- 15 Apps Everyone Should Have In the Phone
- 1. Horizon
- 2. Sleep Cycle Power Nap
- 3. PaperKarma
- 4. Nu Skin TR90
- 5. Sleep Talk Recorder
- 6. Action Movie FX
- 7. Any.Do
- 8. RunPee
- 9. Venmo
- 10. Walk Up Alarm Clock
- 11. RadarScope
- 12. Tunein Radio
- 13. SafeTrek
- 14. Qwiki
- 15. Countdown +
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- How to Make Private Browsing on Safari Truly Private
- What Does Private Browsing Do?
- The Terminal Archive
- Clearing Your Tracks
- Other Browsers and Private Browsing
- Best Android apps 2021: Must have apps for every Android user
- Jump to
- Indispensable Android apps
- Best keyboard app
- Best file manager app
- Best browser
- Best Launcher
- Best security/antivirus app
- Best Everyday Life Apps
- Best messenger app
- Best weather app
- Best restaurant app
- Best shopping list app
- Best (offline) maps app
- Best Photography Apps
- Best camera app
- Best photo editing app
- Best photo gallery app
- Best Cloud Photo Storage app (Google Photos alternatives)
- Best Fitness & Lifestyle Apps
- Best fitness app
- Best step counting app
- Best calorie counting apps
- Best dating app
- Best Multimedia Apps
- Best music streaming app
- Best movie streaming app
- Best ebook reader app
- Best free music download app
- Best Productivity Apps
- Best calendar app
- Best email app
- Best note-taking app
- Best to-do apps
15 Apps Everyone Should Have In the Phone
The app market is flooded with more than 2 million apps, and new ones debut all the time. We’re all familiar with popular options like Facebook and Google Maps, and there are plenty of pointless apps too. What about little-known apps that provide real value, though? There are some surprising options out there, and we’ve hand-picked 10 of the most notable ones for your convenience.
1. Horizon
Isn’t it annoying when people post videos that were recorded while their smartphones were being held vertically? This cuts off the image and makes the picture look much smaller. If you constantly forget to hold your smartphone vertically while recording a video, this is the app for you. Regardless of how you hold your phone, it records the video in landscape – or horizontal – format.
2. Sleep Cycle Power Nap
All naps aren’t created equal. Research shows that a short, quick nap – or power nap – is far more refreshing than a long sleep during the middle of the day. This app helps you avoid oversleeping by playing a gentle alarm when the appropriate length of time has passed. Handily enough, it also includes a recovery nap mode and a single sleep cycle mode that lets you go through one full sleep cycle so you don’t wake up in the middle of REM sleep.
3. PaperKarma
Today it’s easy enough to keep spam out of your email inbox. What about the paper junk mail that fills your real mailbox, though? There’s finally an app for that! With PaperKarma, you just snap a photo of whatever unwanted mail you receive. As long as it’s addressed directly to you, the app will automatically contact whoever sent it to have you removed from their list. The best part is that it really works.
4. Nu Skin TR90
If you want to manage your weight better this is the app for you. It not only helps you track of your waistline, it lets you track your food intake and record your exercise activities too. In one swoop, you can keep track of your most important health-related tasks to stay as fit and healthy as you can be.
5. Sleep Talk Recorder
Ever been told you talk in your sleep? Not convinced? Give this incredible app a whirl. It only triggers when sound is detected, so you don’t have to play back an entire, night-long recording. You’re sure to be amazed and surprised by the things you say while you’re fast asleep.
6. Action Movie FX
This fun app lets you add cool special effects to your videos as you record them. From missile strikes to car crashes, it lets you quickly and easily add a little more excitement to any video you record with your smartphone. For a minimal extra fee, you can download a huge array of additional effects too.
7. Any.Do
Stop jotting your to-do lists onto paper. With Any.Do, everything you need to take care of is right there in front of you. In fact, its “Moment” feature shows you at a glance what needs to be handled in the immediate future. You can finally get rid of that nagging feeling that you’re forgetting something important by using this app.
8. RunPee
Nothing is worse than missing a crucial part of a movie because you have to go use the bathroom. Thanks to RunPee, you never have to worry about this anymore. Just turn on the app when the movie starts, tell it which movie you’re watching and it will alert you to the optimal times to go.
9. Venmo
Make share payments with just about anyone for free with this clever app. You can also send requests for payments from practically anyone. Quick and easy to use, this app is sure to become one of your favorites in no time.
10. Walk Up Alarm Clock
Tired of oversleeping from hitting snooze again and again? This app will change your life. Once the alarm sounds, it won’t stop until you’ve walked at least 10 steps. You can adjust the number of steps to up to 100, so it’s sure to work no matter how deep a sleeper you are.
11. RadarScope
If you want to see what’s really happening with the weather this app will provide you with the best and most up-to-date radar views of the world around you. If you want to read what the weatherman reads, this is it. If you’re an enthusiast about the weather, this app is for you.
12. Tunein Radio
Have access to over 100,000 radio stations, including all of the sports stations in the world and listen to how your favorite team is doing. This is not only the ultimate sports lovers app, but it’s the ultimate music lovers app, too.
13. SafeTrek
At certain moments in your life you may feel like your life is at risk. It can be walking to your car late at night, or even just being in the wrong part of town at the wrong time. With SafeTrek all you have to do is press a button that says, “Hold until safe” and if something happens just let go of your phone and it will call the police automatically and notify them where you are. This app is better than pepper spray and it has been receiving 5 stars across the board. It’s considered one of the best safety apps.
14. Qwiki
Do you have a newborn? Chances are you’re taking a ton of photos. Qwiki helps you pick out the best pics. After all you don’t want to post every photo, then your friends get slightly annoyed.
15. Countdown +
Exciting events come all of the time in life. If you want to keep track of them and count down to them, this is the perfect app for you.
After downloading these apps, you’re sure to agree that they’re among the cleverest little-known apps you’ve ever used.
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Last Updated on November 25, 2021
How to Make Private Browsing on Safari Truly Private
There comes a time when we may be searching online and don’t want the browser to remember our footsteps. The reasons don’t always have to be what we obviously think of as the main reason; for example, sometimes, you may not want Safari to remember your passwords or prompt you to enter your password when surfing the web.
Whatever the reason, we may think that we are totally in the clear with Private Browsing on Safari and the other browsers on a Mac. However, a quick Terminal command can bring up every website you’ve visited. How do you do this? Also, how do you clear your tracks for good? We will provide both answers and more today.
What Does Private Browsing Do?
When activated, Private Browsing on Safari prevents your browsing history from being kept in the history tab of the application. Along with this, it doesn’t autofill information that you have saved in the browser. In this mode, you essentially become incognito and any references of previous use is essentially hidden when you are in private mode.
For example: if you are on Facebook or filling out a form and some information or your login is already filled in in the spaces provided, this is called autofill. It’s activated by simply clicking Safari next to the Apple symbol in the menubar and selecting Private Browsing, then clicking “OK” to the prompt.
The reasons behind private mode differ for each individual. While we won’t go into all of those reasons, one thing that is important to remember is that private browsing doesn’t forget the websites you visit. As we will see later on, Macs keep a second copy of the websites you visit in either mode. If you are in frantic mode looking for a solution to this, look no further.
The Terminal Archive
While Safari does a good job of keeping your search history out of prying eyes in the history tab, there is a less-than-obvious way to view a full list of visited websites on Mac. This is done in Terminal; the command-line emulator that allows you to make changes to your Mac.
Terminal is located in the Utilities folder on your Mac. Once activated, simply add the command:
dscacheutil -cachedump -entries Host
Once you hit “enter”, a list of the visited sites appear. Showing only the domains, the sites appear in a format of:
Key: h_name :(website domain)ipv4 :1
However, there’s no need to fear—there is a way you can clear this information from Terminal with a command that’s just as simple.
Clearing Your Tracks
Just as simply as you were able to enter the command to view the websites, you can clear the cache that Terminal showed you with the comamnd:
dscacheutil -flushcache
As the command denotes, this literally “flushes” the domains from Terminal. This does not prevent the record from continuing to be recorded for future sites, however, so if that’s an issue for you, repeat this process regularly.
Other Browsers and Private Browsing
Other browsers have this form of privacy mode for their service. They promise many of the same things as Safari, but they do not have the same Terminal issue due to how this command only presents websites visited on Safari (the browser Macs come shipped with).
If you use Firefox, you’ll notice that its private mode is also known as Private Browsing. Chrome calls private mode Incognito, while Internet Explorer refers to it as InPrivate Browsing. Opera is the newest to the scene, denoting it as Private Tab. Safari is the oldest well-known browser with this feature.
As you can see, despite Private Browsing not being 100% private, Terminal allows for your browser to be. In what ways has Terminal helped your life or allowed you to become more productive? Let us know in the comments below.
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Best Android apps 2021: Must have apps for every Android user
With millions of apps on the Play Store, searching for the best among them is daunting. Whether you need a great weather app or a new tool to speed up your productivity, there are always dozens available. We’ve spent hours curating the best Android apps for every purpose and compiled only the best of them into one list.
Note that we have separated these must-have Android apps into several categories and selected one app — which we think is the best — for each app category. You will also find links to separate best lists for apps where you can also look for alternatives to the best Android apps already listed here. Note that this list is US-centric and some of the apps listed here may not be relevant/ available elsewhere.
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Indispensable Android apps
Indispensable apps are the ones that most Android users will almost certainly need to install for the smooth functioning of their smartphones. These primarily include key apps like keyboards, browsers, security, and personalization apps. While most of these come pre-installed on Android phones, at times, it is always a good idea to switch to another app that (usually) offers a lot more features than the default ones.
Best keyboard app
Microsoft Swiftkey
Microsoft SwifKey is still quite popular!/ © NextPit
- Download SwiftKey from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.3
- Price: Free
While Gboard is definitely the most popular keyboard app on the Android platform, this is largely the case because it comes preinstalled on most Android devices. Before Gboard’s arrival in 2016, SwiftKey was arguably among the most popular third-party keyboard app for Android devices. With over 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store, SwiftKey continues to remain hugely popular. It is also loaded with features and is definitely a great alternative to Gboard.
Best file manager app
Solid Explorer
Solid Explorer is NextPit’s app of choice for the best file explorer / © NextPit
- Download Solid Explorer from the Google Play Store
- Rating 4.3
- Price: Free with in-app purchase
File managers or file explorers have been common on smartphones for several decades now. While initially used only by power users, File managers have risen in popularity thanks to the open nature of Android. While Google offers its own File Manager within the ‘Files’ app, there are several feature-packed, third-party file manager apps currently available for download. Among these, the one that made the cut to become the chosen one is Solid Explorer.
Best browser
Opera
Opera is an awesome, feature-packed browser that is definitely worth a try!/ © Opera
- Download Opera from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.5
- Price: Free
Before we talk about Opera, let us address the elephant in the room. Yes, Google Chrome for Android is by far the most popular browser for Android users. But it has become so ubiquitous, it is almost not necessary to add it to a list. So consider this one as our pick for the best browser for Android other than Google Chrome. As for Opera, well, they have been in the browser space for a really long time and Opera for Android is a really solid, feature-packed offering.
Best Launcher
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher is our pick for the best launcher in town / © Nextpit
- Download Nova Launcher from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.4
- Price: Free (Paid version available with more features)
One of the easiest ways to customize your Android phone is to install a third-party launcher. And among launchers, our favorite happens to be Nova Launcher. This app has been a hot favorite among Android users for ages now – and it continues to be the launcher of choice for millions of users. While the main reasons for Nova Launcher’s possibility are its versatility and simplicity, most people we know love it for the sheer number of features it offers.
Best security/antivirus app
Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Intercept X may not be as famous as it should be / © Nextpit
- Download Sophos Intercept X from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.3
- Price: Free
Sophos Intercept X is an award-winning antivirus and anti-malware tool that has managed to consistently achieve a 100% protection score in AV-TEST’s comparison of the top Android security and antivirus apps. It is a free app that offers a comprehensive set of features that range from Malware protection, Web Filtering, and link checking to app protection, WiFisecurty, and Privacy advisories. And it claims to do all this without adversely affecting your phone’s battery life.
Best Everyday Life Apps
The apps listed in this section are the ones that aren’t essential — but do make our lives easier. As you shall see, this category typically consists of shopping, weather, messenger, and mapping-related tools. Let’s check which of these apps made it to our best list?
Best messenger app
More than 2 billion people use WhatsApp! Are you among them? / © BongkarnGraphic / Shutterstock.com
- Download WhatsApp from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.1
- Price: Free
WhatsApp has its share of issues and continues to remain ‘not-so popular’ in the USA. However, with a user base of over 2 billion, it is — by far — the most popular messaging app on planet earth. Considering the international nature of this website, we have no option but to award the title of the best messenger app to WhatsApp. But hey, if you do not really like WhatsApp, there are several alternatives to choose from.
Best weather app
Accuweather
Accuweather looks nice and works pretty well too! / © Irina Shatilova / Shutterstock.com
- Download Accuweather from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.1
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
Accuweather is by far, the most popular weather app available for Android handsets. And in our dedicated article on the best weather apps that was recently updated, it topped the list. It is no surprise, therefore, that we have chosen Accuweather to be our choice for the best weather app for Android handsets.
Best restaurant app
GrubHub
Yup. GrubHub wins this one! / © Nextpit
- Download GrubHub from the Google Play Store
- Rating:4.5
- Price: Free
Grubhub is our choice for the best ‘restaurant’ apps category primarily because it is excellent at what it does. Apart from having a number of reviews for restaurants and detailed descriptions, the food ordering part is a quick and simple process. No wonder it is the most popular food ordering app in the US- even ahead of DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Best shopping list app
Out of Milk
OutOfMilk can be used for a lot of things other than tracking your diary supplies / © OutOfMilk
- Download Out of Milk from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.4
- Price: Free
With over 5 million downloads, Out of Milk is about as popular a grocery list app could get. Claimed to be a must-have companion for an easy shopping experience, Out of Milk is an extremely polished app that categorizes products into individual sections — as opposed to making a haphazard list. We also found the app to be quite intuitive. Below you find some more options for you if you feel Out of Milk doesn’t make the cut:
Best (offline) maps app
Google Maps
Google Maps / © Bihlmayer Fotografie / Shutterstock.com
- Download Google Maps from the Google Play Store
- Rating:3.8
- Price: Free
You may love it or hate it — but there is no denying that Google Maps — by far — is the world’s most popular, and widely-used maps app. While not promoted as an offline maps app, Google Maps does have a very useful offline feature wherein you can download data for a specific region well in advance using your WiFi connection. Of course, there are other offline map apps that do offer several features.
Best Photography Apps
Smartphones have more or less taken over the photography space and have been responsible for the dipping sales figures of most camera-only brands. High-end smartphones sold today boast excellent image and video quality and can satiate the needs of even the most demanding of photographers. The added advantage with phones is that users not only get the option to play around with different camera apps, but they can also use capable image editing tools to make their photos look even better!
Best camera app
Google Camera
Looking for the best camera app, you can’t go wrong with Google Camera! / © NextPit
- Download Google Camera from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 3.2
- Price: Free
As you might have guessed by now, Google Camera is the official camera app made by Google for Android smartphones. While not as feature-packed as other downloadable camera apps, this app is more than capable of catering to the needs of the average smartphone user. Extra features that you will get with Google Camera include lens blur mode, photospheres, and on some versions — the excellent Night Sight mode. Note that the list of supported features really depends on what handset you use.
Best photo editing app
Snapseed
Snapseed is an easy pick. It is a comprehensive photo editing app / © Nextpit
- Download Snapseed from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.4
- Price: Free
Snapseed is a powerful and pro-grade photo editing tool developed by Google. It routinely finds itself topping best lists centered around photography apps — and for good reason. It is loaded with features that include 29 tools and filters and has countless other features that both amateur and professional photographers love. The best part about Snapseed is that it offers all these features for free! Let us hope Google keeps Snapseed as it is for the foreseeable future!
Best photo gallery app
Simple Gallery Pro
Simple Gallery Pro does what it’s supposed to do pretty well/ © Simple Mobile Tools
- Download Simple Gallery Pro from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.7
- Price: $1.09
As evident from the name, Simple Gallery Pro is a very simple Gallery app that literally has to do one job — to display images stored in your phone. What makes it special is its support for a bunch of additional, ancillary features that range from a photo editing tool and a file manager to having the ability to recover deleted photos and to protect and hide sensitive media stored on your device from prying eyes.
Best Cloud Photo Storage app (Google Photos alternatives)
Degoo
Degoo seems to offer great value for money / © Nextpit
- Download Degoo from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.4
- Price: Free (Paid plans available)
With Google Photos going paid, there seems to be a void in the market for a good photo backup app with decent pricing. Going by the reviews and personal experiences of others, Degoo is turning out to be a great Google Photos alternative. It offers 100GB of free storage for its basic users and offers plans of up 10 TB on unlimited devices for $9.99 a month.
Best Fitness & Lifestyle Apps
As evident from the impressive growth of the fitness tracker and smartwatch segment, health and fitness have become key aspects in the lives of most smartphone owners. This has led to the proliferation of several fitness-themed apps that promise a lot. Which of these is the best for your needs? Let’s find out in the list below!
Best fitness app
Strava
Strava is perhaps the most feature-packed, popular fitness app/ © NextPit
- Download Strava from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.4
- Price: Free (Pro version available)
Strava has been around for a long time now and is easily among the most popular fitness app currently used by Android smartphone users. The app supports most activities you could possibly think of — including running, cycling, and swimming and also supports essential features like distance, pace, speed, elevation, and calorie tracking. Another key Strava feature is its supports for a wide variety of Android and WearOS devices. Strava is also famous for having a very vocal and vibrant community within its ecosystem.
Best step counting app
Pacer Pedometer
Pacer Pedometer / © NextPit
- Download Pacer Pedometer from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.7
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
For those of you looking for a no-frills step counting app, Pacer pedometer seems to be a great choice. Apart from being free, it supports a lot of features and works without the need for a synced fitness tracker. Apart from counting the number of steps, you can use the app to track other aspects like distance covered and calories burned. The app also has a separate tab where you can track your complete activity history. Pacer Pedometer also has a small community where you can throw and accept challenges.
Best calorie counting apps
Yazio
This is Yazio. And it’s quite popular! / © Nextpit
- Download Yazio from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.6
- Price: Free
Perhaps the most popular calorie counter and food tracker app, Yazio is a great app even though it is free. It is loaded with features and supports a huge database of foods and also includes recipes and meal plans. The app also supports automatic activity tracking and even has a water tracker with notification support. Lastly, the app remains ad-free even though it is free!
Best dating app
Tinder
Tinder has the most people and that’s the only reason it is our choice! / © Tinder
- Download Tinder from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 3.3
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
Tinder claims to have made over 30 billion matches to date. An insane number considering there are only around 8 billion of us here on planet earth. But hey, with more than 100 million downloads, this is by far, the most popular dating app. And with dating apps, it is important that it needs to have a considerable userbase for them to work effectively. And going by sheer numbers alone, we feel Tinder is your best bet here.
Best Multimedia Apps
The modern smartphone is a multimedia powerhouse. It is more than capable of being a wholesome entertainment device thanks to a plethora of apps that let you watch movies, listen to music and even read books. Even though there are dedicated devices for all these activities, the fact that your smartphone can do these all without breaking a sweat is a testament to how far we have come from the days of the first cellphone which was merely an extension of your landline.
Best music streaming app
Spotify
Everyone loves Spotify! / © NextPit
- Download Spotify from the Google Play Store
- Rating:
- Price: Subscription rates depend on which country you live
Spotify is the most popular music streaming app on the planet for a very good reason. Apart from having a large library of music, it is a very good all-rounder that combines a large library, features and has really fair pricing to boot. Spotify is also available across a wide variety of platforms and there is very little going against it, frankly.
Best movie streaming app
Netflix
Netflix and Chill! / © Cottonbro/Pexels
- Download Netflix from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.3
- Price: Subscription rates depend on which country you live
Our editor Antoine recently chose Netflix as the best movie streaming article in our detailed article on SVOD platforms and really, I do not have anything more to add here. If you were given the option to install only one movie streaming app on your phone, it has to be Netflix.
Best ebook reader app
Amazon Kindle
Love reading e-books but don’t have an e-reader? Well, you don’t need one! / © Nextpit
- Download Amazon Kindle from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.3
- Price: Free to download
Kindle is an obvious choice thanks to the name it has in the world of eReaders. The Android app for Amazon Kindle lets you access millions of books and magazines without the need to buy separate Kinde hardware. The app is feature-packed and offers free samples to thousands of books. It lets you choose your preferred font for reading and has add-ons like the ability to view magazines in color images.
Best free music download app
Jamendo
The best app for free music! / © Jamendo
- Download Jamendo from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 2.7
- Price: Free
Jamendo is a platform for independent artists and its USP is that it is completely free to use. It boasts of more than 40,000 independent artists from across the world. Access to all content is free with the only condition being to signup for an account. We also found Jamendo quite easy to use and completely recommend it because it offers free downloads of royalty-free music for commercial use!
Best Productivity Apps
Even though smartphones have been blamed for causing people to be hooked to them for hours, there is no denying that they can also be used as tools for increasing productivity. The Google Play Store is filled with several apps that let you be more organized and productive. But how do we separate the best from the rest? Well, that’s what we are here for! Listed below are the best productivity-centric apps across various categories
Best calendar app
Google Calendar
Google makes the best calendar app for Android / © Nextpit
- Download Google Calendar from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.3
- Price: Free
This one wasn’t a hard choice. Google Calendar is a great app and even people who do not really like Google sort of agree to this. The main advantage of Google Calendar — especially if you are deeply entrenched into the Google ecosystem is that you need to do very few manual entries to set your schedule. Google Calendar syncs information and data across several Google apps and does it all in a seamless manner. We can not, therefore, help but recommend Google Calendar over the other options available in the market.
Best email app
Blue Mail
Blue Mail is a comprehensive email app / © Nextpit
- Download Blue Mail from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.6
- Price: Free
Blue Mail is a universal email app that has received wide acclaim for being user-friendly and for having a clean UI. It supports several email services including Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, iCloud, and Office 365 and gives you the ability to view all your emails in a single, integrated inbox. It also gets its own integrated calendar that syncs with data from across your email accounts allowing for the ability to access your Calendar events right within Blue Mail.
Best note-taking app
Evernote
Evernote has been around for ages and is still preferred by many/ © Nextpit
- Download Evernote from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 3.7
- Price: Depends on your country. Comes with a free trial
Evernote has been the hot favorite among fans of note-taking apps for a really really long time now. Its popularity stems from the fact that it has a very simple, clean, and easy-to-use interface despite offering a large number of functions.
Best to-do apps
Todoist
Over 20 million people use Todoist on a daily basis / © Nextpit
- Download Todoist from the Google Play Store
- Rating: 4.5
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
Todoist is arguably among the most popular to-do apps on the Google Play Store and claims to have a user base of over 20 million. The app has a lot of features that appeal to those of you who take your to-do list very seriously. It has several additional features like the ability to remind you about deadlines and recurring tasks. You can also set priority levels for each to do and even have it sync up with your email accounts.
Well, that sums up our article about the best Android apps across several categories. You will notice that all these apps can be downloaded from the Play Store. But did you know that there are Google Play Store alternatives from where you can download apps as well? Among the most important ones I can think of are the following:
What are your favorite Android apps? Any that you think are better than the ones in our selection? Let us know in the comments!
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