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Square
Raised as a usability problem by 45 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 38 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Tip page offers only fixed amounts, no custom tipUnreviewed
20102026- Tip screen defaults to high percentages, pushing customers toward larger tips2024-12-03
- Declining a tip requires navigating into custom and typing 02019-02-01
- No-tip choice gets silently cleared after New Sale, so staff can't see it without an admin PIN2018-10-18
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 47 complaints
- Dark pattern navigation tricks users into instant fee fund-now link2026-08-05
- POS and backend break with hundreds of SKUs and variants; sites are very slow2026-02-27
- Tip screen defaults to high percentages, pushing customers toward larger tips2024-12-03
- Must create an account just to unsubscribe from unwanted receipt emails2024-03-09
- Gets auto-subscribed to merchants unless they find and opt out2024-02-10
- Feels tricked by dark patterns pushing small payments2023-02-12
- Receipt emails and marketing emails are bundled, with no way to separate them2022-12-31
- Similar-looking blue buttons and links make it easy to accidentally trigger an early transfer fee2022-10-13
- Instant deposit button looks like other buttons and charges a fee without confirmation2022-03-21
- Renaming to Block will confuse end users who know the Square brand2021-12-01
- Page is hard to read because of annoying scrolling2021-07-20
- Scrolling lands at awkward positions, leaving items partly on screen2021-07-20
- Page is hard to scan when scrolling quickly; interactive scroll behavior breaks down2021-07-20
- Scrolling controls a movie timeline without clear indication, so the page doesn't scroll normally2021-07-20
- Chat bot is the only way to get help, and it is shitty2019-08-15
- Declining a tip requires navigating into custom and typing 02019-02-01
- Customer-facing reader is hard to use; clerks fumble with it, tap and PIN unreliable2018-10-18
- No-tip choice gets silently cleared after New Sale, so staff can't see it without an admin PIN2018-10-18
- Default tip is preset to 25-30%, forcing manual entry of a lower amount2018-10-17
- Tip prompt appears on checkout screen before the customer receives their items2018-10-17
- Inconsistent payment steps across businesses; swiping, inserting, signing confusing and awkward2018-08-20
- Not obvious where the Apple Pay sensor is on the terminal2018-06-18
- Takes minutes to figure out how to avoid accidentally tipping2017-10-30
- Can't customize fields or add validation, so mobile number input is poor2017-10-03
- After an accidental browser refresh, you must rewatch the video back to the earlier position2015-11-11
- Ancillary offerings like online store and loans are poorly done and terrible2015-11-07
- Paying takes many steps and waits, and auto check-in is unreliable, so it is no faster than swiping2014-10-06
- Incoming request starts identity verification and transfer approval without any warning or chance to think2014-08-26
- Transfers are too easy to start by accident2014-08-26
- Impossible to find a phone number for support2014-08-15
- Card payments force an awkward on-screen signature even for small amounts2014-05-12
- Has to tap a 'No Tip' option every time an order is paid2014-05-12
- Checkout is slow and awkward: cashier must spin screen, accept signature, skip receipt screen2014-05-03
- Buy button is hidden for non-US visitors with no explanation shown2014-03-31
- Page wording implies login is required; skip option is hidden in a small link2014-01-28
- Commenter says the Square Wallet experience is awful, without specifying the problem2013-12-11
- After entering email, unclear what to do next in sign-up2013-10-16
- Can't remove unwanted transactions bundled into a request; cancel link is hidden and undocumented2013-10-16
- Couldn't figure out how to create an account without a reader being shipped2013-06-26
- Adding bacon to a burger means typing it in or switching categories, wasting time2013-02-08
- Customers must sign with a finger on the screen and type email for receipts, making each transaction slow2012-05-16
- Tip page offers only fixed amounts with no way to enter a custom tip2012-03-05
- Clerks mistype the customer's email address when entering it for receipts2012-03-05
- Must leave the inventory app and retype the amount in Square, so cashiers forget the total2011-05-24
- Shows a blank page when JavaScript is disabled2011-02-14
- Settings icon sits where menu button should; back button doesn't work, trapping user on login page2011-01-04
- Card needs five or more swipes before it reads properly2010-10-04