The phone apps that will make your life easier – and why you should delete the rest
Every week in the UK, around 44 million apps are downloaded. Without them smartphones would just be phones. But according to a recent survey, a third of the apps on our phones are unused. They sit there in the background taking up memory space. Some act like digital spies, quietly collecting data about our habits that faceless companies can then sell on.
Apps are incredibly useful, but you should always delete the ones you don’t use as they can be a security risk.
“Apps are the entry point for many of the most popular services available today,” explains David Curry, data editor of Business of Apps.
According to Statista, in 2023 the average phone user in the UK spent three hours and fifty minutes a day using apps, the most popular of which are email services, social media, and messaging apps and weather apps.
There’s an app for almost everything, and often many apps for the same thing, which is also one of the disadvantages. With over three million apps available across the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, the choice can be overwhelming. As a result, phones clog up with unused apps, draining battery life, as well as memory. According to one recent survey the average Briton has 29 apps installed on their phone.
We are bombarded with requests to “download the app” by organisations keen to grab our custom and harvest the data we provide. It’s a lucrative business worth £3.4bn in revenue in the UK in 2023.
Tech expert Heather Delaney, managing director and founder of Gallium Ventures, explains what makes an app successful.
“A good app must be easy to find, have a user-friendly interface and have an easy learning curve for the user. Access should also be straightforward as apps that require sign-ins via other platforms like Facebook and Google can frustrate and alienate many users.”
And she unpicks that eternally frustrating app conundrum. Why are there so many parking apps?
She explains: “Ownership and management of the UK’s car parks is spread across a multitude of separate public and private organisations. Each of those has pursued different solutions for car park metering which suits their own requirements with different payment portals and protocols.”
Sadly, she says, the holy grail of a one-size-fits-all parking app may be some way off. But it’s not a pipe dream.
“The solution may be a location-based app which links to parking companies’ existing websites via an in-app browser,” she offers hopefully.
10 must-have apps
(apart from The Telegraph app, obviously)
What it’s for: Allows users to borrow eBooks and audiobooks and digital magazines and newspapers from their local library.
Why it’s useful: Allows users to access the services of the local library without having to physically go there.
Pros: Free and convenient. Emails users when reserved items are available and when loans are due to expire. Compatible with tablets, PC and some Kindle devices.
Cons: Only available if you are a member of a library. Choice is limited to your library’s digital selection.
What it’s for: A multifunction app for gardeners and plant owners with a range of functions including plant identifier and light meter.
Why it’s useful: Includes guides and a chatbot to help users obtain guidance on issues their plants are experiencing. Identification system recognises 90 per cent of all known plants from submitted photos via the phone’s camera.
Pros: Provides a range of horticultural services in one app.
Cons: Free services are limited. Other free apps provide some of the services that come with a subscription, such as light meter and plant identification.
What it’s for: Trading in a range of investment products
Why it’s useful: David Curry describes Freetrade as “the best zero commission stock trading app available, which offers stocks and shares, ISA and pension SIPP account.”
Pros: Commission-free, easy to use and set up. Unlimited trades. Good for beginners. Links to your bank account to allow you to make withdrawals and payments.
Cons: Basic version only provides access to limited selection of products.
What it’s for: Allows users to book train and coach tickets, check train times, and plan travel across Europe and the UK.
Why it’s useful: One-stop option for rail tickets. Gathers data from over 270 train and coach companies so you don’t have to use multiple apps.
Pros: Easy-to-use. Automatically finds cheaper split-ticket options. Provides real time updates on booked journeys.
Cons: Small booking fees apply on most bookings so although it saves money by splitting tickets for journeys, there are non-fee split ticket services which can work out marginally cheaper.
What it’s for: Translating languages.
Why it’s useful: Translates text, handwriting, and audio input in over 200 languages. As close to the fictional Babel fish from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books as you are likely to get.
Pros: Good for reading menus and basic communication on holiday. Translates text through the phone’s camera and speech through the phone’s microphone.
Cons: Often not accurate enough for anything other than basic communication and translations. Can struggle to understand context and regional variations.
What it’s for: Provides information on and recommendations for wine.
Why it’s useful: The label scanner allows you to assess who’s bought the best bottle to the party.
Pros: User-friendly interface, extensive wine database with photo recognition, crowdsourced reviews for discovering new wines.
Cons: Basic version includes ads. The community-based rating system can tend towards higher ratings for cheaper, mass market wines, for example Echo Falls White Zinfandel gets 3.4 out of 5.
What it’s for: A virtual private network (VPN) service that hides your IP address thereby providing security, privacy, and anonymity.
Why it’s useful: Provides security when accessing the internet over public Wi-Fi hotspots. Allows you to choose geographic access points and thereby watch UK television streaming services when abroad.
Pros: Faster speeds than most VPNs and unlimited data usage. Helps you access location restricted content and services, and avoid price discrimination based on location.
Cons: Costs more than many VPN services. Only allows a set number of connections per subscription.
What it’s for: Planning and tracking outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and snow sports. Like Strava, but geared towards walkers.
Why it’s useful: Allows users to search for trails and walks, filtered by activity type, and create custom lists of trails.
Pros: Location service allows you to find trails nearby. Covers UK and international.
Cons: Free version doesn’t allow downloads, so you need a stable internet connection to avoid getting lost. Can drain batteries.
What it’s for: Online marketplace for buying, selling, and swapping pre-owned clothing, shoes, accessories, and other items.
Why it’s useful: Allows users to declutter wardrobes and make money. Promotes sustainable fashion.
Pros: No seller fees and buyers cover the cost of postage. Earnings below £1000 are tax free.
Cons: Buyers required to pay a protection fee. More limited types of products for sale than eBay.
What they’re for: These linked apps monitor, track and help reduce snoring.
Why they’re useful: Tim Gray, co-founder of the Health Optimisation Summit recommends both apps to help snorers. He explains: “SnoreLab lets me measure my snoring so I can improve it, sleep better, and keep my oxygen levels, and my partner, happy, while SnoreGym provides daily exercises to strengthen my throat and stop snoring.”
Pros: SnoreLab is easy to use and helps people understand snoring patterns. Useful in providing evidence when partners deny snoring. SnoreGym exercises are evidence-based. Users get daily reminders. Animations are easy-to-follow.
Cons: SnoreLab can be less accurate if both bed partners snore. Does not identify underlying health issues.
App security
Rik Viergever, is a data privacy advocate and COO at Murena, which offers smartphones a free privacy-focused alternative to Google Android. He explains: “Businesses encourage people to install and login to their apps because user data is much more valuable than people realise. Even seemingly mundane information, like how many steps you took, is collected by data brokers and sold for profit. What’s more, your own data is then used to personalise ads and content across all your devices, encouraging you to consume more content or buy products/services, which makes the advertisers and brokers even more money. It’s prudent to remember that once your data is created, you have little to no control over it or where it could end up.”
He encourages people to check what trackers an app has before downloading it. This can be done through your device’s privacy settings where you can identify apps that have requested permission to track your activity and can manage permissions.
He also recommends setting a monthly reminder to spend five minutes reviewing the apps installed on your device and uninstalling any you don’t need to help prevent unwanted data collection.
David Atkinson, founder and CEO of cyber firm SenseOn adds that it is also important to regularly check payments via apps both in your settings and through your bank statements.
“Only download and make purchases directly through the official Apple or Android app store,” he says. “And check reviews of the app before downloading or entering any personal or payment details.”
How to preserve your battery and still use apps
Apps which use video content, such as TikTok and YouTube, are big battery drainers as they require screens to be on and phone screens are responsible for about 70 per cent of battery life drain. Try to reduce usage if your battery is low.
Curry says: “If you’re on a low battery level, try to limit screen-on time as much as possible. If you want to conserve battery life for a while, turning off your phone can help, but turning it off and on regularly can be battery intensive.”
He recommends audio services such as Spotify and Audiblethat can be used without turning the phone screen on.
