Being a mother is difficult enough on its own, and those who choose to breastfeed have to put even more effort into nursing their children. And when the time comes to feed a baby in public, things can be an inconvenience, if not very uneasy, considering the possible gawking of strangers. One Texas mother wanting to get some privacy with her infant decided to use one of the available “breastfeeding pods” at an airport. To her dismay, it wasn’t as accessible as she’d hoped. She had to download an app and create an account just to go inside.
“It took forever over the airport wifi,” the mom sighed, posting a photo of the pod’s door on r/mildlyinfuriating. The app in question is a service by Mamava, which offers free spaces in public areas, like airports, for breastfeeding and pumping. However, the context of “free” here is subjective, given the skepticism around data privacy, not to mention that no one likes being forced to use an app they don’t have for a simple task.
“I hate the feeling of needing to download apps for everything,” groans a Redditor. “And in two years you’ll get a letter stating that your information was stolen in a data breach. Don’t worry though, they’ll give you a free trial of lifelock,” joked another a person. There’s no shortage of people’s personal data being stolen on a regular basis, with even Social Security’s database being vulnerable to attacks. While Mamava offers users the ability to contact them for their data to be removed, it’s still a tedious step that even those who care about privacy often overlook. That’s why many commenters in the mother’s post suggest using a burner email and a fake name.
Mamava Pods’ Codes Are Not Truly “Private,” One Redditor Points Out
One person points out how, by having a public code tied to a breastfeeding pod, it reduces the privacy and security of said pod when the code gets shared around online. “This is getting out of hand!!!! Ads everywhere. Download an app to see prices. Screw that,” exclaims a commenter. Of course, not everyone is against forced apps by free services like Mamava. A sizeable minority has praised the pods as great, while others have even claimed to use them as private spots to nap. Regardless of their actual use, people’s data is still being taken, which is always something to consider before ever downloading a “free app.”
