the higher price is based on the expectation that you will actually use the gym, and not priced with the hope you never show up.
i hate apps as well, but there is some efficiency gained in not having to manage the infrastructure required for ‘cards’. its not always about the data mining.
i have ‘utility’ device that is an old cell phone with no cellular access used for this kind of nonsense. i also use it for music (pseudo-ipod)
its not always about the data mining.
If OP tells us the name of the app (fine if not, it may be a local one to them), we can look at the exodus report, maybe also the App Manager “detected libraries” report too.
For not having some infra managing “cards”, to have some infra managing app instead. Let’s be real, that infra (and managing work) most likely is being out sourced to another company. I think the “efficiency gained” is minimal, but rather the cost to operate. With apps, they can recoup some cost by selling your data.
Great use for an old phone! I have some lying around. This is one of those forehead-slapping moments for me.
That sucks. The last gym I was at had the access cards too which was great. I’m fortunate now to be able to have a home gym, so I don’t have to worry about that kind of enshittification.
My gym did that. But it’s not really an app, it’s a QR code you pull up to scan, wrapped in some semblance of trying to be an app. Which means I took a screenshot and just pulled that up. Still stupid.
But you can also just print it out and put it on a card 😎
Join a local sports club, meet new people, volunteer, have fun for cheap.
My gym does this. I carry one my old phones in my console with nothing but the gym app on it. I turn it on when I park, it connects to wifi while I’m walking in, I scan the code then turn it off and throw it in my bag.
That’s cool but also a bit dystopian in a way.
i don’t even take my phone with me when i go out for the gym 🤷
people are stuck to their phones! i see people doing crunches while watching a video on their phones in one of their hands. Hurts to look at their pitiful postures.
aren’t there any laws there for guaranteeing accessibility?
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.
totally fair to be upset IMO. spare a thought for my friend whose gym rolled out mandatory fingerprint scanning for entry, then mandatory facial recognition a few months later (they cancelled their membership)
For gym next to me you need smart card and also fingerprint to enter 🤣. Im happy I dont do any workouts
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