Digital minimalism: keep the apps and tabs you actually use
A practical United States guide to trimming apps, permissions and open tabs, without claiming a fixed energy or carbon saving.
2 min read · Oct 13, 2026
Digital minimalism is not about using technology less for its own sake. It means keeping the tabs, apps and alerts you chose and letting go of the ones that run by default. We do not give a carbon figure for closing a tab or deleting an app, because energy use depends on your device, connection and what the app does in the background. ECOA's methodology treats any estimate as educational.
CISA, the United States cybersecurity agency, advises people to install only the apps they need and to remove ones they no longer use. CISA: application permissions
Take stock of what you open
Spend a week noting which apps and browser tabs you return to on purpose and which you simply leave open. This is your own observation, not a statistic. Group the rest into three piles: needed for work or family, nice to have, and forgotten. Forgotten apps are the easiest to remove, and you can reinstall one later if you miss it.
Review permissions and tracking
For apps you keep, look at what they ask to access. CISA recommends denying permissions for functions you do not use, such as camera access for a text-only app. The FTC explains that websites use cookies, pixels and device fingerprinting to identify people across visits. FTC: how websites and apps collect information Check your phone and browser settings, since the available options differ by device and version.
Make notifications earn their place
Turn off alerts that do not need your attention right away, such as promotions and badges on rarely used apps. Keep alerts tied to safety, work, banking or people you care about. If you notice you check your phone less often, that is a personal result worth noting, not a measured emissions change.
Try one reversible change
Pick one step this week: remove one unused app, close tabs you will not read, or change one permission. If it causes a problem, undo it. Do not reset or wipe a device just to tidy it; if you give a device away or recycle it, reset it and follow the manufacturer's steps.
Sources
Estimated savings from sticking to these habits are explained on the methodology page. Focus on the habit change itself rather than on absolute numbers. Read the methodology
Keep reading
Guides that overlap with this one or make a good next step.
- Search and browsing habits: fewer tabs, clearer searchesA United States guide to calmer browsing, with privacy-minded browser settings and no fixed carbon claim for a search or page load.
- Using Slack, Teams, and Collaboration Tools AsynchronouslyLower notification load by cutting real-time threads and pushes and collaborating around document links instead.
