Back to 1 - from 5, to 1, to 4 to 1

I am not a trader, but I use eTrade for various things. So a good _mobile_ app is nice to have. eTrade makes a good mobile app. I particularly like their use of landscape mode to display additional information. But the latest update as pointed out by some users, squeezed Banking out to near obscurity. I had to fumble five taps before getting to my account balance! Back to 1 star from formerly 4. (See below. 0 if I can manage it.)

Their news items are delivered in-app, so it’s quite faster than some other apps that uses mobile Web. However, on news items, eTrade app slipped recently by spamming the screen with “press releases” that are meant to distract and deceive. I didn’t mean that eTrade should become a gatekeeper like Reuters. But as long as you are streaming “news”, keep two things in check: 1. Do not send many of the same “story” from the same source or about the same source - albeit coming from different “channels”. 2. Keep announcement directly from advocates/activists/suit fishers to a minimum. Yes, if your app takes my screen, you have a duty to play gatekeeping to a reasonable extent.

I haven’t seen outrageous spams for a few months. But once bitten, twice shy. I’ll keep rating at 4 stars and not to return to its early 5.

Sillyvalley about E*TRADE: Invest. Trade. Save., v5.8.1