You may not know this, but Apple has a list of “must have” apps that it recommends for new iPhone users. No, this is not a popularity contest as the list is curated by Apple and is not based on the number of iPhone users who have it installed. On the list, you will find many household names such as Snapchat, YouTube, Google, Gmail, Amazon, and TikTok.
These are the apps Apple recommends you install first on your new iPhone
You can find this list when you first open the App Store. Under a heading that says “Must-Have Apps,” you’ll see “Essential Apps to Get Started.” The apps listed are:
- Snapchat
- Discord
- cash app
- ICT Tac
- Youtube
- gmail
- Amazon
- Bumblebee
- Reddit
- Hulu
- Disney+
- Venmo
- Tinder
- shein
- pandora
- Starbucks
- SoundCloud
- widgetsmith
- walmart
- picsart
- Amazon Prime Video
- HBO Max
- youtube music
- Duolingo
- Tic
- LinkedIn
- ESPN
- Hinge
- Calm
- Paramount+
- Crunchyroll
- DAZN
Apple must feel like iPhone users are lonely since the list includes a trio of dating apps. But what is even more interesting is that, as first noted
Inc.Magazine, Facebook, and none of the other apps under the Meta corporate umbrella are included in “must have apps”. This means that the list excludes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. While each of these apps has over a billion users and many iPhone users have downloaded them to their phones, Apple didn’t feel compelled to include all three on its list.
Apple’s list of must-have apps excludes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
The reason for this may date back to Apple’s unveiling of its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in 2020. During Apple’s first announcement, Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg attacked Apple for allowing users iPhone users to decide if they wanted to be tracked by apps across the internet and via apps. Without trackers, advertisers wouldn’t know which products iPhone users have recently searched for online.
This could explain why Apple doesn’t consider Facebook, Instagram and Whats App to be “must have apps”
But the main thing about ATT as it relates to Facebook is that it would reduce Facebook’s revenue because the companies running ads could no longer focus on promoting the kind of products that iPhone users are interested in. . Less interest equals fewer ad clicks. resulting in less revenue for Facebook. Zuckerberg was so pissed off when Apple first announced ATT that he paid for full-page ads against iOS functionality.
Earlier this year, Facebook said that Apple ATT would cost it up to $10 billion in revenue in 2022. However, smaller businesses report that lately their ads have performed better. Still, there doesn’t seem to be any love lost between Apple and Facebook, and Apple’s decision to omit Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from its “must-have apps” list could be some kind of power play by Apple. from Apple.
On the other hand, Apple might be concerned about Facebook’s history of allowing the sale of subscribers’ personal data to third-party companies. After all, as you may remember, the company was involved in sell user data belonging to 87 million users to Cambridge Analytica. With With Apple promoting privacy as a major feature of the iPhone, the Cupertino gang might not want to be seen recommending apps that belong to a Facebook-like personal data sieve.
When Apple first released iOS 14.5, iPhone users started getting requests from certain apps giving them two choices. The user could request that he no longer be followed by an application in order to receive online advertisements, or authorize this application to continue to follow him. In the latter case, the user would expect to continue receiving online advertisements based on the places they have visited online.
Towards the end of last year,
a study found that 62% of iPhone users demanded that they no longer be tracked by their apps while 38% gave permission to be tracked. Regardless of what happens to those percentages in the near future, the big news here is that Apple would rather not have Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp installed on the iPhone.
It should be noted that Apple also did not include Netflix and Spotify in the list. These two companies have been shouting loud and often about Apple’s in-app payment policies which require all in-app payments to be made through Apple’s own platform from which it takes a $15 cut. % to 30% of in-app revenue.
Apple could be using the curation of its “must-have apps” list to get revenge on some companies that haven’t followed the tech giant’s every whim.
