Why do we hoard apps we never use?

People who don’t understand the nuances between hoarding and collecting accuse me of being a hoarder. I’m the first to admit I have a lot of stuff. Between collecting old phones and laptops, it’s a good thing I have an oversized basement to house everything, or I might be sleeping on top of IBM ThinkPads from the 90s. While I can defend my collections by pointing to their increased value over the years, I can’t do the same when scrolling through my smartphone home screen.

Unfortunately, I hoard apps. Although I don’t know what most of them do anymore, I refuse to delete them. My home screen is an app museum, and if it weren’t for incompatibilities, I’d still have Paper Toss sitting there. I don’t know the mental block, but I can’t bring myself to clear out old apps. If you’re like me, let’s dive deeper and determine what holds us back.

We want to believe

We’re always optimistic

We’re always going to want the best for ourselves, and we’re always going to think the highest of ourselves. It’s a good thing; it’s human nature. If you can’t be your own hype person, you’ll have trouble staying positive. However, app hoarding is a product of our positivity and optimistic assessment of ourselves. If you’re reading an app about hoarding, I promise most of you will have an inactive Duolingo account on your phone. You might have every intention of learning a new language, but when the rubber hits the road, you don’t have enough time in the day. You wish you did and are hopeful for the day when you do, so Duolingo occupies a spot on your home screen in perpetuity.

Unfortunately, companies have unwittingly made it more convenient for us to hoard apps without ever assessing usage.

Health and fitness apps are another category of offenders. I have at least 5 different fitness apps on my phone. In my defense, part of the problem is that each fitness tracker I own uses a different app for tracking information. I can’t be bothered to merge all of them into Google Health, so I just ride with multiple apps. It’s not like I’m an Olympic athlete, either. It’s another example of wanting the best for myself, so I’m keeping numerous health apps on my phone, hoping to start using one by accident at some point.

We’re creatures of habit

Nostalgia can creep in, too

I don’t like change. I have kept my home page on my smartphone the same way for years because I’ve gotten comfortable with the layout. I log into Pocket Camp Complete once a month, but it is still prominently featured every time I open my device. I’m certain I’m one of the only people left checking in to places on Swarm, but I won’t give up my mayorships anytime soon. Changing around my home screen would require addressing deeper issues in my physique. It’s easier to let Pokémon Go stay where it is and call it a day.

It’s also not easy to find new apps. The Google Play Store is a mess, and I don’t know who thought Instagram was a hidden gem that required highlighting every time I open it. If Google did a better job recommending lesser-known apps, I might be tempted to delete some old favorites. It’s not that I don’t want to try new things; I just rarely see the opportunity. A well-constructed Play Store would go a long way to solving my hoarding problem.

It’s too easy to keep more of the same

Buying a new phone no longer requires setup

Before smartphone manufacturers made it easier to transfer between phones when you upgrade, culling unused apps was a regular occurrence. If you haven’t considered using it, you have no incentive to re-download something on a new device. However, if you set up a phone from your old one, everything is ported over regardless of how much you use it. It’s an excuse to hoard more apps; without the pain of downloading 100 apps, there’s no incentive to change.

I hate it when my bank card number is stolen, but I always view it as an opportunity. If I don’t remember why I have a particular membership, I don’t port it over to my new card number, letting it expire because of natural causes. Unfortunately, companies have unwittingly made it more convenient for us to hoard apps without ever assessing usage. You also might have just paid for something early on and can’t part with the lost $2.99 you spent on that puzzle game in 2018.

I can highlight the problem, but I don’t want a solution

Even if we could understand why we hoard apps, I don’t think I’d want a solution to the problem. I can find plenty of ways to clean up my home screen, and One UI 7 has me enjoying a proper app drawer on my Galaxy S25 Ultra, where I can scroll through disused apps for days. If you want to change, I suggest sitting down and dumping apps you haven’t used in 6 months. You’ll be surprised just how many that is. Once you get into the habit, you can move that time down, but I promise you won’t miss half the things you fear you will.