24 hours in the life of your phone: #datababy Twitter trial

The average smartphone user spends almost two hours out of every 24 with their handset. Given that around eight of those 24 hours are spent sleeping, staring at the smartphone now makes up a substantial part of our day.

Studies suggest that most of the time on our phone is spent browsing the internet, followed by checking social networks and listening to music. It’s difficult to imagine how the sole purpose of a mobile phone used to be making calls.

But as the many uses of our smartphones multiply, what are all the functions and apps doing with our data?

Over the next 24 hours, the Channel 4 News Data Baby project is exploring the data your phone constantly sends out on the average day, by monitoring who your phone communicates with and where your unique, personal data is going.

Channel 4 News is analysing one average phone – that of our virtual identity, Rebecca Taylor.

But we want to hear about how you use your phone throughout the day. From 7pm on 13 November, to 7pm on 14 November, @channel4news will be sending out hourly tweets asking you to tell us everything from your favourite apps, to when you first check your phone in the morning.

Follow the hashtag #datababy, as you help us to build up a picture of how we use our phones and what we hold most important in our online life.

And after 24 hours, Channel 4 News will be able to tell you what the average phone is doing: from morning alarm, to lights out – without you realising.