Zombie accounts surge across major platforms with Pandora, Groupon, and Shutterfly leading

Websites used to brag about the number of users and accounts, but a recent Digital Information World report shows how this is a poor indicator of the status of the site. Dormant, inactive, or zombie accounts account for almost 30% to 40% of some online services, according to a survey by Secure Data Recovery.

The survey comprised 2,493 Americans who revealed their online services accounts that they have not used in the last 12 months. The survey asked participants about 94 online services, which included social media services, financial services, productivity services, etc.

Surprisingly, 94% participants claimed having a zombie account. Because of having an account on 5 or 10 online services, it is likely that users will stop using some of those accounts over time. This is why the percentage is so high.

40% participants said that they had an inactive Pandora account. Due to better music services available today — like Spotify or Apple Music — Pandora has lost its value among its users.

The e-commerce website Groupon is next. It offers users coupons and special offers or deals. But it is difficult to keep buying stuff using a single website.  Users just lost interest.

Shutterfly is at number three. The author, Ehtasham Ahmad, attributed this to the overall decline in photo sharing sites, like Dropbox, Tumblr and Flickr.

The survey also categorized online services into three categories: dating, work, and financial. In the dating category, Tinder and OkCupid top the list, with 33% participants claiming to have left Tinder. Huge variety in dating apps keeps users moving from one app to another.

In the work category, Dropbox is the leader. And in the financial category, Acorns and Mint lead this category. Mint was used by people to budget their spendings better and more efficiently. This was not something compulsory or important, so 32% left Mint accounts long ago.