Recommending substitute applications

A first computing device comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
• receive, from a second computing device, an indication of a duration of user interaction with a first application cumulated over a particular amount of time and an indication of a duration of user interaction with a second application cumulated over the particular amount of time;
• assign, based on the duration of user interaction with the first application and a type of the first application, a user engagement score associated with the first application;
• assign, based on the duration of user interaction with the second application and a type of the second application, a user engagement score associated with the second application, wherein:
• the duration of user interaction with the first application is approximately equal to the duration of user interaction with the second application,
• the type of the first application is different than the type of the second application, and
• the user engagement score associated with the first application is different than the user engagement score associated with the second application;
• determine whether the user engagement score associated with the first application satisfies a threshold user engagement score;
• responsive to determining that the user engagement score associated with the first application does not satisfy the threshold user engagement score:
• determine at least one alternative application that users of a group of other computing devices use more than the first application, wherein the at least one alternative application is:
• one of a group of alternative applications for the first application;
• and
• determined based at least in part on a comparison between aggregated user interactions with the first application relative to aggregated user interactions with the at least one alternative application from the group of alternative applications;
• and
• select, from the at least one alternative application, a third application to substitute for the first application;
• and
• receive, from the second computing device, an indication of user input to uninstall the first application;
• send, to the second computing device, for installation, the third application;
• and
• responsive to determining that the user engagement score associated with the second application satisfies the threshold user engagement score, refrain from recommending replacement applications for the second application.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the at least one processor to:

• receive an indication of a duration of user interaction with a first application cumulated over a particular amount of time and an indication of a duration of user interaction with a second application cumulated over the particular amount of time, wherein the first application and the second application are installed at a memory of the computing device;
• assign, based on the duration of user interaction with the first application and a type of the first application, a user engagement score associated with the first application;
• assign, based on the duration of user interaction with the second application and a type of the second application, a user engagement score associated with the second application, wherein:
• the duration of user interaction with the first application is approximately equal to the duration of user interaction with the second application,
• the type of the first application is different than the type of the second application, and
• the user engagement score associated with the first application is different than the user engagement score associated with the second application;
• determine whether the user engagement score associated the first application satisfies a threshold user engagement score;
• responsive to determining that the user engagement score associated with the first application does not satisfy the threshold user engagement score:
• determine at least one alternative application that users of a group of other computing devices use more than the first application, wherein the at least one alternative application is:
• one of a group of alternative applications for the first application;
• and
• determined based at least in part on a comparison between aggregated user interactions with the first application relative to aggregated user interactions with the at least one alternative application from the group of alternative applications;
• and
• select, from the at least one alternative application, a third application to substitute for the first application;
• and
• uninstall the first application;
• install the third application;
• and
• responsive to determining that the user engagement score associated with the second application satisfies the threshold user engagement score, refrain from recommending replacement applications for the second application.