As you might know, This Online World started out by covering passive income apps and ways to make money with your smartphone.
While I don’t phone farm anymore, I still run a few data collection apps and websites in my spare time.
One of these apps is MobileXpression.
Now, I don’t know how I haven’t written a MobileXpression review yet, but this is long overdo.
After all, this app is major player in the passive income apps space, and I’ve earned about $90 from using the app over the past 2 years.
This obviously isn’t life-changing, but we’re talking about free money from free apps here, not serious gig apps.
If you want to make money by selling your data and to turn your smartphone into a humble money-making device, this is the app for you.
Checkout other nifty ways to make money online!
- Capital One Shopping – An awesome browser extension that automatically applies coupons and lets you earn credits, which can be redeemed for free gift cards.
- Nielsen Panel – Earn $50 per year or more for sharing your data with the Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel!
What Is MobileXpression?
MobileXpression is a data collection app for Android and iOS that pays you for sharing your data.
Now, I have to preface this MobileXpression review by saying that this app is extremely finicky…this app either works for you, or it doesn’t.
Additionally, with all of my recent traveling and border crossings, the app stopped working for me (again). I’m trying to create a brand new account to get things back up and running.
But, disclaimer aside, what is MobileXpression and why should you care?
According to MobileXpression, this company is an “elite market research community dedicated to improving the mobile Internet. By joining our panel you’ll be helping us to understand and report on the trends and behaviors of people using the mobile Internet.”
This is similar to research panels like UpVoice and Mobile Performance Meter.
MobileXpression basically pays you for data about your behavior, device type, and carrier. Companies then pay MobileXpression for amalgamated data sets to help them with their mobile marketing strategy.
In fact, MobileXpression is a division of VoiceFive, Inc, who are an owned subsidiary of comScore, a massive media analytics company…It’s pretty clear what the play is here.
Now, MobileXpression has decent app store reviews, abysmal TrustPilot reviews, and some fairly mixed opinions on Reddit:
So, the question is, why the varied reviews, and how do you even make money with this app?
How Does MobileXpression Work?
I’ve used MobileXpression for over two years, and during that time, I’ve cashed out $90+ in free gift card rewards.
If you want to add MobileXpression to your list of passive income apps, there are 4 steps you have to take to enroll in the program:
1. Check Your Eligibility
To use MobileXpression, you must be 18 years or older and live in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
MobileXpression only accepts certain phone or tablet models and carriers. You can check your eligibility on MobileXpression’s website:
In Canada, I’ve been able to join MobileXpression with a few phones under Virgin Mobile. However, there’s no running list of what exact phones are accepted into the panel.
Generally, newer phone models and widespread carriers have a decent chance, but you have to check before enrolling. Being denied at this point is honestly where a lot of the negative MobileXpression reviews come from.
But, if your phone is eligible, you’re good to go!
2. Review & Accept Privacy Policy
The next step is to opt-in to the panel terms.
Basically, this step allows MobileXpression to collect market research data from your phone, amalgamate the data, and sell it to third parties.
According to MobileXpression, its software collects data on:
- Messaging services used.
- Mobile web browsing activity.
- Usage and names of downloaded apps and files.
- Usage of camera.
- Video streaming.
- Web pages you view, and links you access.
- Overall usage time.
This is a pretty hefty list, so again, you need to decide if you’re willing to sell your data for money.
3. Enter Demographic & Phone Information
The next step is to answer a few short questions about your demographic profile and phone information.
Again, this data is amalgamated. However, you must provide data about your age, gender, education level, and household income so MobileXpression can group you into a data set.
Filling out this information takes a minute, and then you’re ready to start using the app!
4. Enable The App & Make Money With MobileXpression
MobileXpression requests access to run in the background of your phone while you use it. In order to earn money, you must allow this access.
Once you grant access, just keep MobileXpression open in the background of your phone to slowly earn credits.
You don’t have to use your phone everyday to earn. As long as you use the internet on your phone at some point and meet other eligibility requirements, you’re good to go.
Most negative MobileXpression reviews come from people who can’t figure out how to earn MobileXpression credits.
Again, the app is pretty finicky, so you might have to exit and restart the app several times and have it run in the background of your phone to ensure you’re earning credits.
When you’re new to the program, check in every week or so to make sure you’re still earning!
How Much Does MobileXpression Pay?
As a signup bonus, you earn 15 credits after installing and running the app for a week. This is enough to redeem a free $10 Amazon gift card or gift card to another merchant.
Each proceeding week of activity pays 2 credits. However, if you close the app or lose internet connection, you might find that your week is interrupted and it takes a few more days to earn.
Now, credits have different values depending on what you redeem them for.
Currently, your options are:
- 10 Credit Rewards – Earn a $5 gift card.
- 15 Credit Rewards – Earn a $10 gift card.
Obviously, holding onto your credits to redeem 15 credit rewards makes more sense since the value is better.
For 15 credit rewards, each credit is worth $0.66. This means MobileXpression pays $1.32 per week for running on your phone.
If this app runs smoothly, this means you earn $5.28 per month and $63.36 per year of being a member.
When you factor in the nice $10 signup bonus, you’re looking at a potential of about $73 in your first year of completely free money.
Again, this app is somewhat finicky. I’ve never had a year straight of using this app, and at one point during my phone farming days, one of my accounts was banned.
However, if this app works for you, I think it’s a worthwhile addition to your passive income app setup.
Reward Options
Unfortunately, MobileXpression doesn’t let you cash out through PayPal cash or check. However, there are several free gift card options to cash out with.
Gift card availability and choices vary based on your country, but generally, you can redeem gift cards to:
- Amazon.
- Walmart.
- Best Buy.
- Starbucks.
This is less choice than rewards apps like Fetch Rewards, and if you want PayPal cash, you’re better off trying something like Rakuten or the S`mores app.
MobileXpression sends gift cards via email, and you can expect gift card codes to arrive in a few business days:
Just remember to check your spam folder to ensure you get your reward! I always got my rewards from MobileXpression but they can end up in your spam folder and you might miss them.
Extra Reading – Ways To Get Free Starbucks Gift Cards.
Is MobileXpression Legit?
In my opinion, MobileXpression is legit since I was able to cash out several gift cards with the app over the course of over two years. I never had problems with getting my rewards, and overall, MobileXpression is one of my favorite passive income apps.
The app also has numerous reviews online and payment proof from other users. And it’s one of the most popular passive income apps that has been around for years.
But like I said, this app doesn’t work flawlessly and you can randomly get banned. Ultimately, I think it’s a legitimate company but the app can be frustrating sometimes.
Is MobileXpression A Scam?
Since I’ve been able to cash out with MobileXpression multiple times over the past 2 years, I can confirm this app isn’t a scam.
However, plenty of people have mixed feelings.
If your phone isn’t eligible for the program, there’s nothing you can do. Additionally, it’s possible to get randomly banned, which is infuriating when you’re saving up meter points and waiting to cash out a $10 gift card.
Plus, as I mentioned, some users can’t earn credits even after restarting the app and tinkering with it for several weeks.
Ultimately, this is one of those reward apps that either works great for you or doesn’t work at all.
Does this make MobileXpression a scam?
I don’t think so…but don’t expect this app to run flawlessly for years to come.
Other MobileXpression Reviews
As I mentioned, there are some mixed feelings towards this app. This is even more apparent on Reddit.
As you can see from this Reddit thread, other users are making money with MobileXpression:
However, reviews are far from unanimously positive. If you dig around on Reddit or other websites, you’ll see plenty of people complaining.
I think much of this also comes from the confusion that points are awarded weekly. If you check the meter a few days in and see zero credits, you’ll undoubtedly feel cheated if you don’t know the rules.
Plus, since MobileXpression requires IOS users to download a configuration file which allows your web traffic to route through the MobileXpression servers, it looks like your phone is using a VPN.
This doesn’t matter for most users, but if you’re a fan of answering online surveys, this can get you banned:
In any case, just know that this app has mixed results.
Hopefully, you can install MobileXpression and earn an easy $50-$75 per year just for using your phone!
Extra Reading – The Best GPT Websites & Apps That Pay.
MobileXpression Pros & Cons
I like to wrap up any review with a quick pros and cons list in case you’re on the fence about if MobileXpression is worth it.
The Pros:
I’ve used this app, on and off, for two years. Here’s why:
- Completely Passive. If the panel works, you simply run it in the background of your phone and forget about it.
- No Battery Impact. I don’t think MobileXpression drains my battery or impacts my phone in any way.
- Decent Pay. MobileXpression pays $5.28 per month in credits, which is more than Mobile Performance Meter or S`mores.
The Cons:
MobileXpression has recently stopped working for me again, which is an annoyance. Additionally, here are some other cons to consider:
- Reward Options. A lack of free PayPal cash and little gift card variety is a downside.
- Troubleshooting. I’ve had issues with this app in the past, as well as an account ban. This app won’t work forever, and it sometimes takes tinkering.
- Privacy Concerns. If you don’t want to sell your data, this is not the app for you.
The Best Apps Like MobileXpression
I already mentioned a few apps in the beginning of this post, and I’ve also made a video on some simple passive income streams you can create as a beginner:
But for quick reference, some MobileXpression alternatives you can use to earn passive income with your smartphone or computer include:
- Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel
- Mobile Performance Meter
- Panel App
- S’mores
- Pogo
- UpVoice
- Bumped (earn fractional stocks as a form of cash back)
- Pei
- Honeygain
Ultimately, if you install apps like Mobile Performance Meter, Panel App, S’mores, and use UpVoice when browsing the web, I think it’s possible to earn $100 or more per year just by selling your data.
You can take things to the next level by selling your bandwidth from home with apps like Honeygain and Fluidstack, but this isn’t my cup of tea honestly.
At the end of the day, you have to decide what you’re comfortable with. However, there’s definitely some easy money to be made just by joining a few nifty research panels.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re still considering if MobileXpression is worth it or not, I hope this list of frequently asked questions and some answers will help you make the decision.
Is MobileXpression A VPN?
You might feel alarmed if you notice that MobileXpression turns on a VPN signal on your phone when you use it, but that shows the app is working as intended.
According to MobileXpression: “in order to be eligible for incentives from MobileXpression, the MobileXpression VPN must be allowed to connect with MobileXpression. For some operating systems, that means that the email account must be set to check-in on a regular basis.”
Can I Use A VPN With MobileXpression?
I can’t find an answer to this question online, but from my knowledge of beermoney apps, I think the answer is that you can’t use a VPN to connect to MobileXpression to try and make money.
Again, you have to live in the United States, Canada, or the UK to join the program.
Plus, your phone model and provider need to be eligible for the program. Using a VPN to try and game the system won’t fix those issues, so unfortunately, this isn’t much of a global passive income app.
Is MobileXpression Worth It?
If you’re already using several passive income apps, I’d try running MobileXpression to make some extra cash as well.
But as a standalone app, I wouldn’t really say it’s worth it.
When I stopped phone farming, I stopped using apps like MobileXpression. To me, the time involved in troubleshooting and checking if things were working just wasn’t worth it.
In my opinion, it’s a nice way to make some beermoney, but not a substantial side hustle.
Things like starting a blog or making money on YouTube have way more potential, so I’d focus efforts there if you’re serious about passive income.
Final Thoughts
I’m definitely less active in the world of beermoney these days than when I was in college.
However, MobileXpression has been a somewhat consistent app for me over the past few years. After all the free Starbucks I’ve drank because of this app, I figured it was time for a review of MobileXpression.
This app doesn’t work for everyone, but hopefully, it lets you earn more free gift cards each year and gets you started on your passive income journey!
Try out MobileXpression on Android or iOS today!
Thanks for reading, I’ll catch you guys in the next one!
Looking for more awesome money-making ideas? Checkout:
MobileXpression App Review
Name: MobileXpression
Description: MobileXpression is a market research panel that lets you earn free gift cards and passive income with your smartphone.
Operating System: Android, IOS
Application Category: Passive Income Apps
Author: Tom Blake
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Earning Potential
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Reward Options
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Earning Options
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Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
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