Welcome to Gizmodo’s first annual March Madness game. We want you to help us find out which app is the best ever. We nominated 32 contestants, and two of them went head-to-head every day until one app was chosen to forever take the crown.
Before discussing the nominees, let’s briefly describe the selection process. First, we limit the scope to mobile applications. Yes, we know app means application, but we’re not worried about every damn app. Some options do have desktop or web apps, but they all have mobile apps.
Apple’s App Store launched in 2008, and we’ve combed through lists of the most popular apps every year since then to assemble a collection of candidates. But popularity isn’t the only thing that matters. We judge these apps based on their impact, originality, usefulness, and durability. This means that many newer applications don’t make the cut, and in some cases there may be applications that improve upon the original concept to create a better product. Feel free to yell at us in the comments and call us a bunch of idiots for leaving out your favorite app. Here’s the list, deal with it.
We’re also not saying that every app on the list is good for society. You may notice that Facebook doesn’t make the cut.This is partly because Facebook is evil, and partly because its apps are Particularly evil, partly because we don’t really think of Facebook as a mobile-first platform. This is from another era. Still, despite the harm it caused to society, Uber did earn its place because it had sufficient internal support and its undeniable mobility impact. Vote if you want, but I’ll judge you. Otherwise, this list does not contain any servant applications.
Now that the table is set, let’s get started with the first showdown in the Greatest App of All Time competition.
Instagram has 2.4 billion monthly active users. The king of photo-sharing apps, Instagram has gone through one hell of an evolution since its debut in 2010 and subsequent acquisition by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Almighty algorithms are more important than ever, and Reels has become an app within an app. Videos stand out as well as photos Now, Kylie Jenner dumped itand it seems like there are new accusations every week This app is ruining our children. Still, Instagram exists.
In the other corner, we have the Fart app. Which fart app? All of them. I’ve always thought fart apps were important to the spread of the iPhone and getting people used to going to the App Store. Fart apps are pure and simple in digital form, usually just a button that makes a fart sound. What else do you need?It’s unclear which app was the OG fart machine, but iFart has been around since then Year 2009 So this is a good choice.
So if you want Instagram to win today’s contest, check the box in the poll below. If you want iFart to go further, drag your finger over the second checkbox. We’ll see you tomorrow for the next round.
The voting is over and Instagram beats out The Fart app.