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).
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.
Ask to speak with management
and then?
Scream, “Do you know who I am???”
60% of the time, it works every time.
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.
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
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Isn’t what illegal? They are allowed to determine how you access their gym.
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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.
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It’s not like that here. Most accept cash and I think gyms are still “normal”
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…
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!
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?
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.
Knowing corporate gyms… Probably.
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)
Great use for an old phone! I have some lying around. This is one of those forehead-slapping moments for me.
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.
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.
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Impulse? Got a similar mail yesterday for my gym too, doubt I’ll bother until my card stops working. Cards are simply more reliable than apps.
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).
wonder how much of a kickback they get from this. I can’t see another good reason to fuck with your userbase.
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 😎
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.
Join a local sports club, meet new people, volunteer, have fun for cheap.
For gym next to me you need smart card and also fingerprint to enter 🤣. Im happy I dont do any workouts
Wow, what an excuse to not do workouts. Equipment is cheap if you want to workout in privacy. As long as you have a small room worth of space at home, it is doable.
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.
