Six is six. The question isn't which six are best — it's which six are honestly useful. There's a rule of thumb that does most of the work.
Phone calls and texts don't count. They're always there. That's not one of your six. You get six on top.
If it has a feed, it doesn't go in your six.
A feed is anything that gets newer the more you scroll. Instagram has a feed. TikTok has a feed. YouTube has a feed. Twitter / X has a feed. Reddit has a feed. LinkedIn has a feed. Facebook has a feed. The Amazon home page has a feed now. Even your bank app's "transactions" screen is starting to behave like a feed.
A feed exists to make sure there's always one more thing. Putting one in your six is putting a slot machine on your home screen.
What does NOT have a feed: maps, wallet, camera, calculator, notes, calendar, files, music player you opened deliberately, ride-share apps that get out of your way once you've ordered. These are tools. You open them, do the thing, leave. Tools belong in your six.
What goes in almost everyone's six:
That's already six. Most people don't need anything beyond this set.
These are the cases that make people ask. They don't fit neatly.
WhatsApp / Telegram / Signal. These have feeds (the chats list). They also have your family. The right answer depends. If WhatsApp is your kid's school group, your partner's daily messages, your parents — it's effectively SMS for you, and it goes in your six. If WhatsApp is also where you scroll through 17 group chats you don't care about — it doesn't. You decide by how you actually use it, not how you wish you used it.
Honest test: when you open WhatsApp, do you go to one specific chat, or do you scroll the chat list? If it's the list, it's a feed for you. Don't put it in your six.
Your work app. Slack, Teams, Outlook. These have feeds (channels, inbox). They also pay your rent. Hard rule: your work app does not go in your six. Reason: if it's that important during work hours, your work probably gives you a laptop. If your work is mobile-first (delivery driver, real estate agent, contractor), then yes, the actual work app goes in. The Slack/Teams of an office job does not.
Banking. Goes in if you check balances a few times a week. Doesn't go in if you check balances daily — at that point you're using the bank app as a feed.
Music / podcasts. Spotify, Apple Music, Pocket Casts. Tricky. Audio apps don't have feeds in the doom sense, but you can spend an hour scrolling "recommended for you." If you mostly play something you already chose: in. If you mostly browse: out, use voice command instead.
Health / fitness. If you actually use it, in. If it's the "I should be running more" app you check guiltily, out.
The most common bad pick: putting an app in your six because you'd like to use it more. Aspirational picks don't work. Your six should reflect your actual life as it is today, not the life you've been promising yourself for three years.
The second most common: leaving slots empty. If you only have four things you actually use, four is your number. You don't have to fill the other two. Empty slots stay empty. The screen looks emptier, which is the point.
The third: changing your six constantly. The six should be boring. You picked the apps that matter; now leave them alone. Every change is a vote against the rule.
You'll put something in and then realise three days later it doesn't belong. That's fine. Remove it. Thirty lets you remove an app from your six anytime, even during a locked session — removing is always allowed because it makes the rule stronger, not weaker. Replacing the removed app with a different one requires waiting until the next unlock window, which gives you twenty minutes to reconsider whether you really want that app there at all.
That's it. Six is six. Pick yours, then leave them alone.