Aloha, fellow procrastin8r. We’ve got something special for you today. Now if you’ve been following my content for quite a while, you’ll know that lately, I’ve typically given you a dose of weekly words of wisdom in regards to what we call the L.A.Z.Y. mindset. We’ve covered everything from How to Deal with D-Bags in a calm laid back sort of way to how to Relax and Let Go of Regret and pretty much everything in between that touches base on taking it easy in life and not worrying or getting stressed out.
After all, hard work is NOT the way to success, contrary to popular belief. It is laziness that leads you to living a happy, fulfilling life. It is laziness that allows you to actually enjoy life, and not just merely exist as another cog in the corporate machine.
After all, hard work is NOT the way to success, contrary to popular belief. It is laziness that leads you to living a happy, fulfilling life. It is laziness that allows you to actually enjoy life, and not just merely exist as another cog in the corporate machine.
So it’s important that we often talk about implementing laziness into nearly every aspect of your life -- that way you can actually be happy. And happiness -- that’s the true measure of success right there!
Anyway, despite the core values of what this blog has become, every once in a while, when I feel like it, perhaps once in a blue moon ,I like to dive back to the roots of what this blog was originally all about -- and that is making money from the couch.
Of course, we’ve expanded a lot since this blog first started. It’s become more of a philosophy or way of life than a simple list of money-making methods.
While money-making from the couch is no longer the sole focus of what we do here, there’s no denying that putting cash in your pocket by by literally doing nothing is a *part* of the overall lazy lifestyle we want to achieve here. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a chunk of change for sitting on my ass if I can. That’s certainly minimizing effort and maximizing results, the core of what laziness is all about.
We’re gonna take a look at my favorite apps for earning money passively, that is apps that pay you for doing *nothing*. Like that idea? Of course you do, you lazy bastard! So you’re gonna absolutely LOVE what I put together for you today.
But...before we get started, and I go ahead and give you that list, I want to clarify the parameters that determine what this list is made of.
1. First of all, these are apps that are for your smartphone. I’m using an Android phone and some of them may not be available for iPhone, which is important to note. Also, many of the apps require a working SIM card to function (and earn you money) properly. So these aren’t gonna be apps that you can dig up an old phone that you no longer use for the purposes of earning cash.
It needs to be your “main” phone, the one you carry around in your pocket and use to text, post selfies on Social Media, and look up pictures of sloths on.
And I mean, look, it’s 2021, you more than likely have a phone, and if you don’t well then c’mon old man, get with the times! No but seriously, this is a way to earn money from a phone that you’re already using anyway.
2. The second requirement I have for this list is that they must be actually paying (as of September 2021, the publication of this article). Look, I’ll be straight with you. I ain’t one of these bloggers that’s gonna waste your time downloading scam apps.
Many sites will post lists of “apps to earn money passively” and include ones that put bluntly: don’t fucking pay out. You waste your time accumulating points over weeks or even months only to receive some sort of error (and lack of reply from support for that matter) when attempting to cash out once you’ve reached the godforsaken large threshold.
There are lots of scam apps out there that simply don’t pay and only collect your data. I don’t like wasting my time and I certainly don’t like wasting yours either.
I’d rather post about genuine shit that works, than merely post something for the sake of views/content.
I value integrity over profits, unlike a lot of these sleezy greedy corporate owners. I’m like you, just a dude trying to abide. My goal is to give to you, not take from you and I want to give you ways to earn easy money that, like I said, actually freaking work!
So, these are apps that I have *personally* gotten paid by. I wouldn’t want to share with you apps that DIDN’T pay, unless of course I made a list of “scam apps/apps to avoid”.
Now true, I’m just some random dude on the Internet, but I always condone that lying is the one thing you should NOT procrastinate on. Take that for what it’s worth. At the end of the day, I suppose you’re going to have to choose whether or not to take my word for i, but that’s completely up to you at that point.
I’m just a dude with an opinion, man, so take anything I suggest as that and not some sort of rule to follow.
3. The third requirement for this list is that they are 100% passive, meaning there’s nothing you have to do other than sign up and install the app. It’s very…”set it and forget it.” Once you complete the initial set up process, that’s it. You’re done. Sit on back and earn money. Cha-ching! baby!
You don’t have to take surveys or complete micro-tasks or even click a button as a daily check in. It’s something you login whenever you feel like it, check your points, and cash out when you’ ve accumulated enough of them.
No need to do anything on your part other than install the app. It’s about as lazy as money can get.
4. The fourth parameter of these apps is that they are all available in the United States. That is my country of residence and so the apps I use are going to be ones that are in fact useable in the US. They may be available in other countries outside of the U.S., but I cannot personally vouch for that, as I only have access to these apps within my own country. So if you are one of my global readers, keep in mind that the apps I suggest may or may not be available to you.
The final thing I’d like to bring to your attention, as a matter of transparency, is that I’ve included some referral links and referral codes for these apps and I do get a small commission incentive if you choose to sign up under my referral.
Now I’m not one of these dudes out here just trying to collect a big referral train. Again, I value integrity over profits, so I will be including a non-referral link as well. I appreciate your support if you choose to use my referral.
Also, I just want to throw it out there that these apps are in no ways going to supplement your income. It just flat out doesn’t pay that much. But hey, free money is free money and I’ll take what I can get.
Anyway, todayI put together for you another ProcrastiN8 list, the top 8 smartphone apps to earn money passively and without further ado, let’s dive...right into it!
1) McMoney (referral code QS8E9QSS)
Minimum Cash Out: $6 via PayPal
Time to Reach Cash Out Minimum: Varies (6-12 months)
WTF is it?
McMoney comes from Cm.com, a cloud software company, one of the services they offer to their clients is mobile service, and so they want to measure and track mobile data.
That’s where you come in. See, they basically test mobile networks by sending “test” messages and they compensate you for allowing them to send these testers.
In short, this app pays you for receiving text messages. Since you need a functioning SMS phone, you definitely need an ACTIVE Sim card for this to work, as I mentioned earlier. If you can’t receive regular text messages, then you’re shit out of luck.
Also standard text messaging rates apply, so if you don’t have unlimited text messaging, this app honestly ain’t worth it, which is sort of why I put it on the bottom of the list, among other reasons.
Now you may be asking what exactly are these messages you’ll be receiving and the answer is... I couldn’t tell you. No, it’s not some type of mysterious secret I’m keeping from you. It’s literally I can’t tell you. I mean it’s complete gibberish. Unreadable nonsense. For example, the last text I received from McMoney read as follows: “nakepaw ut groga zeacgi usiebe ind stra klangigtuce without” You see what I mean, just silliness.
You can simply delete it, but honestly I’m even too lazy for that and literally just have my inbox flooded with these “biskongus” type messages.
Now, that may bother some, to be spammed with weird messages, but I personally don’t give a fuck.
I’ll let someone text me “gooji makka linki” all day if it means I’m getting paid!
Anyway, one important note, because I know what you’re thinking. “Well, can’t I just block the number and not have to even worry about getting spammed like that anyway?”
Here’s the thing: You can’t block the number. If you block the number then the text cannot be received, thus no payment can be received either. Again, you’re being paid to *receive* text messages; can’t get paid if you’re not *receiving them.
The messages themselves, other than making your head spin trying to read it, are completely harmless. There’s no viruses or any of that shit. It doesn’t hack your phone or whatever. It’s just a random string of characters to test the mobile network.
Besides, receiving a random message can make you feel like you have friends that care about you. Seeing that little notification on your phone may excite you. Of course, you may be just disappointed when you see it’s not your friend or anyone you know, just some robot speaking gibberish to you.
Admittedly, there have been quite a few times where I was expecting a text back from someone, feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, go to check it, only to see a random number creating gibberish word vomit.
It can be a tad frustrating at times, but not enough to warrant uninstalling it or avoiding downloading in the first place.
But seriously, it shouldn’t bother you too much.
It’s not gonna be buzzing your phone off the table. The text messages don’t come *that* frequently to the point of annoyance. It’s like a once in a while thing. That said, the frequency of the text message arrival may be a little *too* inconsistent. It may be a few days before you get one, it may be a few hours. You never know. Expect the unexpected I suppose.
You don’t have to open or even read the texts, by the way. That’s what makes this completely passive. Yes, you do have to receive it, but it can remain in your inbox unread for all eternity and still count as payment.
What I Like:
- You don’t need to keep the app on your phone to receive messages. You will continue receiving paid texts, even if you uninstall the app. You do need the app to cash out, however, and cannot do that through the website, unfortunately. This is good if you’re concerned about taking space up on your phone. Many of the other apps I’ll introduce to you here in our list of passive money apps require the app to not only be on your phone (taking up storage) but also consistently use up your data, leading us to the next thing I like about this app...
- McMoney doesn’t use data. It only uses up your texts. Most phone plans have some form of unlimited texts and a monthly data allowance (which some other apps can chew up quite quickly), making it more “worth it” if you have unlimited text but not data.
What I Don’t Like:
- The frequency of paid text messages is very...infrequent. Sometimes I get one every few days. Sometimes I’ll go a whole week without any. Other times, I’ll receive a slew of half a dozen gibberish texts in one single day. There’s never a specific time of day I get them, although it tends NOT to be late night into the wee early hours of the morning (like 10pm to 6am, Eastern Time)
- The amount you get per message varies depending on your location and to be frank, really isn’t that much anyway. We’re talking a few cents here and there and sometimes even fractions of a penny. It does add up though.
- Reaching the cash out threshold takes *forever*. I mean a really long time. It takes at least a few months to get to just a measly $6. Maybe even a year or more.That might be too long of a time investment for such a small payment, but the way I see it, it’s passive and easy. I understand why someone wouldn’t want to deal with that though.
It’s about an extra 50 cents to a dollar per month, which ain’t bad for doing nothing. Still, there’s no denying that there are higher paying apps that are just as passive.
- The cash out itself takes 2-3 business days to arrive. While they do pay out, it takes a while to see it in your account
2) Embee Mobile Performance Meter
(Non- Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: $1 via gift cards
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 10 - 15 days
WTF is it?
It’s pretty straight forward. What it does is in the title. It measures the “mobile performance” of your phone by tracking your location and the stability of your network, whether you still have service and how strong the signal is.
You get paid for them tracking this data. This may be something you’re completely uncomfortable with, so fair warning, this app is tracking your data usage and location 24/7.
Of course, many companies (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Apple) are tracking your data. I suppose it’s a matter of whether you want to trust *yet another* company with your data or not. This company actually pays you for your data though.
You have to share your phone number, e-mail address, and demographic information in order to sign up.
I’ve been using this app for years and haven’t experienced anything malicious from them nor data breaches.
(I have experienced data breaches from “trusted” companies like eBay and Sony though, but I digress.)
Once you sign up and are approved, you’ll be given and “earn rate”. It’s pretty vague how they determine this rate, but I know it has something to do with your location and which mobile carrier you have and it can range from 10-30 points daily.
Then that’s it. You gain points equal to your earn rate simply for having the app on your phone. No need to check in daily or anything.
You’ll have to give the app a few permissions then make sure the meter status says “RUNNING” and you’re good to go. Embrace your laziness and watch your points grow.
You can also choose to turn on “Survey Booster” as well and get surveys to complete for bonus point. The surveys pay usually between 50 and 100 points (one point is about 1 cent, so that’s equivalent of 50 cents to a dollar per survey), but since this article is focus on *passive* ways to make money we’ll turn that off for now.
Once you have enough points, you can cash out for a gift card that’s sent directly to your e-mail. There are dozens of places to choose from, including but not limited to Amazon, Cabello’s Staples, Starbucks, Target, Red Robin, JC Penny, and GameStop.
I usually go with Amazon, but go ahead and pick whatever tickles your fancy. Note that if you do choose Amazon, you can cash out the very low cash out of $1 HOWEVER, this costs 150 points, whereas a $5 AMGC costs 500 points (which is equivalent to 100 points per dollar instead of 150). It’s better to procrastinate and wait til you have enough for the larger cash out, so you get more bang for your buck (or value for your points for that matter)
No sense going for the lower cash out, besides that makes it less passive when you’re opening up the app to cash out more frequently. Have some patience. It’s the heart of procrastination.
What I Like:
- Earnings are consistent. You will always earn “x” amount of points per day. For me, it’s 15 points per day. Some have as high as 30 and some as low as 10, but unlike McMoney, for example where some days you get paid and some days you don’t, you always get a set amount of points each day. You basically earn anywhere from $3-9 a month, which really ain’t bad.
- You can earn bonus points for referring and completing surveys. Although not exactly 100% passive, it’s a nice little bonus if someone signs up under your referral or you taking a shit and take a survey in the meantime to earn a few extra cents.
- Cash outs are practically immediate. I usually receive my gift card in my inbox within a matter of minutes. The longest delay I had took a few hours.
What I Don’t Like:
- It uses a SHIT TON of data and battery. We’re talking 1-2GB per month. And I don’t even travel that much. I’m lazy af and barely leave the house, yet alone trek for very long, so that rate I imagine would only be higher for someone that travels/commutes a lot. Fortunately, I have unlimited data so it doesn’t affect me all too much, but I know not everyone has that luxury, so it may not be worth the extra data usage it eats up. The battery drain is also insane at 10-15% per full charge. Fortunately, I barely leave the house and always have access to a charger, but still that’s a lot of heat on your battery.
- Sometimes the meter randomly STOPS. This isn’t *that* big of a deal since all you have to do is click the “play” button to turn the meter back on and wait for it to say “RUNNING” in the status bar, but it can be a bit frustrating to realize you haven’t been earning any points for a few days because the app stopped running. It doesn’t notify you that it stopped running in the first place. You’ll just notice that it’s not in your drop down notification any more. I find that it often happens if there’s an update available for the app that I haven't downloaded yet. I have since turned on AUTOMATIC updates via Wi-Fi and haven’t experienced that problem in a while. Still, it’s a bug to look out for.
3) Telephia
Minimum Cash Out: $3 via PayPal
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 3 weeks
WTF is it?
Much like Mobile Performance Meter, it tracks your mobile data usage in exchange for payment. Again, it’s completely set it and forget it. Download the app. Sign up.
Then just keep it running, while you lie around in your PJs. No need to move anywhere. No need to go anywhere. Lazy cash at its best.
Do be aware that similarly to MPM, you are basically “selling” your data to a company. If you’re not comfortable sharing personal information, then you might want to flat out avoid this.
However, if you’re like me and have pretty much just accepted that companies know everything about me anyway, and feel ya might as well get paid for it, then go ahead and sign right up
You earn a steady $1 per day that you have the app running (for at least 8 hours) plus an additional $1 for every full month (or 28 days) you have it running. The days do NOT have to be consecutive.
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
Minimum Cash Out: $3 via PayPal
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 3 weeks
WTF is it?
Much like Mobile Performance Meter, it tracks your mobile data usage in exchange for payment. Again, it’s completely set it and forget it. Download the app. Sign up.
Then just keep it running, while you lie around in your PJs. No need to move anywhere. No need to go anywhere. Lazy cash at its best.
Do be aware that similarly to MPM, you are basically “selling” your data to a company. If you’re not comfortable sharing personal information, then you might want to flat out avoid this.
However, if you’re like me and have pretty much just accepted that companies know everything about me anyway, and feel ya might as well get paid for it, then go ahead and sign right up
You earn a steady $1 per day that you have the app running (for at least 8 hours) plus an additional $1 for every full month (or 28 days) you have it running. The days do NOT have to be consecutive.
What I Like:
- Earnings are consistent. You will always earn $1 per week. Plus as additional $1 for each consecutive 28 days you run the app
- You can turn it off to save data. Unlike Mobile Performance Meter, which basically requires you to be running the app 24/7, Telephia only requires 8 hours a day as a “target”. Once you hit said target, you can stop running the app. This is good id you’re on a limited data plan and need to conserve as much data as possible but still want to earn from the app.
- It keeps track of your Lifetime earnings. I’m all about gamification and seeing stats and numbers grow. There’s a number at the top of the app that shows how much you’ve earned since you first downloaded it. It’s not anything huge but it’s pretty cool to know how much money you’ve made doing nothing with this app. There’s also a countdown to show you when you will earn your next incentive, which is cool too because a lot of other apps can be confusing about when the “server time” is. You’ll be looking at another app and be like “WHy didn’t I earn my points for the day?” Seeing a server clock takes away that ambiguity which is nice.
What I Don’t Like:
- There’s no bonus incentive to keep it running past 8 hours. Running it 24 hours a day pays the same as running it 8 hours a day. You’re pretty much wasting data and even the battery life of your phone if you keep in running more than you need it to. I tend to keep it on so it’s more passive, and even though I have unlimited data, it still drains my battery. That said, the battery drain isn’t too heavy running the app consistently, but it definitely drains faster with it running than without it. I’m too lazy to calculate the numbers for you though.
- There’s no Referral system or bonus ways to earn. It does have a streak bonus (28 days for one extra dollar), something Mobile Performance Meter does not have. But you can’t get people to sign up under your account to earn additional incentives
4) Reklaim (aka Killi)
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: none
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 1 month
WTF is it?
Your data is being sold and Reklaim, former known as “Killi” wants to give you a cut of the pie and “reclaim” your own data.
After providing your e-mail address, the app will scan social media networks, websites, and services like Facebook, Google, Netflix, Twitter, and Pinterest to see who bought and sold your data and what they’re using it for.
You’ll be given a list of these companies as well as how much they’ve been selling your data for. You’ll also see the grand total of how much your data sells for (in total) annually.
Honestly, the points you earn are a bonus, because this app is simply a great tool at getting a good view at who’s trading your data.
You can also link your credit/debit card to earn from your shopping data or install a browser extension to earn form your browsing data.
Once you do all that, the earnings are completely on auto-pilot man.
While there seems to be no minimum cash out, your account needs to be active for a full 30 days before you’re able to cashout, which to be fair is about as long as it takes to reach the cash out threshold of other apps.
You earn points each week, which is dependent on how much your data is being sold for. You basically get a portion of the profits. And when I say portion, I mean very small portion. But still, it’s better than nothing.
Like Mobile Performance Meter, there are surveys available via Pollfish, but they pay measly points and aren’t worth your time. Plus, doing the surveys is totally unpassive, which completely defeats the purpose we’re trying to achieve here.
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: none
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 1 month
WTF is it?
Your data is being sold and Reklaim, former known as “Killi” wants to give you a cut of the pie and “reclaim” your own data.
After providing your e-mail address, the app will scan social media networks, websites, and services like Facebook, Google, Netflix, Twitter, and Pinterest to see who bought and sold your data and what they’re using it for.
You’ll be given a list of these companies as well as how much they’ve been selling your data for. You’ll also see the grand total of how much your data sells for (in total) annually.
Honestly, the points you earn are a bonus, because this app is simply a great tool at getting a good view at who’s trading your data.
You can also link your credit/debit card to earn from your shopping data or install a browser extension to earn form your browsing data.
Once you do all that, the earnings are completely on auto-pilot man.
While there seems to be no minimum cash out, your account needs to be active for a full 30 days before you’re able to cashout, which to be fair is about as long as it takes to reach the cash out threshold of other apps.
You earn points each week, which is dependent on how much your data is being sold for. You basically get a portion of the profits. And when I say portion, I mean very small portion. But still, it’s better than nothing.
Like Mobile Performance Meter, there are surveys available via Pollfish, but they pay measly points and aren’t worth your time. Plus, doing the surveys is totally unpassive, which completely defeats the purpose we’re trying to achieve here.
What I Like:
- My data. My money. I like the whole philosophy of these guys. You to take back (or “reklaim”) the data that’s yours. It’s your data being traded. You deserve some of the profits.
- See what companies are stalking me. It can be a real eye opener to see what companies are essentially spying on you. You can then choose not to associate yourself with that brand.
What I Don’t Like:
- You need to be active on social media. Fact of the matter is, your data ain’t worth shit if you’re not very active on social media. Personally, my data isn’t worth much since I’m not on social media very much, nor do I do a whole lot of online shopping, and if you’re in the same boat, then don’t be surprised if your earnings are rather low.
- It’s unclear how many points you’ll earn each week. While the app tells you “you’ll earn x pt this week”, that number can vary from week to week. It’ll fluctuate up and down I suppose depending on how little or how much your data is being traded for.
5) Facebook Viewpoints
Minimum Cash Out: $5
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2 weeks
Speaking of reclaiming your data. Facebook actually has an in-house program called “Viewpoints”, where again they track your data and cell phone usage in exchange for a small incentive.
And let’s be honest, if you have the regular Facebook app on your phone, they’re probably tracking that type of data anyway soo...might as well get paid for it!
Once you download the app, you’ll need to join the “Study” program, which is yet another app you have to download.
You’ll earn a solid 500 points per week and it costs 1,000 points to cash out for a $5 reward in gift card form, so it takes a solid 2 weeks before you reach that threshold, which is honestly the fastest time to reach cash out out of all these apps.
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
Minimum Cash Out: $5
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2 weeks
Speaking of reclaiming your data. Facebook actually has an in-house program called “Viewpoints”, where again they track your data and cell phone usage in exchange for a small incentive.
And let’s be honest, if you have the regular Facebook app on your phone, they’re probably tracking that type of data anyway soo...might as well get paid for it!
Once you download the app, you’ll need to join the “Study” program, which is yet another app you have to download.
You’ll earn a solid 500 points per week and it costs 1,000 points to cash out for a $5 reward in gift card form, so it takes a solid 2 weeks before you reach that threshold, which is honestly the fastest time to reach cash out out of all these apps.
What I Like:
- Fast to reach the cash out threshold (only 2 weeks). You’ll get a total of $10 a month for literally doing nothing, other than keeping it on your phone.
What I Don’t Like:
- You need to install TWO separate apps for this to work. You need BOTH the Viewpoints app and the Study app for this to work. (technically 3 if you want to count Facebook itself, but you don’t need that one installed on your phone. You can use the website from a browser to login or create an account)
- You need to have a Facebook account. Most people have one, but maybe you younger kids don’t since FB is “the old people” social media. That said, you don’t need to necessarily be active in it (I know I’m not). You just need to have an account.
- -You’re feeding the Zuck. Yes the ultimate data eater AI, Mark Zuckerberg himself is siphoning off your juicy juicy data. But all jokes aside, signing up for this app means giving more information about yourself to him. Facebook as a company has been sketchy at best and totally corrupt at worst. Let’s not forget the whole Cambridge Analytica incident. And while you may in fact trust the Zuck, you should be aware that Cambridge wasn’t the first nor will it be the last company to take advantage of the data Facebook gives them.
6) AppOtix
Minimum Cash Out: $10 via Amazon gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 3 months
WTF Is It?
Yet another get paid to share your data, a completely passive app. You earn 25 points per week and need 300 to cash out.
No need to cash out manually, which means more passive-ness, which means more laziness, which means this is a BIG PLUS in my book.
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
Minimum Cash Out: $10 via Amazon gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 3 months
WTF Is It?
Yet another get paid to share your data, a completely passive app. You earn 25 points per week and need 300 to cash out.
No need to cash out manually, which means more passive-ness, which means more laziness, which means this is a BIG PLUS in my book.
What I Like:
- Very low battery and data usage. You barely even know this app is running in the background. It used a whopping 5.86 MB of data since June and it’s now September and uses only 1-2% of the battery charge at full charge
- The gift card is sent to your e-mail AUTOMATICALLY. This si the only app I can find that does this. Other apps require you to MANUALLY request a cash out, but with AppOtix, once you hit 300 points, you’ll receive your gift card usually within 48 hours.
What I Don’t Like:
- There’s a delay between signing up and beginning to earn points. After signing up, you need to get approved for the panel. This took me personally at least a week, which could have been 25 points I earned. Also, they don’t always accept new applicants ,so you might not even get a spot.
- You need to “Save Your Profile” every few months, EVEN IF there aren’t any changes. This is really just a minor inconvenience but it’s still kind of annoying. If nothing changes, I shouldn’t have to login. This is the ONLY feature (if you want to even call it that) that prevents this app from being completely passive, since unlike other apps you don’t have to login to cash out.
- Only one cash out option: Amazon. Now personally, I’d probably choose an Amazon gift card out of all the gift cards I could choose form anyway, but at the same time fi you’re not into supporting Jeff Bezos’ side hobby of taking space field trips, I understand. It’s also nice to just have a variety of choices. Unlike PayPal, which you can transfer to your bank or use the PP card at a store, you’re limited to only using the Amazon gift card at Amazon. Of course, that site literally has everything so I suppose you can’t really go wrong.
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7) Rewards by Four Square (formerly Panel App)
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: $1 via gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2-3 months
WTF Is It?
It’s run by FourSquare,the social network that has you earning badges for checking in at local restaurants and other venues. Needless to say, they want to collect your location data with this app.
You collect points passively, though usually a low amount of 10-15 per day
You can manually answer questions about your trip or manually chekc in for bonus points, but I skip out on this because a) I’m lazy and b) I want passive income not income I have to work for and answering questions is extra work I just don’t want to deal with.
You can cash out for an Amazon, Visa, Google Playstore, or WalMart gift card. They have sweepstakes for a low amount of points (5-15) that you can enter for a chance to win these gift cards and you have an unlimited amount of entries you can put in, granted you have enough points to purchase multiple entries.
Like lottery tickets, it ain’t worth the gamble and you’re likely just throwing away your points. A total waste.
You can, in turn, choose to take from the “guaranteed” prize pool. This cost like 1000x more points to get, but in all honesty, you’ll probably be spending that amount to win the sweepstakes anyway, so best to procrastinate, wait, and save up ‘til you have enough for that guaranteed prize.
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
- The “guaranteed prizes” are way overpriced. I mean I get it, they’re trying to get you to enter the sweepstakes (and lose all your points in the process so they don’t have to pay out anything), but seriously the point cost for these prizes are insane.
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: $1 via gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2-3 months
WTF Is It?
It’s run by FourSquare,the social network that has you earning badges for checking in at local restaurants and other venues. Needless to say, they want to collect your location data with this app.
You collect points passively, though usually a low amount of 10-15 per day
You can manually answer questions about your trip or manually chekc in for bonus points, but I skip out on this because a) I’m lazy and b) I want passive income not income I have to work for and answering questions is extra work I just don’t want to deal with.
You can cash out for an Amazon, Visa, Google Playstore, or WalMart gift card. They have sweepstakes for a low amount of points (5-15) that you can enter for a chance to win these gift cards and you have an unlimited amount of entries you can put in, granted you have enough points to purchase multiple entries.
Like lottery tickets, it ain’t worth the gamble and you’re likely just throwing away your points. A total waste.
You can, in turn, choose to take from the “guaranteed” prize pool. This cost like 1000x more points to get, but in all honesty, you’ll probably be spending that amount to win the sweepstakes anyway, so best to procrastinate, wait, and save up ‘til you have enough for that guaranteed prize.
What I Like:
- It’s passive. I know that doesn’t really set the app apart from the others in a list of passive money-making apps, but really it’s the only reason it’s still on the list. You sign up, you install the app, and you watch your points grow with no further input needed on your end.
- It’s from a trusted brand name. No doubt Four Square holds a bit more trust and notoriety than a name like CM.com or Embee Mobile Performance Meter. Of course I guess the question is how much can we really trust these companies that are collecting our data for profits anyway?
- Battery drain and data usage ain't to bad. Just a couple megabytes each month and a few percentile points per full charge (1-2%).
What I Don’t Like:
- The “guaranteed prizes” are way overpriced. I mean I get it, they’re trying to get you to enter the sweepstakes (and lose all your points in the process so they don’t have to pay out anything), but seriously the point cost for these prizes are insane.
- Points are earned abysmally slow . Make no mistake the sloth is my spirit animal. I’m all abut going slow n’ steady, but damn man we’re really earning the scraps on the table here.
8) LifeCoin
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: $50 via gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2-3 months
WTF Is It?
It measures the steps you take automatically. You don’t need to hit “start work out” or sync it with an external running/exercise app of some sort like RunKeeper. It just works as an automatic pedometer.
The downside of it automatically tracking your steps though is that it's constantly using your data, though not much (about 6mb per month) compared to other apps that hit several Gigabytes in data usage per month.
You don’t have to manually collect your coins/points, which other “get paid to walk” apps require.
Since it’s only counting your steps, the steps you take from your couch to the bathroom “count” (as long as you bring your phone with you, which, face it, you’re gonna probably do for a long dump anyway).
What I Like:
What I Don’t Like:
- JESUS CHRIST the cash out threshold! Fifty dollars. Like are you kidding me? What’s more is that your steps really aren’t worth a whole lot of points. Like the other day I did 1000 steps. That net me a point gain of 0.95 LifeCoins. Not even a full point. Holy hell!
A thousand steps is a little under a half mile, so itt takes a half mile (in steps) per point
You need 2500 to cash out for a $50 gift card. That means you need to walk 1250 miles total to reach cash out.
Now fortunately points don’t expire and there’s no “minimum” amount of steps you need to do, so it does slowly add up over time.
> Life Coin isn't an actual cryptocurrency tradable on the market, just some in-house point system within the app. Like c'mon now. Total opportunity missed here! I would love to be able to trade this for Bitcoin or Ethereum something or at least have that as a cash out option.
(Non-Ref)
Minimum Cash Out: $50 via gift card
Time to Reach Minimum Cash Out: 2-3 months
WTF Is It?
It measures the steps you take automatically. You don’t need to hit “start work out” or sync it with an external running/exercise app of some sort like RunKeeper. It just works as an automatic pedometer.
The downside of it automatically tracking your steps though is that it's constantly using your data, though not much (about 6mb per month) compared to other apps that hit several Gigabytes in data usage per month.
You don’t have to manually collect your coins/points, which other “get paid to walk” apps require.
Since it’s only counting your steps, the steps you take from your couch to the bathroom “count” (as long as you bring your phone with you, which, face it, you’re gonna probably do for a long dump anyway).
What I Like:
- Lots of Cash Out Options: Foot Locker, Stub Hub (for concerts and events), Best Buy, Adidas, AMC. They also have physical prizes (not just gift cards) like Apple watches, phones, tablets,and even smart scales.
What I Don’t Like:
- JESUS CHRIST the cash out threshold! Fifty dollars. Like are you kidding me? What’s more is that your steps really aren’t worth a whole lot of points. Like the other day I did 1000 steps. That net me a point gain of 0.95 LifeCoins. Not even a full point. Holy hell!
A thousand steps is a little under a half mile, so itt takes a half mile (in steps) per point
You need 2500 to cash out for a $50 gift card. That means you need to walk 1250 miles total to reach cash out.
Now fortunately points don’t expire and there’s no “minimum” amount of steps you need to do, so it does slowly add up over time.
> Life Coin isn't an actual cryptocurrency tradable on the market, just some in-house point system within the app. Like c'mon now. Total opportunity missed here! I would love to be able to trade this for Bitcoin or Ethereum something or at least have that as a cash out option.
Wrapping Up:
There you have it. The list of my top passive income apps.
I guess the takeaway here is that if you’re willing to share your data, you can get paid. It ain’t gonna make you rich by any means, but hey, it is money for doing nothing. You wanted a lazy way to make money and there you go.
Now sit on back and watch your earnings grow slow n’ steady.
Take it easy,
N8
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