So, I’m getting an iPhone X.

Before I switch phones, I wanted to make sure that the backup of my iPhone 6S Plus was good to go. Historically, when I’ve upgraded, I just start from scratch - the purity of a new phone is wonderful. This time around, however, I’m not jailbroken - which means a fresh start isn’t as critical as it was in the past. Wanting to use my backup meant that I had to clean it up and make sure that I actually use all ~50 GB’s of stuff (and 242 apps).

First to go? Apps I don’t use. I have app auto-update off, so I can get a chance to read the release notes. About two months ago, I decided to stop updated apps I don’t use, as a way to keep track of what apps I need to delete. In this post, I’ll be going through the list of apps, and trying to explain why I even have them in the first place, and why I stopped using them. I’ll be a fun experiment!

Airbnb

Over the summer, we tried to plan a trip to Lake Tahoe, and I used the Airbnb app to look for places to stay. We didn’t end up going, and I don’t travel that much by myself, so … goodbye.

Medium

I actually have no idea why I have this downloaded. I can’t remember the last time I opened the app. I usually just read Medium articles in Safari or Pocket.

Acorns

This sounded cool, but then I realized I had to open a new brokerage account, and I had to connect it to my credit cards, and I was too lazy to do all that and do research to see if they are trustworthy enough for my data. Plus, I like managing my own investments.

Motion Stills

I think someone tweeted about this, so I downloaded it. I don’t take Live photos though, so… bye.

GroupMe

I think I used this when I visited a college’s admitted student day with some friends, and that’s about it. Haven’t opened it in a long time.

Strava

Apple Watch.

Beacon

I think I downloaded this when I went to San Jose for AltConf since people were tweeting about it, but then I didn’t use it.

Newegg Mobile

No idea why I have this app.

Periscope

I think I downloaded this when it came out, and haven’t really used it.

CNN

This just sends me notifications about stuff I already see on Twitter. I also prefer to visit their site on Safari.

Vimeo

Not sure why I downloaded this - probably to watch a particular video? Anyways, Vimeo works in Safari.

Postmates

I downloaded this to use when I was in San Francisco, and got some fantastic (and spicy) chicken biryani. No Postmates in Champaign,.

Zillow

I downloaded this to see the value of one really cool house in the Mission in San Francisco. I’ll download it later if I need it.

Dribbble

I downloaded this because one of Stripe’s designers tweeted about the App Store screenshot featuring a Stripe design when it came out. Never opened or used.

Evernote

I actually used to use this all throughout high school, but then they made it so that the free plan only gets two devices, and I have three. Surprised I hadn’t deleted it already.

On second thought, Evernote has some crucial notes from a while ago, so I might keep it…

Sleep Cycle alarm clock

I used to use this back when I had a second iPhone - it would just be used as my alarm clock. (The second iPhone was extremely damaged so I couldn’t really use it, and the alarm clock was pretty cool and I liked seeing the sleep analysis data, don’t judge.)

VSCO

A lot of people use it and I thought it would be Instagram-y, but I just never really figured out how to use it to just consume rather than produce.

Bloomberg

See CNN.

PayByPhone Parking

I think I wanted this to pay for a parking spot once but didn’t actually use it since we found quarters.

Blackboard

I downloaded this to use with the classroom tool, Blackboard, but the app doesn’t really work, so…

UberEATS

See Postmates, except no chicken biryani.

QR Reader for iPhone

I used this to develop effective goggles for HackIllinois last year, but iOS 11 has a built-in QR scanner now.

Wealthfront

I opened an account, but then realized I’d rather manage my investments.

The Washington Post

See CNN. But I might keep it.

Grubhub

See UberEATS.

Scottrade Mobile

I used to have my brokerage account in Scottrade, but didn’t really like the UI. As such my Scottrade account is no more.

The Wall Street Journal

See CNN.

Runkeeper

See Strava.