How Do I Stop Someone From Uninstalling My App?

Did you know there’s an app for that?! Seriously, there is an app for everything today. You’ve worked hard to make sure your app stands out, shows up at the top of the searches, is as fun as a barrel of monkeys, and is relevant to your users. All of that hard work paid off, and you can pound on your chest because they downloaded your app. Now, how do you get people to keep your app and not uninstall it? Studies show that 90% of users uninstall mobile apps after trying out the app once or after 30 days of usage. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons people uninstall apps.

Why apps are being uninstalled:

• Took up too much storage - 50.6%
• Annoying notifications - 71%
• App crashes, freezes, or errors - 62%
• Privacy concerns - 29.6%
• Data consumption - 20%

What are the three main categories we can break uninstalls into?

1. Utility

Utility is the user experience side of things. Do they understand how the app works? Are better apps out there? Is the app weak, or are new updates not making the app better? A strong utility is key to having a successful app. So make sure you’re not monkeying around when it comes to utility.

2. Performance

Performance is about how your app performs on a user's phone. Does your app drain their phone’s battery, take too long to load (your app should load in 4 seconds or less), crashes too much, or some features don’t work correctly? If so, your users will make like a banana and split.

3. Trust

Your users need to trust your app. Users will uninstall your app if you ask for too much personal information, require them to register using only their social media accounts, or if you’re unresponsive when there’s a monkey wrench thrown into the performance of the app.?

Since we now have the top reasons and categories for uninstalling apps, let’s look at some examples of why people might uninstall your app.

Nowadays, especially when everyone is working remotely, smartphones are used for more than games and selfies. You can store files, pictures, presentations, movies, and more on your smartphone. Making sure your app isn’t going to take up a lot of space is one essential factor in users keeping your app. If someone has to choose between their vacation pictures and your app, they will decide to keep their photos. Wouldn’t you want a beautiful bunch of bananas instead of just one? We would too!

Ads are a huge part of having an app, and being able to offer your app for free means you need to make money with ads. We get it; we really do. However, users shouldn’t suffer because of ad placement. If you are in the gaming category, this is true if your ads don’t have an ROI for your users. If they have to watch a 30-second ad, give them a little something in return. Users don’t like monkey business when it comes to using their apps, especially with ads.

Next, let’s look at freezing and poor design/didn’t understand how to use it together. These categories are very closely related. Your app might be the most ~ amazing ~ app ever created, but if it doesn’t look good, isn’t functional, or is hard to understand, nobody will keep your app installed. Make sure you listen to what your users are saying and updating as needed. Are you testing your app regularly for functionality? If not, you need to do so, and update your app anytime you see there’s an issue. Nobody’s perfect, and software will crash, but if you’re not listening to your users’ demands, they will uninstall your app and never look back.?

Another King Kong-sized reason why people will uninstall an app is if they have privacy concerns. People don’t like their privacy invaded, so you need to be very careful about what you ask for if you need personal information. Remember the old saying, “Not my circus. Not my monkeys.” If you don’t need the information, don’t ask for it.

Do you require users to register to use your app? That’s fine, as long as you have given them options. Forcing users to use a social login is one massive reason for uninstalling. As distrust for some platforms grows, be cautious of making people use a social media platform to log in. Not only will they just uninstall, some people still don’t have social media, so they won’t be able to register that way. You need to think about the country, language, and culture-based differences too. What works for one culture might not work for another.?

You won’t please everyone, and some people will uninstall your app regardless. But, if you do your best to have an app that’s appealing to the eye and also has a great user experience, you will be low on the ‘uninstall totem pole.’ If this all sounds like a lot to deal with, you can always hire a company like Create Ape to handle your UX/UI experience to create an optimized app for your business and for your customers. When you use a company that will handle your UX/UI experience you can guarantee it will be on like Donkey Kong!