A writer removed popular apps from her Android phone after checking her screen time, and says she now spends less time and money on them.
A writer for Android Police says deleting eight apps from her Android phone changed how she uses her time and money. Anu Joy, who covers Android, published her account on Nov. 8, 2026. The apps included Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest and Duolingo. The eighth is not named in the text available.
She opened the Digital Wellbeing tool, which is built into Android and shows how much time goes to each app. She found that quick scrolls between tasks had turned into hours of videos, shopping carts and notifications. Her fix was to delete the popular apps, not just the unused ones.
She says Instagram was opened dozens of times a day, sometimes without thinking. After a few days without it, she stopped checking her phone out of habit. She still takes photos but no longer feels pressure to post them, and she journals and calls friends more.
On YouTube, she now watches on a desktop PC, so autoplay and boredom no longer pull her in. She uses playlists or direct search. Without X, she says she feels calmer and reads more long articles and books. She dropped Facebook because it rarely gave her anything useful, and now contacts people directly.
Amazon was the most practical change. Shopping on a PC website, she thinks twice before adding to the cart and compares options. She says waiting a day or two often showed her she did not need the item. She reports saving money and shopping more at local stores.
Pinterest once swallowed 45 minutes at a time. She now uses it on her desktop with a time limit and looks at magazines and books too. She dropped Duolingo because its streaks, points and rankings pushed her to finish lessons without learning. She moved to language books, YouTube lessons, podcasts and conversation exchange apps.
This is one person's experience, not a study. The material does not give her screen time numbers before or after, or say how much money she saved.
Check your phone's screen time tool, then try removing the one app that eats the most time or money and see what you miss.
A 2024 review found phone radiation likely does not raise brain tumor risk. Trapped heat from a charging phone under a pillow is the bigger worry.
Read more: Sleeping with your phone under the pillow is a fire risk, not a cancer riskFour free, open-source Android apps work with no cell service, covering maps, sensors, first aid and survival tips. Set them up before the trip.
Read more: Four free Android apps that keep working when you have no signalMany smart glasses have a camera that can record video, so you may be filmed without knowing. Price and eye strain are other things to weigh before buying.
Read more: Smart glasses can record you without you knowing
