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Phone farming offers people an easy way to make money online. You can watch videos, click ads, and do other basic tasks to earn extra money. While the apps that offer these capabilities usually don’t pay well, some people use these apps on multiple old smartphones simultaneously to increase revenue.
Instead of watching a video once, you can set up a phone farm consisting of older phones that autoplay these videos. You can set up a passive income stream with phone farming but don’t get your hopes up about making 6-figures with this strategy or even $1,000 per month. You can use older phones instead of buying new devices to test the concept, and if you want to give phone farming a try, you should consider these top apps.
Swagbucks is one of the oldest phone farming apps. The company has been around since 2008 and has over 20 million members. The company has paid out over $910 million to its members, and it is possible to make $100 per day if you use this app throughout the day.
The company gives out points each time you perform specific activities, such as shopping online, playing video games, searching the web, and answering surveys. You can swap those points for cash or gift cards. Swagbucks hands out 7,000 free gift cards every day to members who rack up points and redeem them.
Swagbucks gives people a $10 bonus just for signing up. You can use that sign-up to get instant rewards and embark on your journey. While you can make money with a single device, the app is also friendly for phone farmers.
Members can earn points by watching videos. Having the videos autoplay on multiple devices can increase your cash flow from the app.
Points2Shop allows its members to earn points by completing surveys, playing video games, downloading apps, watching videos, and for other activities. The app also offers various gift cards and allows you to convert your points into cash. You only need a $5 balance to convert your points into cash.
Points2Shop also lets you shop directly on Amazon. While other apps give you an Amazon Gift Card, you can buy goods on Amazon using your points. Your points will get converted into cash for the purchase.
The company also has a referral program that lets you earn extra points. You can refer people and then earn points if they perform activities. Points2Shop has over five million members and launched in 2007.
Points2Shop members can earn money by watching videos, an essential component for scaling a phone farm. Members have various offers that lead to more points. You will have plenty of opportunities to build up points and use them to buy products or convert them into cash.
InboxDollars has a $5 sign-up bonus and has paid over $80 million in cash and gift cards to members. You can make money by reading emails, playing video games, watching videos, taking paid surveys, and performing other activities.
Unlike most phone farming apps, you can get paid for reading your email. Some phone farming apps’ version of paying you to read email is presenting an offer that you have to take action on right away. However, you can get paid to read certain InboxDollars emails even if you do not perform any actions beyond reading emails. The app doesn’t flood your inbox with these types of opportunities, providing a reasonable balance in the process.
InboxDollars has partnered with top companies like Netflix, H&R Block, Walmart, and others to increase members’ rewards. The company has been around since 2000 and has its app available in Google Play and the Apple App Store.
InboxDollars also has ongoing promotions and contests for its members to max out their earnings potential. The company makes it easy to earn money doing basic activities, and you can make extra money by recruiting other members.
PaidPoints gives members various ways to earn money, such as visiting websites, playing games, downloading apps, and more. You can find opportunities to earn points on the company’s offer walls and refer members to earn extra cash.
The affiliate referral opportunity can earn passive income. While similar companies give you a flat commission, you can receive $5 every time a member you refer earns $25. If a member earns $50, you earn $10 total. Those earnings can compound if you refer active members.
PaidPoints is one of the few “Get Paid To” websites that lets you turn your points into crypto. You can also turn your points into cash, but if you believe in the long-term potential of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various altcoins, PaidPoints lets you get exposure to those coins. You will have to enter your wallet address to receive crypto.
You can withdraw cash from PaidPoints as soon as your balance exceeds $1. PaidPoints is optimal for people with smartphones that can access the Google Play Store. You can earn $5 from some of the surveys.
Nielsen Mobile is an app from the renowned Nielsen researching company. The firm has been around for over 90 years and does research for various companies. Part of that research involves collecting data on consumers, and that’s where the Nielsen Mobile app comes into play.
This app runs in the background while you use your internet and gives Nielsen valuable data it uses for research. In exchange for running the app in the background, you can earn a passive $50 every year.
The company is vast and has analyzed consumer data from over 100 countries. You have to be 18 years or older to use Nielsen Mobile. You must also own a computer or mobile device that can download software. You can redeem points for cash and gift cards and make money without doing any extra work.
Nielsen also has a Digital Voice rewards program that lets you earn money by surfing the web. It’s a separate app that lets you increase your income with your spare time.
Costs: Free
Where to download: You can download the Nielsen Mobile app to create an account.
ySense
ySense lets members earn extra cash online if they complete paid online surveys, watch videos, and perform other activities. You can also refer friends and earn up to 30% of what they make from the app.
The company makes it easy to earn, and you do not have to pay any money to participate in ySense Offers. ySense continues to develop its platform so members can choose from many opportunities to earn.
ySense recently integrated with PayPal, so you can send your points to your account as cash. You only need $10 to cash out your earnings and put them into your PayPal account. It can take 3-5 business days to receive your money once you request a payout.
ySense is available worldwide and has been around since 2007. ySense used to be known as ClixSense but went through a rebranding in 2019. ySense currently has over seven million users.
Phone farming apps are legitimate. You can make money from these apps by watching videos, visiting websites, playing games, downloading apps, and performing other tasks. Many phone farming apps have been around for over a decade.
Can you make a lot of money from phone farming apps?
Phone farming apps can be useful for extra income, but don’t expect to make a full-time income from these apps.
Do phone farming apps cost anything?
Most phone farming apps are free. They make money from relationships with businesses who want to promote their websites, apps, and offers.
Why should (or shouldn’t) you use phone farming apps
A phone farming app can help you earn extra cash and buy a few products. However, you shouldn’t treat it like a full-fledged side hustle or a full-time job. If you want to get into phone farming apps, Nielsen Mobile is the most beginner friendly. You simply have it run in the background on your device and don’t have to watch videos or do any activities. The app tracks your data, and you get paid $50 per year.
Many of these apps have generous minimum payout requirements. While you have to accrue $30 worth of points to get a washout from InboxDollars, most of the other apps have payout minimums that are $5 or less.
Phone farming apps can help you earn extra money and get gift cards. These apps can give you something productive to do with your spare time, but there are more profitable side hustle opportunities.
Some phone farming apps give you truly passive income. You won’t have to play games or do anything that requires focused attention. It’s important to compare phone framing apps to decide which one is right for you.
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Marc Guberti is a business freelance writer who specializes in personal finance, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship. His award-winning book "Content Marketing Secrets" teaches readers how to create, promote and optimize content for growth and revenue. Marc also hosts the "Breakthrough Success Podcast," where listeners learn how to master content marketing and get more clients.
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