EXPLORING APPIFICATION
Authors: Van der Vlist Fernando N. , Helmond Anne , Weltevrede Esther , Dieter Michael , Duguay Stefanie , Emsley Iain , Zhang Fangzhou , Burton Anthony Glyn , Dietzel Christopher , Filice Eric , Parry Diana C. , Johnson Corey W. 
Published: February 2025

This panel offers a reflection on the evolution and transformations of apps and app studies over the past decade, emphasizing how apps have seamlessly integrated into our daily routines and shaped our cultural and economic landscape. This process, known as ‘appification’, involves integrating various aspects of daily life and activities into mobile applications, fundamentally altering how we communicate, access information, make payments, and use digital services (Dieter et al., 2019; Goggin, 2021; Morris and Murray, 2018). Research in app studies has evolved in multiple directions during this time to analyse the implications of appification. This has included examining how app interfaces and features influence social, cultural, and economic practices, employing methods such as the walkthrough method or feature analysis (Hasinoff & Bivens, 2021; Light et al., 2018). Additionally, there has been a focus on the technical and material dimensions of the data infrastructures in which apps are situated (Gerlitz et al., 2019). Simultaneously, the emergence of new app genres, like ‘super apps’, which combine features, services, and practices in unique ways, has transformed apps into platforms for further development. However, this evolution also raises methodological questions on researching and contextualizing change over time (Helmond & van der Vlist, 2021). The evolving and dynamic nature of apps, accordingly, necessitates a continuous need for critical reflection on the methods used to study apps and the phenomenon of appification.

The panel explores the concept of appification through various lenses, including governance and safety measures in dating apps, the complexities of app-based authentication, the global rise of super-apps and their historical evolution in the Chinese context, and the integration of AI technologies into mobile and enterprise applications. Methodologically, the panel showcases diverse strategies to explore appification, such as the walkthrough method, creating research personas, decompiling and debugging app software packages, historical analysis using app repositories, and analysing mini-apps and app store inventories. Together, these studies provide insight into emerging approaches for understanding appification going forward and how apps are reshaping interactions, governance, and technology integration across different domains and cultural contexts.

All five papers in this panel engage with the concept of appification, which entails the integration of various aspects of daily life into mobile applications, fundamentally changing how we communicate, access information, conduct transactions, and use digital services. The first paper employs the walkthrough method to explore how dating apps shape the notion of ‘safety’ through their policies and technological features, shedding light on how safety measures are often traded for data and how these apps normalise surveillance practices. The second paper investigates the appification of dating by examining Tinder’s authentication mechanisms, revealing the complexities of user interactions and data exchanges within the app ecosystem. Advancing the field of app studies, the panel thus explores methodological strategies and conceptual frameworks to address the nuances of appification. The third paper maps out the global landscape of ‘super apps’ and theorises the process of ‘super-appification’, where apps extend beyond their traditional boundaries to offer a wide range of features and services, reshaping user engagement and corporate expansion. A comparative historiography of prominent Chinese super apps forms the basis of the fourth paper, tracing their evolution, features, and strategies driving their dominance. Lastly, the fifth paper examines the emerging ecosystems of AI apps, exploring their infrastructural features and relationships. Together, these studies provide a comprehensive overview of the ongoing transformations in the mobile ecosystem and the appification process, highlighting the crucial role of app features in shaping social interactions and corporate strategies.