The nationally representative survey of youth and parents finds that 58% of all U.S. teens ages 12-17 have downloaded a software application or \u201capp\u201d to their cell phone or tablet computer. Among American teens, 78% of teens have a cell phone[3. Almost half (47%) of these cell-owning teens report that they have smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011.] and 23% of teens have a tablet computer; 82% own at least one of these mobile devices. Within this subgroup of teens who own cell phones or tablets, 71% say they have downloaded an app to one of those devices. These figures are higher than similar measures of adult app downloading on mobile devices.[4. In 2011, 34% of adults reported downloading apps to either a cell phone or tablet. Full results available here: https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2011\/Apps-update\/Overview.aspx<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n As noted in previous reports, older teens are more likely than younger teens to own cell phones, but teens of all ages are equally likely to own tablets.[5. See demographic tables in the \u201cTeens and Technology 2013\u201d report: https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2013\/Teens-and-Tech\/Main-Findings\/Teens-and-Technology.aspx<\/a>] However, among teens who own at least one of these mobile devices, app downloading does not vary significantly by age; 66% of those ages 12-13 download apps, compared with 73% of those ages 14-17.<\/p>\n\n While cell phone ownership does not vary by gender and teen girls are somewhat more likely to own tablet computers, boys are the ones who stand out as the most active app downloaders. Boys who are mobile device owners are significantly more likely than girls to say that they have downloaded an app to their cell phone or tablet computer (79% vs. 62%).<\/p>\n\n Teens living in wealthier households are more likely than those in lower income homes to download apps. Eight in ten (79%) teen mobile device owners living in households earning $50,000 or more per year download apps, compared with 60% of those living in households earning less than $50,000 per year. Teen app downloading does not vary significantly according to a parent\u2019s education level or by their race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n In focus group discussions with teens, participants said they primarily downloaded social media and game apps to their phones and tablets, though they also downloaded apps relating to music, news, and the weather. When choosing which apps to download, participants stated that they typically downloaded free ones:<\/p>\n\n Female (age 13):<\/b> \u201cUsually, I just stick to free ones. Because if I don\u2019t like it, I can just delete it. And it doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p> [to download an app that costs money]<\/p>\n Female (age 13):<\/b> \u201cYou can\u2019t be sure if it\u2019s going to be a good app but if it\u2019s free, you can just delete it.\u201d<\/p> [For some apps,]<\/p>\n [I download]<\/p>\n Female (age 17):<\/b> \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever paid for an app.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n\n However, participants also considered a variety of factors to determine the quality of the app. These factors included the number of downloads, the reviews, the ratings, and the appearance of the app:<\/p>\n\n Female (age 19):<\/b> \u201cI look at the pictures to see if the game is cool.\u201d<\/p> Female (age 13):<\/b> \u201cI look at the reviews, and pictures, to see what they look like.\u201d<\/p> Female (age 17):<\/b> \u201cI look at the reviews on Google Play. I look to see what people are saying.\u201d<\/p> Male (age 17):<\/b> \u201cIf it got a million downloads, I\u2019m like, OK, it\u2019s cool, people are downloading. But if it\u2019s got like ten downloads…\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n\n Although teens may be downloading free apps because of financial considerations, or being able to delete the app without consequence if they don\u2019t like it, it can sometimes be related to the fact that teens may not need permission from their parents when downloading free apps:<\/p>\n\n Interviewer:<\/b> \u201cDo you have to ask your parents before you download an app?\u201d<\/p> Female (age 12):<\/b> \u201cI have to ask if it costs money but if it is free…\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n\n As we have found with adults, many teen apps users also avoid certain apps when they have privacy concerns.[6. See \u201cPrivacy and Data Management on Mobile Devices,\u201d available at: https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2012\/Mobile-Privacy.aspx<\/a>] Half (51%) of teen apps users say that they have decided not to install a cell phone or tablet app after they found out they would have to share personal information in order to use it.[7. In a previous survey, roughly the same number (54%) of adult cell phone apps users said they avoided downloading certain apps for this reason. However, the question was not asked of tablet owners and is therefore not directly comparable. https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2012\/Mobile-Privacy.aspx<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n Younger teen apps users ages 12-13 are more likely than older teen apps users 14-17 to say that they have avoided apps over concerns about personal information sharing (56% vs. 49%). Boys and girls are equally likely to avoid certain apps for these reasons. There are no clear patterns of variation according to the parent\u2019s income, education level or race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n A smaller segment of teen apps users (26%) say they have removed an app from their cell phone or tablet after they found out it was collecting personal information that they didn\u2019t wish to share.[8. Roughly the same number (30%) of adult cell phone apps users said they removed certain apps for this reason. As noted above, the question was not asked of tablet owners and is therefore not directly comparable. https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2012\/Mobile-Privacy.aspx<\/a>] Boys and girls and teens of all ages who are app downloaders are equally likely to say they have uninstalled apps for this reason. As is the case with avoiding apps, there are no clear patterns of variation in app deletion according to the parent\u2019s income, education level or race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n Location-based information is considered sensitive for many teen apps users. Some 46% of them have turned off the feature on their cell phone or in an app because they were worried about other people or companies having access to that information. However, some of the people they are concerned about may be their own parents. As early as 2009, the Pew Internet Project found that about half of parents of teen cell phone owners said they used the phone to monitor their child\u2019s location in some way.[9. This parental location monitoring could take many forms\u2014including the use of calling, texting or GPS to keep track of a child\u2019s location. The question wording did not specify what tools parents had used. https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2010\/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones\/Chapter-4\/Parents-and-limits-on-cell-phone-use.aspx<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n Girls are far more likely than boys to say that they have turned off location tracking features on their cell phone or in an app. Among app downloaders, 59% of teen girls said they had disabled location tracking, compared with just 37% of teen boys. \u00a0Teens of all ages are equally likely to turn off location tracking features on their phones and apps.<\/p>\n\n As is the case with avoiding and uninstalling apps, the likelihood that a teen apps user will disable a location tracking feature does not vary significantly according to the parent\u2019s income, education level or race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n Focus group participants understood that apps can access various data on their smartphones and tablets, such as their pictures, contacts, or location. In many cases, they reported that they did not allow an app to access their location, unless they thought it was necessary. <\/b><\/p>\n\n Interviewer:<\/b> \u201cDo you ever worry about what kind of data apps are taking from your phone?\u201d<\/p> [the app]<\/p>\n [the app]<\/p>\n [app\u2019s access to]<\/p>\n Female (age 13):<\/b> \u201cI always hit \u2018don\u2019t allow\u2019 to use my location.\u201d<\/p> [this app would like to use your current location]<\/p>\n [sharing your location is]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n However, some focus group participants aligned with the less concerned segments of teen apps users and did not express a high level of concern that apps might collect information about them. Although some reported deleting apps (along with the data stored on their devices) when they no longer used them, they did not report any concerns about the app continuing to have their information through app-specific accounts or other means.<\/p>\n\n![\"Downloading](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/247C40E2B25C41A083AD53EE7B1A009A.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nFocus group discussions suggest that teens often choose free apps.<\/h4>\n\n
Half of teen apps users have avoided an app due to concerns about the personal information they would have to share in order to use it.<\/h4>\n\n
One in four teen apps users have uninstalled an app because they found out it was collecting personal information that they didn\u2019t want to share.<\/h4>\n\n
![\"Privacy](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/CCBD609AC7A84A06BC4DCE84F1FE1C3C.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\nClose to half of teen apps users have turned off location tracking on their cell phone or in an app because they were worried about other people or companies accessing that information.<\/h4>\n\n
![\"Turning](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/6BA02CE943D340C9A8FECC24AF78E795.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n