I may have discussed this at other places in the past.<p>I run FreeBSD on my desktop, and am a customer of Chase Bank (along with a few others), mainly since my family set me up there.<p>Chase claims to require Windows or macOS for their online banking, but doesn't block GNU/Linux or Chrome OS, while kicking out OSes like FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I could log in fine on multiple Linux distros fine, and on FreeBSD with a "user agent switcher".<p>I asked Chase if they could unblock FreeBSD the same way, even mentioning Linux and user agent switchers. Chase gave their usual BS about "system requirements" and "our website is working as designed". The person who talked to me was in fact pretty rude.<p>While I can use a user agent switcher and it works fine that way, and most websites (even banks) don't whitelist OSes. I find it absurd that Chase can claim that they require Windows or macOS at every level, but not block Linux or Chrome OS.<p>I'm betting that either blocking Linux and Chrome OS would make headlines, or alternatively that Chase uses a FOSS library that blocks BSD but not Linux or Chrome OS.<p>I'm also betting that they couldn't unblock FreeBSD if they unblock Linux since enterprises are generally very stiff and inflexible with requirements. If the higher ups say "only Windows or Mac" devs can't deviate.<p>A FreeBSD user like me is well aware of the whitelist, but a casual Ubuntu or Chromebook user may not even know these "requirements" exist since both "Linux" or "CrOS" are whitelisted.<p>It could go away when Chase's website is redesigned. Many websites in the early-00s depended on IE6 and now nobody does on the public Internet. Doesn't mean it will go away. Look at AT&T Fiber's 802.1X or Verizon's and AT&T's IMEI whitelist, nobody else globally does whitelisting to the same extent, or even Verizon FiOS and T-Mobile.<p>I think Bank of America says something similar to Chase but fortunately doesn't really enforce it the same way. I don't use BoA, though. I also remember an ACT prep website as a teen which only allowed Windows or Mac when I used FreeBSD (w/o plugins), but that aged very poorly in today's era of Chrome OS-based schools. There may be many more examples, feel free to discuss here.<p>Yes, I could use another bank, and I'm attempting to, but my family's weird money management system is a big roadblock making it harder for me versus most people. I moved one direct deposit and yet it caused chaos. Chase is sticky for my family like the Apple ecosystem is for many. We even have "private client" status.<p>Not an iPhone user, I could be a teenager today and want to run LineageOS, but my family is tied into the Apple ecosystem making it hard to leave an iPhone, just a bit easier for me with Chase since user agent switchers exist, but you can't get an Android to connect to iMessage or other iServices.
I've run into business that list their supported systems just based on what they test for. They test for Windows and macOS because that covers 98% of the market (give or take). Spending a lot of time/money testing every Linux distro, BSD, or other niche OS isn't going to be worth their time, even if it might technically work.<p>I ran into this with 2FA. A service I used said I need to use a certain 2FA app, but I didn't want to end up with multiple apps. I was new to 2FA at the time. I contacted support and they told me they had heard of other people who have used the app I had (for work) and it worked fine, but since they didn't do testing with it, they couldn't say it was officially supported. At the end of the day, it worked fine. I was happy the support people were cool and not just reading off a script telling me to use what their support doc said. I learned a lot about 2FA from that conversation.<p>I think when you decide to use something like FreeBSD you also sign up dealing with some things like this. I've even run into this on macOS, where I've had to change my user agent to use certain sites (not so much these days, but it happened a lot in the past). It could be that the features you're using work fine, but not all features work, which is why they have it locked down a bit more. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.<p>When I was younger I ran FreeBSD for a while, but as I got older it wasn't worth it to me. I run macOS now. It's still Unix at the core, but offers me better support without having to jump through hoops when dealing with the real world. The idealistic part of me wants to use some form of Linux or BSD, but with mobile being a big thing now, wanting data to sync, and needing to work with certain businesses... I just can't be bothered. If I have a Linux box running from time to time it's as a hobby system, not as my daily driver.
> While I can use a user agent switcher and it works fine that way, and most websites (even banks) don't whitelist OSes. I find it absurd that Chase can claim that they require Windows or macOS at every level, but not block Linux or Chrome OS.<p>switch bank?<p>what do you want? them to block Linux too?
I absolutely will not use Windows in my personal life. I've used Linux on computers I own since 2002. Count yourself lucky to be able to get in with a user agent switcher. I've seen corporate websites that go further than looking at user agent to decide to not allow OSes or browsers in.