I get email updates but whenever I click the track link it tells me I need the app.

I have a package on the way with AliExpress. It is headed from somewhere in China to somewhere in the US.

Using my computer just now, I looked at one of the emails that AliExpress sent about this order. It had a clickable tracking number displayed; I clicked it.

That brought me to their website, where I landed on a page that included the last update for my order and also a link to "View Details".

That works for me. It was very easy to where along the line my stuff is (and that it is not in the US yet).

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Meanwhile: I also copied the tracking number from the email. I pasted that tracking number into the box at usps.com.

The USPS knows of my tracking number and they do not have my item yet. Fair enough.

I ticked some boxes and told them to send me updates, which I'm sure they'll do once they have updates to send -- just as they have done for ~decades now.

This also works for me.

It does show a popup to that effect, but if you dismiss it you can still see the tracking info. Definitely annoying, but not unworkable.

If on mobile, ticking "desktop mode" in your browser usually goes around that dark pattern.