Around 2015, My niece told me she worked at a bank teller and the first thing they did was require her to install the bank’s app and rate it five stars. She said her phone is too old and they got angry. And she’d tell me they’d do “phone sweeps” to see if the app was on people’s phones.

Do min-wage companies still do this or do they know better?

Personal devices are personal.

Nowhere in the civilized world are they allowed to do this.

yeah they are. if they pay your phone bill.

If they’re paying your bill, buy another phone that’s “work only”. Although you shouldn’t have to buy the second phone either, well, here we are.