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The 10 Most Useless iPhone Apps

 & Chandra Steele Senior Features Writer

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There are a lot of useless iOS apps, and a few of them come pre-loaded with your iPhone. Many have relegated the Stocks and Weather app to a forgotten folder in favor of more feature-rich options.

But not every app that passes Apple's App Store muster is worth taking up space on your iOS device. With more than a million apps available for download, there are bound to be a few clunkers. Remember the "I Am Rich" app from 2008? It cost $1,000 and did little more than display a glowing red jewel that, when tapped, displayed a message that read: "I am rich I deserv [sic] it I am good, healthy &successful." Notice how it didn’t say “smart."

Ultimately, Apple removed the app from its store and refunded the accounts of the two people who said they did not realize the $1,000 price tag was for real. Android users, however, can still download it from Google Play for a much more reasonable price: free. But why? It's certainly not worth your time or energy, and likely belongs on our list of Android apps you should not download.

But that's certainly not the only questionable app in the App Store. We found 10 others that are just as bizarre and useless; check them out in the slideshow.

What's Your Nickname?

If you don’t have enough personality to be given a nickname or even to give one to yourself then call on this app.

Door Stop

There aren’t many reasons why anyone would want to play with a door stop all day but it might, um, be a metaphor.

iBeer

Craving a cold one? This app is not the silver bullet. And if you want the satisfying sound of draining the glass, you’ll have to tap your wallet for an in-app purchase.

Fan Cooler

This fan app is really just a lot of hot air. "Authentic cooling." "Perfect for cooling self and others." "Green App: Chemical Free." OK.

Bleep Button

What’s offensive about this app is that it presumes anyone would actually use it to censor themselves. It also includes a list of the 200 most foul-mouthed films - which you could presumably censor while watching using this app. But ... why?

Panties Detector

Touch ID is already touch and go on the iPhone. So if you think that asking someone to press their finger against the screen is going to a) be a successful pick-up line and b) actually reveal the color of their underwear, then your face is going to be red.

Celebrity Heights

Do you attend a lot of parties with celebrities and worry about what height heels to wear? This is pretty much the only reason we can think of for an app dedicated to the heights of stars.

Bov2 Turbo

Turbocharging your car, $3,000. Pretending that your car is turbocharged, 99 cents. The BOV2 Turbo app: useless.

Zips

We’re not in the camp that thinks Zips is pretty fly. Mostly because it's just a virtual zipper.

20 Useless Apps

If you want to save time downloading useless apps, this one packs a ton into one.

About Our Expert

Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My Experience

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Making incomprehensible tech news easy to understand
  • Expanding the boundaries of topics covered in the industry
  • Figuring out tips and tricks in apps and on devices and letting you know about them
  • Putting together gift guides for everyone in your life 

The Technology I Use

All that gadgets is gold for me: my iPhone 11 Pro, my fifth-generation iPad that I use only for streaming videos and music, my iPad mini 4 that I like to take with me whenever I carry a bag that can fit it, and my MacBook Pro. Why are they all different shades of gold, though? What’s going on, Apple? 

None of them quite live up to my two past loves: my LG Lotus LX600 phone and my Sony Walkman NW-E005 MP3 player. 

I've never given up wired earbuds so I was ahead of all those trend pieces. I use a Mangotek Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter to connect them to my phone. 

I have had so many ebook readers, but I prefer paper to them all. Still, my Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling or when I’m too impatient to wait for a book to be released in paperback.

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