“Screen after screen, folder after folder, app after app, the iPhone has become the new enabler for the mobile hoarder,” Tom Kaneshige writes for CIO. For the New Year, though, many iPhone addicts have vowed to break or at least temper this fixation.”
Kaneshige writes, “If you’re looking for a fresh start, you can begin by deleting these 10 apps.””
“First, a disclaimer: This list of apps to delete isn’t for everyone. You might not think you have a problem. You might prefer life in the digital world rather than the real one,” Kaneshige writes. “Others, though, are getting a little tired of how the phone has highjacked society. More than a few have made a New Year’s resolution to wean themselves off of their iPhone addiction. If you’re ready to take a stand, this list is for you.”
10 popular iPhone apps you should delete:
• Facebook
• Facebook Messenger
• Uber
• Twitter
• Groupon
• Office Apps
• Foursquare (Woz is going to be pissed over this suggestion – MDN Ed.)
• Louis Vuitton et al.
• Dropbox
• Gaming apps
Kaneshige’s reasoning for each deletion in the full article here.
I only have one of them and that’s dropbox. iCloud couldn’t remotely replace what I use it for.
I’ll keep Uber (no matter how vile) because it’s the only way to get a cab in the NW corner of Chicago where I live. Too far out for the city cabbies and suburban cabbies can’t legally pick us up. Uber to the rescue.
I’ll keep Dropbox until they fix iCloud to “just work” across all of my computers and devices.
I see Uber as something so disruptive that the saying “you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs” applies. There are so many areas where I’m now able to get rides and go to. So many more places where I’ll take public transportation and rely on Uber as a backup. And I’ve had many conversations with Uber drivers where it seems to have provided them with a great job that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Also, Dropbox… yep, I need to keep it too until Apple gets iCloud right.
Although I am lucky enough to be able walk or use public transportation for most places I want to go, there are times when Uber is a much better option.
Dropbox, well, I think we’re all on the same page here. It’s still better than iCloud for a lot of purposes.
Really, those things have NOTHING to do with “perfer(ing) life in the digital world rather than the real one.” They are about using technology to make the real world easier. If it takes hijacking society to make getting a car to take me somewhere, then so be it. I mean, does this dude hate how the sewer and potable water systems have hijacked the real world?
Uber may be run by a bunch of assholes, but they do deliver a much needed service. Remember Steve Jobs was once considered an asshole too.
I’ll keep my Uber app.
They’re just young. UBER rules though.
TL;DR: delete all your apps because you’re using them too much and aren’t really using them or something.
What a stupid article.
And the disclaimer doesn’t really help. The suggestion to drop office apps (lowercase “o” as he includes iWork) is just silly. While I’m not number crunching spreadsheets on my iPhone when I’m sitting in front of my Mac, there are times when I receive a spreadsheet (or other work document) that I need to review and get back to when I’m out and about.
The idea that nobody needs 3rd party cloud apps to the point of “when was the last time you opened one? Exactly.” is completely missing how woefully inadequate iCloud still is.
The article does make some valid points… Facebook Messenger isn’t needed to use Facebook messaging, Groupon sells privacy for discounts, Uber has some questionable business practices, etc…, but this author appears to be both projecting his own issues of digital addiction along with not really being much of a mobile user himself or even understanding the needs of one.
Even one of the most “abused” apps on the list, Twitter… “Twitter is not a tool. “ Really? Tell that to brand managers who need real-time marketing information or those using it as a mass communication tool during crisis. The author sees it as a prima-donna tracking tool, because that’s all he’s used it for. Try using it for real-time crowdsourced data that’s actually applicable for real usage.
What a stupid listicle, indeed. But the author got me to click on it, do he wins. I love Twitter. It is one of my favorite sources of entertainment.
I clicked on that listicle once. Once!!
Opinions will vary, but I think this is a pretty good list except for 1) Uber, 2) Dropbox, and 3) Gaming apps. Gaming apps is too broad a category, and as mxnt41 mentions above, iCloud (or iCloud Drive) isn’t close to replacing Dropbox.
As for Uber, as others have said: it’s a hugely disruptive company with great growth potential that is run by morally-questionable fools. Eventually the leadership will realize the gold mine they are sitting on, as well as the risk these PR debacles pose, and get its act together. I will still keep using Uber because the industry it disrupted (the taxi business) has huge moral/service issues of its own, and because Uber provides one of the best mobile experiences/services out there.
“Gaming apps” belongs as it is if this is indeed a list intended for people who need to stop using their iOS devices so much, as the author implies it is for.
Dropbox, I use it a lot…
Gaming apps… Same.
Rest, never had them to delete.
Didn’t read the article, probably an attempt to tell me I need to sell my iPhone and get an android instead. Cause Apple.. Or something.
Couple of Games…the rest I don’t have, want or need.
Don’t have any of them.
What did I miss?
why not abandoning your iPhone and going back to a dumb calls-only phone while you are at it? Sheesh!…
This article perpetuates the idea that people have become isolated in their connectedness, and identifies it as addictive behaviour. It’s a popular meme lately.
Tom wants us to have our lives back. We were hijacked by a desire for convenience, dazzled by our status in the social world, obsessed with productivity, addicted to games, lured by special deals, intrigued by new ways to share, and otherwise manipulated by companies through their hypnotic apps.
Not really, we just wanted to do those things.
If the behaviour really resembled substance abuse, I’d like to know how Tom expects the addict to withdraw just by making a New Year’s resolution about it! If that were possible, the Seventh Step Foundation and Alcoholics Anonymous would go out of business.
Dropbox? Facebook? Office Apps?
So what Kaneshige is saying, if you are using the app, delete it?
SND (Slow News Day)
The “10” in the headline should have been my first clue that it was going to be a SND story.
Yeah, one app per add loaded page.
Well for Facebook, yes I wish everyone everywhere would stop it forever.
I don’t have any of those apps on my iPhone… What’s wrong with me????!
just remember: if an app is free and deals with your information….you are not the consumer. You are the product…
I agree 100% about Foursquare. It’s just lame.
How about I start with the CIO.app?
If I care for your drivel, I’ll use your website instead of a dedicated app for viewing your website.
Why on earth would Uber be on the list ? No sense at all, its a freaking taxi service I don’t think the author knows that !
I think many of you complaining missed the point that this is for people who need to wean off using their iOS device so much. I saw these types buzzing around the free Wifi area at my vacation resort in Dominican last week. Can’t keep off Facebook etc. even when there’s a fantastic beach, bars, pool etc. right there and they dropped 1000’s of $$ to be there.
In case you didn’t notice most of the apps listed are the types that people obsess over all day long.