People uninstall apps for a variety of reasons. What’s yours?

In 2020 alone, there were more than 550 million daily app downloads – which is a LOT! But not every app is destined to remain on people’s phones forever.

Everyone who owns a computer or a smartphone will sometimes go through their apps and delete any they’re not using any more, or maybe never have. They’ll also sometimes delete apps on a whim if they’re irritating them or not working properly.

If you’re planning an app, it helps to know why people uninstall them so you can ensure that yours is less likely to meet the same fate. So, to help you, here are the top four reasons why people delete apps.

Reason 1: The app doesn’t hold any importance

More than 35% of users uninstall apps because they don’t find them useful any more (or maybe never did). So, technically the app’s engagement rate or retention efforts may not be effective enough.

This is why companies are making it a point to track user engagement or retention rate. That way, they can see what strategies work, and which don’t, when increasing engagement to avoid customer churn rates.

Reason 2: Distracting ads or notifications 

More than 25% of people find ads or notifications that are a part of using an app distracting. Many people still find it hard to accept that using any free version would always include advertisements.

If it’s bothering you as well, you can use this link to uninstall your app immediately. Sometimes, apps will focus more on the advertisements than on the user experience, and that will always lead to more uninstalls of an app. 

Reason 3: Reducing storage space  

More than 20% of the users say that storage space is their primary concern to uninstall an app. This can be triggered when they start getting notifications, such as ‘Storage Almost Full‘.

And if you go by these stats, women are more keen on uninstalling apps when it comes to limited storage space. 

Reason 4: Technical issues or confusion

While pretty much every app will occasionally experience technical errors, if it happens often then the frustration it causes users may well outweigh its usefulness. That’s why more than 5% of users reported that they uninstall apps due to technical issues or failures. 

This is precisely why companies spend thousands of dollars on software testing and beta tests before launching the app nationally or globally. More than 24% of users also leave apps that are confusing. So make sure usability factors into your research and testing too.

Apps are part of our day-to-day life

Applications are an inherent part of our digital life today. They help in making our life smooth, whether it’s personally or professionally. However, there are many reasons for deleting an app from your system.

As well as the most common reasons above, users can delete apps because of security breaches, or they just lose interest in it, or their life changes and they no longer need it. The apps with the highest uninstall rates are travel apps, as they can quickly become irrelevant once a trip is over.

User engagement is the top reason for keeping an app. If an application ceases to be of use or is actually slowing people down, then the chances of deleting substantially increases.