I do not know if it is nostalgia, laziness, custom or this “just in case” so human, but On my iPhone, there are a handful of applications that never use… and yet I refuse to erase them. I am not the only one: I checked it after spending years looking at the other iPhone in the Apple distributor where I worked. And although the release of space always seems to be a goal to be achieved, the truth is that all (or almost all) end up falling into the same vice: to keep the applications which, basically, are hardly more than memories, customs or simple ornaments of our screen.
If you think about it, it's not that different from what's going on with other forms of digital accumulation: The photos we never order or the emails that are stacked in the entrance tray. In fact, studies such as Jorge Fraganillo (University of Barcelona) already warn that attachment to the digital archives goes far beyond the simple laziness; It has an emotional component. The backup of applications, conversations or images keeps, in a way, a small piece of our history. And, as we will see, our brain prefers to save rather than release.
Reddit's thread confirms that digital attachment is (very) real
The spark that led me to write this was a recent thread of Reddit, where they asked: “What is the most useless application that you deny to erase by pure loyalty?” The answers, instead of surprising me, made me smile. One after the other, iOS users have admitted to keeping applications as little used as the compass, closed banks, vintage meteorology or even games that no longer work. One joked to sell his iPhone as a museum piece because he kept Flaming bird On your home screen. Another was resisted by erasing Darksky Just because I had it before Apple's purchases. And some maintained Tweetbot Even if Twitter does not exist and is now called X. A tribute to the golden age of the App Store.
What is funny is that many of these applications no longer exist (or have lost their practical sense), but the simple fact of seeing them a mixture of Pride, nostalgia and absurd loyalty. Of course, most of us, both to Reddit and outside, keep applications for a little more banal reasons: custom, laziness, aesthetic or classic excuse of “just in case”.
My immortal applications, or why my iPhone is a small personal museum
Here is my own confession. I work with Apple devices for years, on the way to decades. And although I always recommend customers to keep the iPhone clean and ordered, I fall into the list of digital accumulators. How is saying? At the Maison du Forgeron, Stick Spoon. Well, just that. For example:
- The compass: I don't remember having used it. But that's it, irremovable.
- Madrid Metro App: I live in Zaragoza although I am Madrid. In the case of needing the plane or the hours, I go to Apple Maps or Google Maps. Why do I keep it? Well, good question. The same with the TMB (Metro) application in Barcelona.
- Contacts: I barely use it because the phone was dropped, but I don't erase it either. It's a life and, moreover, I recently fantasized about what it could become in iOS 19. Recognize it, you also installed it.
- Google Docs, Numbers, Keynote: I make them think that one day I will work on the iPhone. Spoiler: it never happens. I always finish with the iPad or the Mac trailer.
- Video calls and banks: I have absurd duplicities: facetime, zoom, teams, meets … and several banks, even if I do not use them and I do not have their digital account at zero.
Why it costs us so much to erase: psychology and science of digital attachment
Is it just lazy? Not quite. As explained by experts from Cigna Healthcare USA, this phenomenon is known as Digital Diogenes syndrome And maintains a close relationship with emotional attachment to our data, very similar to that produced with physical objects. Elena LUENGO (Director of Innovation) underlines:
In extreme cases, the inability to get rid of non -relevant electronic information, which generates everything “in case”, can lead to a “digital Diogenes” syndrome. The idea that a file could be useful in the future or the perception that the elimination of data is equivalent to erasing part of the story itself, generates an emotional link with files, images and applications.
Cleaning the digital space has concrete psychological advantages: it helps manage stress, improves mental lucidity and promotes the feeling of control. They recommend supposing digital hygiene habits, such as the application The “six -month rule” (If you have not used an application or file in a half year, you probably don't need it). You must also ask, before keeping something, if it really offers value in the present or in the near future.
In Adjustments> General> Storage, you can order applications on the last date of use
Tips not to feel guilty: how to free up space without betraying your favorite applications
And here a solution worthy of Apple: if you are one of those who accumulate by attachment, prove the Function “Delete unused applications”. With this option available in Adjusts> Applications> App StoreYou can get the applications that you do not use the iPhone uninstall, but continue on your home screen. A 2X1: you will not miss them, but they will not take up space either. If you need it, just play in the cloud and come back as if nothing had happened. This can also be used as an application detector to which it would be good to say goodbye. If you see a lot of clouds on the screenIt's time to rethink if you really need it.
Conclusion: Are we many of us accumulative? A little yes, and nothing happens. The accumulation of applications that we do not use is not only a question of space: it is an emotional problem, identity and even aesthetic. It is difficult for us to erase because, basically, we keep a little of ourselves. I still remember when I bought my first iPhone 4 and downloaded the MSN application. I no longer have it on the home screen, but I recognize that it makes me excited to see it in the history of shopping of the application provided.
The key is in balance: it is not a question of leaving the screen as a route or loading with all the weight of the digital past. It is a question of revising, from time to time, which gives us value and what attaches us only out of habit. So, like me, you have a compass that you never use, travel applications for years or work tools that you never open, you are not alone.
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