I don’t use smart phones a lot, so feel free to disregard my opinion. But to me, swiping to the left means “next”, like turning a page in a book. If you wanted to leave the site, you’d go ‘back’ to where you came from, which means swiping from left to right to me.
On many Android phones swiping from the outside edge of the screen inwards either from the left or right edge, it behaves like you tapped the "back" button. It is extremely useful to get out of for example an article that was opened on Lemmy or simply navigating through menus on your phone.
A swipe either left or right from the middle-ish of the screen is what you would expect to take you from the previous or next article. Not from the edge.
It is called Gestures Navigation and replaces the three button navigation. It is an available option in the settings if your Android version supports it. Some people don't like it, personally I prefer it except for that one time some asshole website tries to take advantage of it.
Is the little descriptive icon there the whole time? Is it there only when you try to use the gesture? It might be malicious if there was no warning at all and it just does it... but to me it seems like they're just trying to apply intuitive design practices in their mobile site design.
Not everything is an attack, even if one feels attacked.
No, it doesn’t work that way on iOS in my experience. Swipe from the side of the screen is application-specific.
Swipe from left is always “go back to where you were previously” or “go back to the main menu of this application.” Swipe from right does nothing unless the application defines it.
The Independent’s feature might override an iOS browser’s “Forward” feature, if you already used the “Back” feature.
Idk why we had to get rid of swipe up from the bottom where the 3 icons used to always be. Now if you want to get at all the open stuff I have to execute a corner.
On iPhones and iPads, swipe from the left to go back. In a book on such a device, swipe from the right to go forward.
On eReaders, particularly Kindles, tap on the right side to go forward; tap on the left side to go back.
On Android with gestures enabled, swipe from the left side to go back. Or… swipe from the right side to go back. Counter intuitive but apparently at least one person uses that.
Assuming OP has standard gestures enabled, they could still swipe from the left side.
It is almost like this is why we had originally decided to put navigation buttons at the very bottom of the screen where they are easily accessible both by left- and right-handed users.
And then larger and larger "handheld" devices made that physically awkward as people tend to hold their phone near the middle to balance the weight and oh look my thumb doesn't reach the top or bottom anymore!
I shouldn't have to adjust my grip on my phone to change the way I swipe to exit the website because that website decided to replace a commonly used functionality to make it different for their website alone. I kid you not I almost didn't see that button because my thumb was naturally placed in front of it.
There is already a way to make a gesture that navigates "previous" or "next" by swiping left or right. It is by swiping from the center of the screen outwards and it is how that website should have made that gesture work if they didn't want to interfere with Android navigation gesture users.
Something similar happens with apps that put ad banners on the bottom of the screen and make the app full screen. You try to swipe up to see the navigation bar and most of the time end up tapping the ad.
It's a shitty and deceptive pattern and for some reason Android still sends your gestures to the app when using the system UI.
That seems to indicate the proper swiping to go to the next article (right to left). Swiping left to right would close the article is the expected behavior for me.
What I hate is sites like AP News where if you swipe left to right to leave the site you instead go back a page and land on their carousel and have to hit back again. Fuck dark patterns.
The swiping motion that you are describing starts from the center of the screen outwards. I have no problems with that as you have said, it is standard behaviour across most platforms and doesn't conflict with other gestures.
The problem is that the site is using a swiping from the edge of the screen inwards instead. In most gestures-enabled Android devices this is a powerful gesture that has the same functionality as using the "back" button and its utility and functionality extends well beyond web browsers. It is incompetent design at best to try to make that gesture do something else on your website.
More importantly, I was visiting this page from a Lemmy link and the only way to get out and back to Lemmy when you have gesture enabled (short of force quitting the app entirely and reopening it) is to use that gesture. That website tries to hijack that feature to make you see more ads on their site.
The swipe in is a system input for back action. It works on every app and between apps, and it works anywhere on the right side of the screen, instead of having to reach wherever your app back button is, if it's not collapsed and has to be scrolled in to view as well.
If you look at the screenshot, it doesn't even have a back button. Only a close button. Whether they navigated or not is not clear, but likely won't change the header controls in this view.
Is this some kind of iOS thing? Screenehot looks like Android... My phone does not have a universal swipe action for backing out of apps (swiping left to right or right to left are app dependent on what they do), and you can also make the bottom control buttons never hide themselves.
Do you have android 10+? Than you should find something like "gesture control" in your options. This replaces the buttons at the bottom (back, home, apps) with gestures
swipe from the left or right edge towards center -> back
swipe from the bottom edge towards center
-> home
swipe from the bottom edge towards center and hold -> show open apps
on homescreen, swipe upwards anywhere besides the bottom edge -> app drawer
It's a personal preference. Ever since I tried gesture I never went back to buttons. I don't even need to adjust my hand position to get out of a page and it's never been a problem until that site has put a different function exactly where my thumb was going to swipe.
Also, such a function you are suggesting would use a different gesture. You would have to swipe from the center-ish of the screen outwards instead of the other way around.
40 Comments
bleistift2@sopuli.xyz · 51 pts · 331d
I don’t use smart phones a lot, so feel free to disregard my opinion. But to me, swiping to the left means “next”, like turning a page in a book. If you wanted to leave the site, you’d go ‘back’ to where you came from, which means swiping from left to right to me.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 331d
On many Android phones swiping from the outside edge of the screen inwards either from the left or right edge, it behaves like you tapped the "back" button. It is extremely useful to get out of for example an article that was opened on Lemmy or simply navigating through menus on your phone.
A swipe either left or right from the middle-ish of the screen is what you would expect to take you from the previous or next article. Not from the edge.
False@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 331d
My android doesn't seem to do that. I just use the back button.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 331d
It is called Gestures Navigation and replaces the three button navigation. It is an available option in the settings if your Android version supports it. Some people don't like it, personally I prefer it except for that one time some asshole website tries to take advantage of it.
False@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 331d
I think they're much more likely ignorant to this than malicious.
Zorque@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 331d
Is the little descriptive icon there the whole time? Is it there only when you try to use the gesture? It might be malicious if there was no warning at all and it just does it... but to me it seems like they're just trying to apply intuitive design practices in their mobile site design.
Not everything is an attack, even if one feels attacked.
Revan343@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 331d
Never heard of dark patterns? There's a history of websites doing shitty things like this on purpose
False@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 331d
I have, I think ignorance of a niche android setting is far more likely.
talentedkiwi@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 331d
A website that big is probably malicious, as I feel like iPhone has the same gesture (don't quote me on that)
calliope@retrolemmy.com · 1 pts · 331d
No, it doesn’t work that way on iOS in my experience. Swipe from the side of the screen is application-specific.
Swipe from left is always “go back to where you were previously” or “go back to the main menu of this application.” Swipe from right does nothing unless the application defines it.
The Independent’s feature might override an iOS browser’s “Forward” feature, if you already used the “Back” feature.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 331d
Idk why we had to get rid of swipe up from the bottom where the 3 icons used to always be. Now if you want to get at all the open stuff I have to execute a corner.
That first day was a real bitch and a half.
whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 330d
What version are you using? It is still working for me on Android 15
(what would be a good alternative to Imgur for gif/video hosting? Even though I always use the direct link)
Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 331d
Also sucked for a bit due to the "drawer" style Google pushed before lmao, swipe from left to right "oops opened the drawer menu"
whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 330d
edit: I answered to the wrong comment
hedgehog@ttrpg.network · 5 pts · 331d
That’s pretty much the standard.
Assuming OP has standard gestures enabled, they could still swipe from the left side.
three@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 331d
Right-handed android user. I shan't be reaching across my screen with my right thumb to use my gestures "correctly".
__siru__@discuss.tchncs.de · 11 pts · 331d
It is almost like this is why we had originally decided to put navigation buttons at the very bottom of the screen where they are easily accessible both by left- and right-handed users.
baronvonj@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 331d
And then larger and larger "handheld" devices made that physically awkward as people tend to hold their phone near the middle to balance the weight and oh look my thumb doesn't reach the top or bottom anymore!
Zorque@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 331d
Is this a tiny hands problem I'm too normal to have?
baronvonj@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 331d
No.
papalonian@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 331d
Gestures are also easily accessible by both left and right handed users, when one side hasn't been replaced with a different function.
hedgehog@ttrpg.network · 2 pts · 331d
I didn’t say it wasn’t convenient. I said it was counter intuitive.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 331d
I shouldn't have to adjust my grip on my phone to change the way I swipe to exit the website because that website decided to replace a commonly used functionality to make it different for their website alone. I kid you not I almost didn't see that button because my thumb was naturally placed in front of it.
There is already a way to make a gesture that navigates "previous" or "next" by swiping left or right. It is by swiping from the center of the screen outwards and it is how that website should have made that gesture work if they didn't want to interfere with Android navigation gesture users.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 331d
Buttons over gestures for life!
Jumbie@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 331d
Nah. We can expect better behavior from the app.
Gestures are muscle memory and faster.
Zorque@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 331d
They're learned muscle memory.
Jumbie@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 331d
Buddy, come on.
Zorque@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 331d
Oh, sorry, I'll leave you to your specious argument.
Jumbie@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 331d
Lol. How do you not see the hilarity of what you wrote?
I’m tempted to explain it but man, c’mon.
BananaIsABerry@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 330d
Buttons will always be better than gestures, if not for this very situation.
diemartin@sh.itjust.works · 18 pts · 331d
Something similar happens with apps that put ad banners on the bottom of the screen and make the app full screen. You try to swipe up to see the navigation bar and most of the time end up tapping the ad.
It's a shitty and deceptive pattern and for some reason Android still sends your gestures to the app when using the system UI.
teft@piefed.social · 11 pts · 331d
That seems to indicate the proper swiping to go to the next article (right to left). Swiping left to right would close the article is the expected behavior for me.
What I hate is sites like AP News where if you swipe left to right to leave the site you instead go back a page and land on their carousel and have to hit back again. Fuck dark patterns.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 331d
The swiping motion that you are describing starts from the center of the screen outwards. I have no problems with that as you have said, it is standard behaviour across most platforms and doesn't conflict with other gestures.
The problem is that the site is using a swiping from the edge of the screen inwards instead. In most gestures-enabled Android devices this is a powerful gesture that has the same functionality as using the "back" button and its utility and functionality extends well beyond web browsers. It is incompetent design at best to try to make that gesture do something else on your website.
More importantly, I was visiting this page from a Lemmy link and the only way to get out and back to Lemmy when you have gesture enabled (short of force quitting the app entirely and reopening it) is to use that gesture. That website tries to hijack that feature to make you see more ads on their site.
the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 331d
I'm not trying to be dismissive of an obviously shitty practice but do people not understand how a back button works?
Kissaki@feddit.org · 4 pts · 331d
The swipe in is a system input for back action. It works on every app and between apps, and it works anywhere on the right side of the screen, instead of having to reach wherever your app back button is, if it's not collapsed and has to be scrolled in to view as well.
If you look at the screenshot, it doesn't even have a back button. Only a close button. Whether they navigated or not is not clear, but likely won't change the header controls in this view.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 3 pts · 331d
Is this some kind of iOS thing? Screenehot looks like Android... My phone does not have a universal swipe action for backing out of apps (swiping left to right or right to left are app dependent on what they do), and you can also make the bottom control buttons never hide themselves.
Sidyctism2@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 331d
Do you have android 10+? Than you should find something like "gesture control" in your options. This replaces the buttons at the bottom (back, home, apps) with gestures
-> home
lime@feddit.nu · 1 pts · 330d
that sounds horrifying
Sidyctism2@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 330d
Nah, it works great besides when some shitty news site hijacks the controls
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 331d
admiralpatrick@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 331d
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 331d
It's a personal preference. Ever since I tried gesture I never went back to buttons. I don't even need to adjust my hand position to get out of a page and it's never been a problem until that site has put a different function exactly where my thumb was going to swipe.
Also, such a function you are suggesting would use a different gesture. You would have to swipe from the center-ish of the screen outwards instead of the other way around.
Apple's gestures though, I can't stand.