These are the phone apps we’re wasting our time on

We use many apps in our daily life. As a lot. The humble phone has morphed from a talk and text device to an all-in-one multi-function device, powering mobile gaming, weather, music playback and news curation, to name a few. So, what apps do we use most?

Lots and lots, actually. We turned up the mic inside the Pedestrian Group office (where Gizmodo Australia is based) and asked our friends which apps they use the most. Many could not choose just one and listed a few. Here’s what they had to say.

The apps we use the most

I use a a lot of apps, but most of my usage is probably best summed up by the Google Suite, including Docs, Calendar, Meet, Messages, Sheets, Photos, and Drive. I’m a productivity whiz. In addition to these, I use Link to Windows at home to synchronize phone notifications to my active PC. Also obviously Twitter. Can’t help it, it’s always a dump, but sometimes it warms you up.

– Zachariah Kelly, Writer, Gizmodo Australia

TikTok and Instagram are my most used of time (mindless scrolling, dopamine chasing), but apparently Slack gives me the most notifications and is the most used when I first unlock my phone.

– Charlotte Travers, pedestrian group

TikTok — hours of mindless fun. Homeland – hours of mindless fun until you run out of lives and have to wait another 3 hours. Shuffles by Pinterest — hours of mindless fun. Have also used Notes a lot more. So easy to find information you need to go back to. 9 Now – for Love the island.

– Georgia Turner, pedestrian group

My bank app (I love the Up Bank app and seeing all my lil dollars floating around).

– Ally Koster, Money Diaries Director, Refinery29 Australia

Instagram, despite being crap to me atm, it’s almost like an auto-reply now that I hate. Another one I use a lot is Sleep Cycle, which is mainly because it’s active overnight to track my sleep and all the things I say in my sleep (it’s a lot).

– Courtney Fry, Culture and Music Editor, Pedestrian.TV

Duolingo — becoming bilingual is hottie behavior. Instagram – a creative outlet, my explore page is a read. Spotify – for podcasts and hot new tunes. TikTok – for the drama and mayhem before bed. Goodreads – always looking for a new book to add to my shelf. Substack — for non-fiction reading and information.

– Lachlan Smith, Pedestrian Group

Letterboxd — I love reading about movies and it’s often very funny.

Linley Briggs, pedestrian group

Instagram for sure – I need to know what’s going on even if it mainly gives me anxiety. TikTok time from 9pm to 10.30pm before bed because I hate my brain.

– Jenna Suffern, pedestrian group

The Apple Weather app and Spotify.

– Stephanie Nuzzo, Editor, Lifehacker Australia

I have a small community of Facebook friends, and we’ve been sharing increasingly niche memes with each other for six or so years, so the Facebook app still takes the cake for me. Outside of raw screen time, probably Spotify, I listen to a lot of podcasts.

– Mateus Brandao, Pedestrian Group

Apple Health — period tracking and watch my little steps add up.

– Marli Blanche, pedestrian group

Google Maps for work, cafes, friends’ houses, my bed, because I’m incapacitated as soon as I leave my house.

– Raveena Kant, pedestrian group