Super Apps Are the Future, but Should They Be?
The Super App
I love Uber. I also love Postmates. (edited: July 6, 2020, Uber acquired Postmates for a pretty 2.65B.)I also love the Starbucks app. Being able to order a car, have food from my favorite restaurants delivered, and have my coffee order ready upon arrival are three things that I could not live without. It occurred to me, when I skipped a long Starbucks line and picked my coffee up (flaunting it as I left the store, obviously,) that I can pretty much do everything from my phone. Then I thought, what if I could do all of these things from the same app?
Well, if I were in Asia, I could. I’d heard of Asia’s SuperApps a bit, but never really looked too much into them. Upon doing so I discovered Grab. Grab is an app that allows users to control everything right from their phone. They offer transportation (like Uber), Food (like Postmates), Delivery (I’m not too sure how this is different than food), Subscription (no idea), eScooter (like Bird), Trip Planner (like Skyscanner), and finally hotels (like Airbnb, sorta.)
I first thought, after looking into Grab, that having an app like this would be very convenient. I’d be able to order my coffee, find a ride, pay my friends, and get a hotel all the while I’m zipping around on a scooter! (Please don’t scoot and Grab.)
I then spoke with a few friends who have spent some time in Asia…they loved Grab. It allowed them to avoid having to use tricky public transportation, and essentially get everything they needed without having to download a host of foreign applications to their phone.
Super Apps Sound Great! Why aren’t they in the U.S.?
Well, perhaps they will be soon. Uber recently purchased Careem for 3.1 billion dollars. Careem is an app similar to Grab, but rather than being in Southeast Asia, it is in the Middle East. With Uber acquiring, “all of careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments across the greater middle east.” (as per their press release on the acquisition,) there is no telling how long it will take for Uber to offer similar services in the U.S.
The more I think about this the less I think it is a good idea. What likely would begin with you using Uber to control every aspect of your day could easily transition to Uber controlling every aspect of your day. In the event that Uber could harvest data about where you are going, who you’re paying, and even what you are eating; What would stop them from using this data to direct you in one way or another, decide who you pay, or even what you eat? I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, I’m a fan of Uber and in general making my days easier, and this surely would. But there is something a little off about trusting one single app to do everything.
The comparison of social media companies to governments has gained some traction lately.
The argument there is that the Twitters and Facebooks of the world are in charge of regulating and controlling the behavior of their online citizens, like governments. If the role of these companies is regulatory, this is good, regulation is needed for safety of citizens and prosperity. I mention this because if a SuperApp were to be able to regulate, or even control, all of your actions it could be detrimental to your privacy, and freedom.
Naval Ravikant mentioned in a podcast when asked about political parties:
“If all of your beliefs align with prelabled bundles you should be highly suspicious.”
What if all of your daily activities align with one premade bundle on your phone? I’d argue you should be highly suspicious about that as well.
To be honest, I’m not an expert on data, mobile apps, or honestly really anything. I’m just a young guy with some ideas. To be honest, again, I’d likely use Uber’s (totally hypothetical…for now) SuperApp purely out of convenience. Despite this being a hypothetical situation, the potential for a Super App to control everything is there , and someone much smarter than I should be thinking about it. If you know that someone give this post a share, if you are that someone connect with me on Twitter @SuitandTighe and let’s chat!
