2018 mightve been a mess in many ways, but the app harvest was bountiful this year.
InstLife
Mar Masson Maackpicks:This weird little life simulation app was made by indie game developerInstCoffee.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
InstLife is one of the strangest apps I tried out in 2018 but it really stuck with me.
InstCoffee is working on a iOS version but it isnt out yet.
However, it does allow you to adjust your image more freely.
If that sounds like you, Snapseed is a great way to go.
Oh, and did I mention that its absolutely free forAndroidandiOS?
Temp Mail
Matthew Beedhampicks:In the modern digital world, data is money.
Any time a company gets your name and email address they win.
When you use your email address, you sacrifice a piece of your identity and why?
To save a few clicks on a keyboard.
The price doesnt seem commensurate with the cost.
If youre anything like me, youll get frustrated anytime a website requires registration to access its content.
As far as Im concerned, the website doesnt need to know a thing about me.
Fear not though, because there is a way around these pesky sign-up walls, and its calledTemp Mail.
But really, it’s possible for you to use email trackers for pretty much everything.
Your client is late on paying up an outstanding invoice?
No worries, Streak has got you covered.
Your boss is stalling on signing your new contract.
No worries, Streak will tell you if theyre busy or just ignoring you.
Your parents no longer care to acknowledge your cordial birthday wishes.
No worries, Streak will snitch on them.
The best part is that the tracking component is practically invisible to the recipient.
Though I should note that certain extensions (like ad-blockers) might interfere with its functionality.
So its not always 100 percent accurate.
Still though, Streak has easily become the extension I use the most these days and you should too.
Password managers, pff, Im not anerd…
But as password leaks spread and hackers get more sophisticated, everyones chances of getting compromised increase.
LastPass has the best free plan of all the password managers Ive tried.
TNW recently ran an internal phishing audit.
Be like me, install a password manager, dont get phished.
Btw, I realize this is extremely basic stuff but Im an extremely basic guy.
It took me until this year to finally get my online security in order.
Files by Google (org.
But this app is super useful for other Android users too.
The central aim of the app is to help you clean up your phone storage.
This is very useful if crap from WhatsApp groups or other chat apps keeps piling up in your phone.
It connects to the other users phone by creating a hotspot.
It can transfer files with a speed of upto 490 Mbps using Wi-Fi Direct.
The app also has all the goodies of a traditional file explorer including a powerful file search.
it’s possible for you to give it a gohere.
Elefant
Georgina Ustikpicks:Oh boy, brace yourself for the lamest contribution to this list.
Being a writer, I like collecting words.
My books are all dog-eared for this reason, but it is difficult to find them again.
Elefantis great for this purpose.
They are then pushed out to you as notifications throughout the day.
you could pick the frequency, but not the time when, which is sometimes a bit annoying.
Despite its limitations, I find the lack of options very refreshing.
Use it to give yourself perspective.
Story byMar Masson Maack
Mar tries to juggle his editorial duties with writing the occasional weird article.
He also loves talking about himself in the third person.
