# When Do Apps Ask for Your Phone Number vs Email During Signup?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=149
Tags: signup, onboarding, notifications, ux-patterns, mobile
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/when-apps-ask-phone-vs-email-signup
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/when-apps-ask-phone-vs-email-signup.md

**Answer.** Across 149 signup flows tracked by Lazyweb Research, 76% (113) collect email versus 44% (65) that collect a phone number or OTP[1]. Email is requested earlier — at an average step 3.5, about 54% of the way through the flow — while phone comes later, at step 4.3 (~58% through)[1]. If you need a phone number, expect to ask for it after you have already earned the email.

> 76% of signup flows collect email vs 44% that collect phone/OTP, and phone is asked later (step 4.3 vs 3.5) — across 149 signup flows, Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

Among 149 signup flows, **113 (75.8%)** collect an email address and **65 (43.6%)** collect a phone number or OTP[1]. Email is not only more common, it is asked sooner: email lands at an average of **step 3.5 (54% through the flow)** and phone at **step 4.3 (58% through)**[1]. Apps front-load the lower-friction email identifier and defer the higher-commitment phone ask.

## Breakdown

| Identifier | Signup flows collecting it | Share | Avg step asked | Position in flow |
|-----------|---------------------------|-------|----------------|------------------|
| Email | 113 | 75.8% | 3.5 | ~54% through |
| Phone / OTP | 65 | 43.6% | 4.3 | ~58% through |

Positions are normalized within each flow, so 'later' means later relative to that flow's own length, not a fixed screen number[1].

## How to apply it

If your product genuinely needs a phone number (verification, SMS, delivery, contacts), collect email first and stage the phone ask after the user has some commitment — this matches what most tracked apps do. If phone is your primary identifier, you are in the minority (44%); make the value exchange explicit at the point you ask, because you are requesting it before the majority pattern would.

## Caveats

Email prevalence at the auth-screen level is a loose text match and an upper bound[2]; the flow-level count here (113/149) is stricter but still extraction-based. Absence of a match is not proof the app never collects that identifier later. Phone-first is heavily concentrated in a few verticals (see the social and food cuts).

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 113/149 flows (75.8%) collect email; 65/149 (43.6%) collect phone/OTP; email avg step 3.5 (~54% through); phone avg step 4.3 (~58% through) | phone_vs_email_ask_timing stat (row-numbered signup flow steps) |
| auth-screen email match is a loose upper bound | smallSampleWarnings: email prevalence uses loose 'email' match |

## Methodology

Universe: 149 signup flows from the Lazyweb mobile-app corpus; identifier collection and normalized ask-position derived from row-numbered flow steps joined to vision-extracted screen text, July 2026. Caveat: extraction-based, not ground truth.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 149 signup flows (~146 companies), July 2026. Email vs phone collection and normalized ask-position computed per signup flow via row-numbered steps joined to screenshot text.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 289 companies with vision-covered auth screens, July 2026. Email prevalence at auth-screen level is a loose regex match, treated as an upper bound.

## Related questions

- [Sign Up vs Sign In: How Many Steps Does Each Take?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/signup-vs-signin-how-many-steps)
- [Which App Verticals Actually Use Phone-First Signup?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/phone-first-signup-which-verticals)