How many apps do Americans download?

How many mobile apps do Americans actually use? According to 2025 data from YouGov Profiles, most adults across all generations – from Gen Z to baby boomers – report downloading relatively few apps to their smartphones. Despite the explosion of options on app stores, the majority say they’ve installed fewer than 20.

But while the number of downloads remains low for most people, the types of apps they choose vary widely depending on age. Younger users lean toward entertainment and social platforms, while older adults prioritize utility and information. Here’s what the data shows.

Social, music, and gaming apps popular among younger Americans

Gen Z’s phones are likely to look quite different from their grandparents’. Nearly seven in 10 Gen Z adults say they’ve downloaded social media apps (69%), and more than half say the same for music (58%), gaming (54%), entertainment (53%), and photo or video apps (43%).

Baby boomers, on the other hand, are more selective when it comes to those categories. Just 55% say they’ve downloaded social media apps, 41% have music apps, and only 30% have gaming apps on their phones. When it comes to entertainment apps in general, 24% of boomers say they’ve installed them, less than half the proportion of those in Gen Z.

Instead, older users are far more likely to have apps that deliver real-world information or functionality. For example, boomer's over-index on weather apps (56%, vs. 35% of Gen Z), news (40% vs. 31%), and navigation or travel (39% vs. 32%).

Gen X sits in the middle but skews pragmatic

As with many consumer trends, Gen Xers tend to fall between boomers and millennials, but in the case of app downloads, they skew closer to practicality. Their most downloaded app types are messaging/email (55%), shopping (52%), weather (51%), and music (55%). They’re also more likely than boomers to download photo/video and entertainment apps, but not by a large margin.

Gaming? Just 42% of Gen X adults report having game apps installed, down from 50% of millennials and 54% of Gen Z. So, while they may be more open to digital entertainment than boomers, the average Gen Xer’s app library still leans toward everyday use.

Health, finance, and transportation apps see moderate use across generations

Certain app types are downloaded at fairly consistent rates across generations. Messaging and email apps, for instance, are installed by around half of all adults, from Gen Z (49%) to boomers (54%). Shopping apps show a similar pattern, hovering between 45% and 52% depending on age group.

Other categories, like health and fitness, payment solutions, or transportation, show more subtle generational skews. Health apps are slightly more common among younger adults (34% of millennials vs. 23% of boomers), while payment apps (e.g., digital wallets) follow a similar pattern (32% vs. 18%).

Few users download more than 50 apps across all age groups

Despite the thousands of apps available in the marketplace, most Americans across age groups are not heavy downloaders. Fewer than one in 10 respondents in any generation say they’ve downloaded more than 50 apps, and those reporting 100 or more downloads hover at just 3% to 4%.

Whether for entertainment, communication, or information, the typical smartphone user isn’t drowning in apps. They’re curating a set of essentials that reflect their needs and, according to YouGov Profiles data, their age.

Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race.