Tech

The 16 hottest apps, according to today's college students

Madison Malone Kircher

2016-03-05T16:17:00Z

If you've ever wondered what college kids are up to on their phones these days, we've got an answer for you.

Tech Insider interviewed over 30 college students ranging from ages 18 to 24 from schools all over the country to find out what apps are the must-haves right now. We learned about everything from classics like Facebook to newcomers like Poshmark.

Students were asked to rank their top 10 favorite apps and we combed through that data to find the 16 hottest apps on college campuses right now.

Here's our list.

16. Poshmark lets you sell unwanted items from your closet to complete strangers. College kids can use it to easily earn extra cash.

14. Shazam lets you use your phone to identify any song that's playing. If you're an iPhone user, you can skip this one. Siri is already Shazam enabled to identify music.

13. Students can save ideas and inspiration from their phone for later by using the Pinterest app.

12. The Netflix app is perfect for binge-watching between classes and while on the go.

Take your Netflix experience to the next level with these secret category codes.

11. YouTube is also a top choice for college students. "I can watch all of my favorite YouTubers and the app sends me a notification when they upload [a new video]," one student told TI.

10. Forget cash — money transfer app Venmo is the preferred method for many students to pay back their friends.

Learn about Venmo-induced envy, or "Venvy," here.

8. About a third of the students we talked to ranked Pandora among their tops apps.

Read more on Pandora's latest feature, Thumbprint Radio, which aims to take on Spotify and Apple here.

7. "I feel like most app-based socializing in college happens on Tinder," one student said of the popular dating app.

6. GroupMe makes for easier mass communication. "All of my labs have their own group," one student explained.

5. Spotify takes the cake for music apps. "I don't own any music," a student told TI. "I just use Spotify premium for everything."

4. "Twitter is immediate, it's in the moment," a student told TI of our number four app. "Twitter is easy to use and fun to be creative with."

3. Not surprisingly, Snapchat is a must-have for many of the students TI spoke to. Why? Several students said Snapchat is "easy" to use.

If you don't think Snapchat is easy to use, head here for some tips and tricks.

2. One student described the Facebook app as "an oldie, but a goodie that shows me my friends, but more importantly as of late, the news of the world."

1. And finally, nearly all of the students we talked to ranked Instagram among their favorite apps.

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