Brits have an average of 29 apps on their phone but only use 38% of them, according to research.
A poll of 2,000 adults revealed just 11 apps are used on a daily basis, with the others picked up as and when they are needed. A quarter (26%) find their apps are automatically removed from their phone due to inactivity without them even noticing they’re gone.
The survey also found half (49%) find it annoying to switch from different apps to perform the same task, such as reading reviews on one to buy the product on another.
More than 300 links are estimated to be sent during the average year between friends and family, with 21% of people sharing links about products they’d like an opinion on before buying.
And a quarter also send them about news related to interests, such as the transfer news of a favourite football team, and 23% sharing links to events.
The research was commissioned by Chatloop, a mobile app that lets people loop in their friends to content on any website, removing the need to switch between multiple apps.
CEO Andrew Barlow said: “The research indicates that many people are facing ‘app overwhelm’ due to the sheer number of apps on their phones that offer specific functions – meaning people are spending lots of time switching between multiple apps and copying and pasting links from one app to another.”
It also emerged the most commonly used were messaging apps, social media and finance, while streaming, games and health apps were also regularly called upon – and 21% use apps to buy products according to the data carried out by OnePoll.
When it comes to buying things online, 83% read reviews before making a purchase, with 23% trusting the thoughts of those closest to them the most – as 67% of these think they’d only recommend something if it’s good.
And 59% like the fact that friends and family will have tried something first – with a further 53% enjoy being able to quiz them before buying themselves.
A third of Brits are cutting back on mobile phone screen time – to be more 'in the moment'
Eight in 10 (79%) of all respondents were more confident in pressing the buy button if they’ve seen reviews that include pictures or video that they know are real.
However, 48% worry recommendations about companies and brands online can’t be trusted, and 27% are concerned algorithms mean they don’t see the true picture about a product, brand or story.
While Google, Facebook Yelp and TripAdvisor reviewers weren’t trusted by 27% as they don’t know who has written them.
Andrew Barlow for Chatloop, which has become the first UK app to achieve Apple default browser status, added: “The current problem with the web is that we have no way of knowing if what we see is accurate or authentic – created by real people we can trust – or generated by bots and AIs to manipulate us.
“While online recommendations made by real people are incredibly powerful in shaping our behaviour, our faith in Google, Facebook, Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews is fast declining because we can’t trust what we read.
“Solving this problem is how we all get more out of the web and share real experiences. Chatloop uses Face ID to verify users, which means people can trust all content created is made and seen by real people.”
TOP 10 MOST USED APPS ACCORDING TO BRITS:
- YouTube
- Facebook Messenger
- Chrome
- X (formerly known as Twitter)
- TikTok
- Netflix
- Newspaper apps
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