Stat: Privacy-first youth are over ringtones

Once associated with the height of cool, today's youth are no longer interested in mobile phone ringtones. Data from Sensor Tower shows a decline in ringtone-related app downloads in recent years as young people increasingly prefer to keep their phones in silent mode.

The research shows that installations of ringtones in the UK fell by a fifth (20%) between 2016 and 2020, from 4.6m to 3.7m. Although ringtones became a popular way for mobile users to personalise their phones and social identity in the early 2000s, their decline comes as young people opt for more private ways of communicating.

With many young people feeling distracted and overwhelmed by digital notifications, they are scaling back their reliance on technology. To see how privacy has formed part of Generation Z's identity, read our macrotrend Paradox Personas.