Top Ways to Make Money at Home Using Your Smartphone Only

Nowadays, people spend so many hours using their phones, and for various reasons. Some consume that time scrolling on their social media and using their mobile phones for entertainment and leisure, while others use it for practical use such as making calls, sending messages, doing research, making appointments, etc.

According to a study conducted by WhistleOut, people spend an approximate average of nine years looking at the screen of their mobile device. People spend a little over 76,500 hours of their lives staring at a mobile phone screen, roughly 8.74 years.

This result came to be since the approximate age of a user to obtain a smartphone is 10 years and the user uses it on average 3.07 hours daily.

Millennials were found to spend the majority of their time on their phones, an average 3.7 hours per day. Generation X, on the other hand, reports three hours daily use and boomers 2.5 hours per day.

People spend an approximate average of nine years looking at the screen of their mobile device. (Photo credit: dreamshala.com)

With the amount of hours you spend clutching your smartphone and the ongoing threat of the pandemic, have you ever had that thought of "How can I make money from my phone for free?"

What are the ways to make money with your mobile phone?

Many people, be it a teenager, a stay-at-home parent, or a person looking for fast cash, are looking for ways to make money from home. Whether you have an iPhone, an Android, or even a refurbished Apple iPhone or refurbished Android mobile device, there are several ways to make money with your smartphone.

In order to start your plan on generating cash, you should first look for apps that are legit and don't require a lot of extra time and effort. Keep in mind that these apps will not make you a millionaire overnight. These apps, however, can help you for your day to day needs and save money.

The following are some of the ways on how to make money with your Android phone and iPhone device.

• Mobile surveys. Surveys are sometimes fun to do. You get to fill out quizzes secure in the certainty that as the customer, your answers are always right.
  You see, companies need customer feedback, and that means they are willing to pay you for marking out a few tick boxes. All you have to do is to download an app or apps you can use just for that, start scrolling, and make money online with your mobile phone.
• InboxPounds. You can earn cash for reading email, completing surveys, watching videos, among others once you sign up to InboxPounds.
  If you are wondering how InboxPounds works, according to its website, brands pay them for consumer input; InboxPounds recruit members like you; you do online activities such as taking surveys, watching videos, etc.; and then you earn money.
• iPoll. iPoll is available in any country in the world. What's more, it even gives you an upfront payment of $5 just for signing up.
  The minimum amount iPoll will pay out is $10, however, you have to wait until you reach $50 to actually receive your money in cash form. If you haven't reached $50, your earnings can be redeemed via gift cards or magazine subscriptions.
• Watch videos and surf the web. It's easy to waste time surfing the web, scrolling through your social media, and watching videos. Why not earn some money while you're at it?
  There are some apps that reward you with points for watching ads. You can redeem your points for payouts in the form of gift cards and even cash.
• Swagbucks. One of the most popular apps around. In Swagbucks, you earn "SBs" by shopping, watching videos, and answering surveys. You can redeem your SBs or points for free gift cards to your favorite retailers like Amazon or Walmart or get cash back from PayPal.  
• Fronto. Unlike Swagbucks, Fronto encourages you to view news, articles, product deals, and reviews, as well as watch ads to earn points. You can even earn bonus points for downloading free apps.
• CashPirate. Another app you can download to earn some extra cash. On CashPirate, you earn points by taking quick surveys, playing games, and interacting with ads. How it works is that for each completed activity, you get coins which you can redeem for PayPal cash after you reach a certain amount.
• Shopping. Who doesn't love shopping? After all, everyone needs to shop for groceries, clothes, and other stuff. Believe it or not, there are mobile phone apps that pay you to shop for items already on your shopping list. Here are some of the get-paid-to-shop apps:
• Shopkick. True to its name, Shopkick pays you for spending time in certain stores you probably already shop at. In order to get points, you need to scan barcodes. The points you get can be redeemed for gift cards to your favored stores.
  While you can't trade your points for cash, you will definitely be saving cash by earning gift cards you can use to do some shopping of your own.
• Ibotta. Before you go shopping, you need to complete a few simple tasks on the app. Each of the tasks are related to the brands or products you usually buy. What you should do is, after you go to the store, you take a picture of your receipt and you are credited with a cashback amount. You can cash it out via PayPal every time you earn at least $5.
• Receipt Hog. This app is somewhat similar to Ibotta. Receipt Hog pays you to shop. All you need to do is to take a picture of your receipt from any store and play a few point
  winning games and paid surveys. You can redeem your points for gift cards or PayPal cash.
  
• Taking pictures. Are you fond of taking pictures? Are you interested in learning photography? Or perhaps you are an aspiring photographer? You can utilize your photography skills and get some easy experience under your belt by submitting your phone snaps to apps like Foap.
  Foap is a stock photography website where you can upload your photos and you get paid $5 every time someone buys one of yours.
• Playing games. You can double your fun by playing games on your smartphone and at the same time making money. You can check out the following brands:
• Qriket. In Qriket, all you need to do is to spin the wheel to win money. Here's what will happen: First, you pick a color and spin. You can win any amount, from five cents to $10 in a spin. After you run out of free spins, you can just watch some short ads and you will get more spins.
  You can also get spin codes every day by following Qriket creators on social media. Qriket has QriketLife events where you can earn real-time cash prizes up to $100.
• Doing your daily routine. You may not believe it, but you can actually get paid for simply opening your messages and checking the time on your phone. By using the app Locket, all you have to do is to install a specific variety of ads on your home screen, and then every time you open you lock screen you get paid.
• Recycle your phone. There are several ways to recycle your phone, one of which is you can gain money from. There are several manufacturers and retailers who will pay to have your old phone's parts. You can even trade it in for a gift card or credit which you can use to buy another phone, preferably a refurbished Apple iPhone due to its increasing demand among its users find more info here.
  You might not be aware but most recycling companies will accept phones that are broken as each is given an individual evaluation, and free postage means that you don't need to worry about delivery and transaction costs.
  An example is Apple's trade in service. If you have an old model of iPhone, you can trade in your eligible device for credit toward your next purchase, or get an Apple Gift Card you can use anytime. However, if your device is not eligible for credit, the company will recycle it for free. Another thing you can benefit from recycling your old phone is the fact that you can save the environment.
  All you need to do is to answer a few questions about your device. Based on that, the company will offer you a competitive trade-in estimate for an Apple Gift Card or instant credit at an Apple Store.
  Other retailers you can sell or trade in your old phone are Gazelle, Decluttr, and eBay.