There is an app for everything today and it seems like Indian smartphone users have a high tendency to install apps in their smartphone.
According to a report by techARC, Indian smartphone users install 51 apps on average on their smartphone but tend to use only 24 of them. The study also found that some users have up to 207 apps on a single device. Such a high rate of app installation poses a grave security risk for the users and also impacts the performance of the smartphone.
The situation becomes more critical because of the fact that 47% of Indian users use banking and payment transfer apps for making transactions digitally.
Government’s push towards adopting digital payment and ease of online payment offered by companies such as PayTM and PhonePe are the major reasons behind increased usage of such apps.
Security Risk
Installing a large number of apps on a device that has financial and banking apps increases the chances of leakage of sensitive information such as passwords, bank account numbers and other sensitive information.
Hackers behind malicious apps could steal the information that banking apps and mobile wallets store locally on your device. By obtaining the information, bad actors can dupe users.
Hampers Device Performance
While increased app installation is not a good practice from the security point of view, it also affects your device’s overall performance. Many apps run processes in the background that consume battery and resources leading to reduced longevity of the smartphone.
Good News For OEMs and Telecom Operators
Looking at the situation with another perspective, high installation rate is, in fact, an opportunity for smartphone manufacturers and telecom operators. The statistics in the report reveal that 76% of smartphone users use apps for accessing social media accounts and mobile gaming apps are used by 70% of the users.
Another interesting trend that was observed is the rise in the popularity of over-the-top apps including apps for watching video content on the smartphone.
This gives an opportunity to smartphone manufacturers to step up their game and start focusing on providing features in the devices that would sustain such heavy usage.
Since streaming video content and playing games consume a large amount of data as compared to regular browsing, it is good for telecom operators who can capitalize these data-heavy requirements of users.
How many apps have you installed in your smartphone? Tell us in the comments section.
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