5 Reasons Why People Uninstall an Application

The number of installations is information that most developers usually focus on, but it isn’t the only relevant factor when talking about increasing an application’s number of users. Even if there are lots of people installing an application, the number of active users will never increase if there are also lots of people uninstalling it. So it’s very important to focus on the satisfaction of the users that already use an application. Keeping them satisfied will help maintain them as users, and maybe help to gain new users through personal recommendation. Here at DeskMetrics we've seen a lot of interesting cases, so we compiled a small list of top five software uninstall reasons.

1) It hasn’t been used for a while, and maybe is not really useful

If the software you develop has a high uninstallation rate and low installation rate, then it probably hasn’t proved useful to most people for many reasons. And that’s such a problem! What you could do to solve this problem is to try to understand your users and their needs better, and which of your software’s features they use often and which they use rarely. This kind of information can be obtained by using analytics software, and can help you to discover ways of improving your product in order to keep your clients and gain new ones.

2) Their computer is slowing down and they need to free up some memory

Most people expect speed and efficiency from a computer, but after being used for some time, the computer usually starts to slow down. If, after running anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, the computer doesn’t achieve its optimal level of performance, the next step is to uninstall software that hasn’t been used for some time and is just taking up memory. If your software fits into this category, it will probably be uninstalled. So it’s also a matter of getting information about your software’s use, and users, in order to make it more useful. Focus on making your software lightweight, and offer users a clear hardware needs list.

3) It takes too long time to run

Some applications are very demanding, and require a lot of memory when in use; but some of them could make less intensive use of the computer if they had more efficient code. Users aren’t as patient as developers would like them to be, and slow applications can easily be dropped in favor of faster ones. In order to avoid being uninstalled, software must have robust and efficient code in order to offer a high level of service and compete in such a strong market.

4) It doesn’t work well/it’s buggy

If your application has errors and mistakes in its code that produce incorrect or unexpected results that are inconvenient to the user, or that can even cause serious damage, your software will probably be deleted. In some cases, the bugs only affect the software’s functionality, but sometimes they can cause crashes and freezes or even allow access to private and secure information. In order to avoid that, it’s important to use analytics software that can tell you what kinds of bugs are occurring in your system and where they are. It’s also possible to get unique user information and find out what kind of problem a specific user is having. By getting this kind of information, it’s easier and faster to solve problems in your software and have satisfied users.

5) It’s difficult to understand how to use it

Even if the idea of the application is very good, and it has incredible features, it will only be useful if people can easily understand how to use it. So, if it’s difficult to find a feature or to understand any kind of information in your software, it has a good chance of being uninstalled. So, thinking about the design of the interaction with the user, which includes the user’s behavior – paths within the software, the most- and the least-used features, frequency of use, time spent using the software – is something that’s very important for keeping and gaining users. Aligned with the data generated by an analytics platform, an interaction design project can create meaningful relationships between your users and your software.

Conclusion

So pay attention! If you want your software to be a success, you must always monitor its use and get to know its users. It’s the best way to improve your software and increase its number of users, by retaining satisfied clients who will always recommend your product.