How many apps do Brits download?
How many mobile apps do people in Britain actually download to their phones? According to data from YouGov Profiles collected between April 2024 and April 2025, most adults keep their smartphones relatively lean. Across generations, the majority report downloading no more than 30 apps in total.
Most adults in every age group report downloading between 10 and 30 apps. This includes 39% of Gen Z, 45% of millennials, 46% of Gen X, and 45% of baby boomers.
Only a small minority say they’ve downloaded more than 50. Among Gen Z, 17% fall into this category, compared to 13% of millennials, 16% of Gen X, and just 8% of baby boomers. Meanwhile, a quarter of baby boomers (24%) say they’ve downloaded fewer than 10 apps – the highest of any group.
Gen Z and millennials turn to social, music and entertainment apps
Younger generations are more likely to use apps for content, connection and creativity. Social media is the most-used category for Gen Z and millennials (64% for both), followed by music (51% and 49% respectively) and entertainment (48% and 44%).
Gaming apps also skew younger, used by 28% of Gen Z and 29% of millennials—more than double the rate among baby boomers (13%).
Baby boomers favour messaging, weather and news apps
Among baby boomers, the most commonly used apps are messaging and email (60%), followed by weather (48%) and news (38%). These numbers show a consistent preference for practical, day-to-day functionality.
Compared to Gen Z, boomers are twice as likely to use news apps (38% vs. 27%) and also lead in weather app usage (48% vs. 34%). They’re less likely to engage with categories like music, gaming, and entertainment, but maintain similar levels of use for shopping and photo apps.
Gen X bridges utility and entertainment
Gen X users tend to blend both practical and entertainment-based usage. Messaging and email apps top the list (63%), followed by shopping (51%), weather (54%) and photo/video tools (48%).
They’re also more likely than boomers to download music (41%) and entertainment apps (39%) but less engaged in those categories than Gen Z or millennials.
Common ground across age groups – plus some sharp divides
Some app types show fairly even uptake across generations. Photo and video apps are used by 48% of Gen Z and Gen X, 49% of millennials, and 41% of baby boomers. Navigation and travel tools also show broad appeal, with usage hovering around 30% across all age groups.
In contrast, education and reference apps are unsurprisingly skewed toward younger users. Gen Z leads at 22%, followed by just 13% of millennials and 7% of baby boomers. Health and fitness apps also trend younger, with usage highest among millennials (28%) and lowest among boomers (13%).
Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Great Britain is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race