The Best Android Apps

Android is the first open-source (Linux) and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It is currently developed by Google. However, it can be used by anyone and is available on many devices from many manufacturers: Samsung, Motorola, Sony, LG, etc.

• Set up your Android: 1. Insert your SIM card and switch on your phone. 2. Select a language. 3. Connect to your WiFi and sign in to your Google Account.

Remember: You should always turn on automatic backups: Google One app, Storage, scroll to the device backup section and tap “Set up data backup” or “View details” depending on if this is your first phone backup or not.

After that, you need to select your backup, adjust the date and time zone, if necessary, set up your security (PIN, fingerprint recognition, and face unlock) and the Google Assistant.

• Customize your phone. You can change your wallpapers, ringtones (Resplash, ZEDGE, and Backdrops), launcher (Nova Launcher is a powerful, customizable, and versatile home screen replacement; Microsoft Launcher, Apex Launcher, Smart Launcher 5 or POCO Launcher 2.0,), icon packs (Pixel pie, Moonshine), even your keyboard (Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard).
• Customize your phone II. Do not let your phone control your life, you should enable Do not disturb mode when you go to bed, during meals and family time: Settings, Sounds & Vibration, Do not disturb, and turn on the Sleeping Schedule. It covers all seven days of the week starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 7 a.m. the next day.

Add your contact information to display on your lock screen. Go to Settings, and look for “Lock Screen”, Add text on lock screen.

Create time-saving keyboard shortcuts in SwiftKey: Microsoft SwiftKey, Rich Input, Clipboard, Add a new clip and then enter the word or phrase (your email, address, telephone, etc.) you’d like to make a shortcut for and a brief and easy to remember shortcut.

Use Google’s Find My Device: Settings, Security, Find My Device and use the toggle to turn it on (Location should be enabled). If you lose your phone or you can’t find it, go to Google’s search page and type “Find my device.”

• Instant messaging: WhatsApp Messenger is a free, multiplatform messaging app that lets users chat, share media content, make video and voice calls, etc. with individuals or groups. Other alternatives are: Signal (a privacy focused messenger app), Viber, Skype, and Telegram.

Some WhatsApp tricks.

1. Dynamic Wallpapers: Chat, Specific chat, open the menu top right, Wallpaper.
2. Clear storage: Settings, Storage and Data, Manage Storage, Larger than 5 MB, click on the Select All button and tap on the bin to delete.
3. Turn on Disappearing Messages. It will make any new messages in a chat disappear after seven days: Chat, Specific Chat, tap on the person’s name at the top, and toggle Disappearing Messages on.
4. Mute a chat or a group chat: Chats, open the group chat or specific chat, tap on the person or group’s name, toggle on the Mute notification option, select Mute notification for… Always.
5. Use WhatsApp on the web and desktop: Settings and tap on the QR icon displayed next to your name.
6. Privacy: Disable WhatsApp’s last seen (it allows users to see when you last checked WhatsApp): Settings, Account, Privacy, Last Seen, and switch to Nobody. Hide the blue ticks: Settings, Account, Privacy, and unchecked Read Receipts. Stop saving WhatsApp media to your phone’s gallery: Settings, Chats, and toggle off Media visibility.
7. You can format text, too: bold, italic, ~strikethrough~, “monospace text". Text Converter Encoder Decoder Stylish Text helps create fancy text and attract the attention of your friends and family.
8. Bookmark important messages: Chats, Specific chat, Specific message, hold down and press star.
9. Customise notifications: Chats, Specific chat, tap on the contact name at the top, Custom notifications.

You might be interested in reading our articles How to use instant messaging effectively and Abbreviations and apostrophes.

• File sharing and storage solution: Dropbox “is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.” Other alternatives are Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.

• Multimedia: VLC for Android is a free and open-source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files. Spotify is an excellent and very popular streaming music service that gives you access to millions of songs, podcasts and videos from artists all over the world without paying, because it has a free, ad-supported tier.

• Multipurpose note-taking: Microsoft OneNote lets you take notes on your phone and sync them across all your devices. Evernote, Google Keep, and Notion (it lets you write in Markdown) are three of the best alternatives to Microsoft OneNote (it is completely free).
• Security:

1. Use a strong password: Settings, Security, Screen lock.
2. Don’t reuse passwords. Use Keepass2Android, an open-source password manager application for Android. An alternative is Bitwarden Password Manager.
3. Use secure browsers that protect your privacy: DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, Firefox Focus, and Tor Browser.
4. Use DuckDuckGo, the private search engine.
5. Don’t install too many apps, the more apps that you install, the more vulnerabilities you are exposed to.
6. Update your phone regularly: Settings, System, System Updates.
7. Enable two factor authentication for your online accounts: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy.
8. Use VPNs and free antivirus apps: Avast Antivirus, Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus or Bitdefender Antivirus Free.

• Online social networking: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

• RSS news reader/aggregator: Feedly is one of the best Android applications to organise, read, and share the content of your favorite sites. Flipboard and FeedMe are two of the best alternatives.

• eBook Readers and audiobooks: Google Play Books, FBReader, Audible (it is quite expensive), and Kindle for Android.

• Google Apps: Google Translate is one of the most popular computer-aided translation services. Google Earth enables you to explore the whole world, with a swipe of your finger, from above with satellite imagery and 3D terrain of the entire globe and 3D buildings in hundreds of cities around the world.

Google Maps is a free navigation app from Google. It’s never been easier to discover new beautiful and interesting places, find cool things to do in a destination, such as iconic places, events, shops or restaurants and the best driving, biking, and walking route. Google Lens lets you search what you see, get things done faster, and understand the world around you—using just your camera or a photo.

• Games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, PUBG MOBILE: RESISTANCE, FIFA Soccer, Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, My Talking Tom, Chess Free, and Toy Blast.

• F-Droid is an independent, community-sourced app store for Android that is completely free and open-source software: 1. Open your web browser, go to www.f-droid.org, and tap on the “DOWNLOAD F-DROID” button. 2. Click on the f-droid.apk and install it.

• Cross-platform file sharing: AirDrop (only iOS devices) and Snapdrop.

1. Open your web browser, then go to snapdrop.net or open the Snapdrop app on any other devices in your local Wi-Fi network.
2. Tap on the device to which you want to send or share file(s) with.
3. Choose the files you want to send and hit Select.
4. Now, switch to your receiving device and tap on the Save button when prompted with the File Received windows. Send Anywhere is an alternative.

• Others. File Managers, such as Files by Google, Astro, and Solid Explorer, are a good idea to keep track of all our files. Weather: 1Weather. Podcasts: Podcast Addict, Spotify, and Castbox.

Photo Editors: Photoshop Express (a fun, fast, and easy picture editor for one-touch transformations and photo edits), Adobe Lightroom, Prisma (a photo editor app that creates photo effects transforming your photos into paintings), and Snapseed. Health & Fitness app: Pace Control - running pacer, Daily Yoga, Nike Training Club, and Strava.

Dating Apps: Tinder, Badoo, Plenty of Fish, or OKCupid. Video streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, TikTok, Twitch, and Disney Plus. Religious Software: Pray As You Go, Our Daily Bread, YouVersion Bible App, Audio Bible, and Bible Gateway Pro.

Shopping: Amazon, Wallapop, Wish, and ebay. Transport: Uber and BlaBlaCar.

Microsoft Lens converts images to PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, digitizes printed or handwritten text, and saves them to OneNote, OneDrive, or your local device.