2023 is dead and gone. For me, it’s been a difficult year. It would be tough to talk about the hardships I faced. Instead, let’s talk about the apps I used.
A therapist might call that deflection, I call it an excellent way to promote the work of some upstanding developers!
In 2023, I discovered a few new apps, while also finding new appreciation for a few old favorites. So, I’ve decided to list the apps I’ve discovered this year, as well as the apps that helped me make it through 2023. Maybe it’ll help you find a new favorite to carry you into 2024.
New (to me) Apps of 2023
Some of these apps came out or had large updates in 2023. Others, I only discovered or started appreciating this past year.
- Mammoth and Ice Cubes (iOS, iPadOS)
- 2023 was the year Twitter died. I’m not just referring to how Elon Musk started calling it “X,” accepting the platform’s name change more than any trans person’s. No, I’m referring to how the platform became a bastion for hate speech, driving away users and advertisers alike. Many people went to find a new place to call home.
- Mastodon is a decentralized network. You can pick an instance that has rules and community you like, and know that, if you want isolation from less acceptable communities, your instance will block those users. It’s a great way to find community and avoid harassment.
- Mammoth has an excellent “For You” tab, which helps you find posts outside of the people you follow. It’s great for beginners on Mastodon who will need a bit of help finding their community.
- Ice Cubes is a fun and highly customizable Mastodon client that’s also available for macOS. It can make browsing and sharing to Mastodon easy with your own customized dashboard.
- Both make using Mastodon seamless, helping you forget all about that bird app.
- JustWatch (iOS, Android, iPadOS, the web)
- Maybe you want to watch a movie. Or perhaps someone started telling you about a new series and you want to check it out. Is it on Netflix? Max? Stars? Crunchyroll? Disney+? Hulu? Paramount+? Prime Video? It’s impossible to know what shows or movies are available on what streaming platform. At least in the old cable television days, each channel had a theme.
- JustWatch lets you search for a piece of media and will tell you what streaming platforms have it available. It’s that simple. With people replacing their cable subscriptions with streaming subscriptions, JustWatch became the TV guide of the modern age.
- iA Writer (macOS, Windows, iPadOS, iOS, Android)
- I write! I do it a lot. I’m a writer. I wanted a simple interface that wasn’t too distracting, could upload articles to my blog for final editing, and made formatting and writing simple. That’s what iA Writer does. It’s lightweight and capable, and just what I was looking for to improve my writing and my focus.
- WatchCrunch
- I like watches. Turns out, I was just itching to leave my Apple Watch behind for real watches. WatchCrunch is a community of watch collectors. It’s a great place to find reviews and information on watches you might like. As I replaced Reddit, Twitter, and even Facebook over the past year, I found that other, smaller, niche communities on Discord and through other apps, like WatchCrunch, is less about obsessive scrolling and more about finding exactly what you’re looking for.
And what I’m looking for is more cool watches.
- I like watches. Turns out, I was just itching to leave my Apple Watch behind for real watches. WatchCrunch is a community of watch collectors. It’s a great place to find reviews and information on watches you might like. As I replaced Reddit, Twitter, and even Facebook over the past year, I found that other, smaller, niche communities on Discord and through other apps, like WatchCrunch, is less about obsessive scrolling and more about finding exactly what you’re looking for.
- Aves Gallery (Android)
- I don’t want to give my photos and data to anyone. Google Photos insists on using your photos, your data, all the time. I’m tired of Google having a peek into my life, and I certainly wasn’t going to use their spying Photos app. Instead, I use Aves. It’s just a photo library for your Android device, without the internet connection. Perfect for preserving your privacy.
- DuckDuckGo Browser (macOS, Windows, iOS, Android)
- I do check in on Facebook still from time to time. I obviously use it for the blog, of course, but also to check in on my friends and neighbors. To protect my privacy, I’ve gone beyond just using Firefox’s container tabs to isolate Facebook. I use an entirely separate browser.
- DuckDuckGo blocks trackers, which already helps, but by only using it for Facebook, there’s just no data for it to report back to Facebook. By using the website in a browser instead of the app, I reduce Facebook’s ability to track and profile me even more.
- Feeder (Android)
- RSS is a great way to get the news. You can follow specific sources and not worry about tracking or suggestions pushing or hiding certain stories from you. On iOS, I use NetNewsWire. On Android, I started using Feeder. It’s a simple RSS reader you can import your RSS subscriptions into (I did it from NetNewsWire), and read your stories on the go. It works great with the external screen on my Motorola Razr Plus.
Apps that Need a 2023 Shout-Out
- 1Password (most platforms)
- You should be using a password manager. It allows you to set secure, randomized passwords that you’ll never need to remember, but can keep your accounts safe. As long as we have passwords, we should use password managers.
- 1Password gets my recommendation for being cross-platform, easy to use, and, most importantly, secure. Multiple layers of security have made it one of—if not the—most secure password managers you can use.
- If you’re not using a password manager, getting and using one would be a great 2024 New Years resolution
- Signal (most platforms)
- Blue bubbles made waves this year with Beeper Mini enabling iMessage on Android for a few days. But if you want “blue bubbles” all the time, you should be using Signal.
- Signal puts security first. Unlike other popular messaging app WhatsApp, Signal can never read your messages, does not collect metadata, and isn’t owned by some giant data-collecting marketing company.
- Signal has read receipts if you want them, disappearing messages that really disappear, stories, photos, videos, the works. All encrypted, all secure, and all for free. Signal might ask you for donations, but it’s up to you. Also, unlike most other messaging platforms (including Beeper), it’s all open-sourced, so you can inspect it yourself. If you’re not already, you should start using Signal now.
- Firefox (most platforms)
- 1Password, Signal, let’s continue the privacy focus of this list with Firefox. Firefox is a browser built for customization and privacy. It’s exactly what you need it to be, all while being snappy and not hogging up your machine’s entire memory. Throw on ad blockers, use containers, speed up YouTube videos, block tracking scripts, sandbox webpages, all the best privacy features and customization under one app. It’s still the best “do everything” browser you can find.
- NordVPN (most platforms)
- I’ve had a NordVPN subscription for a while. Here’s a little secret: if you’re not using a VPN, your internet service provider (ISP) is tracking you. Every bit you send goes through them. However, a VPN can encrypt your network traffic, protecting you from your ISP spying on you or someone at a public wifi spot snooping in on your passwords. It can also allow you to find websites from other countries, as well as videos on different streaming platforms. A VPN is a must for privacy, and can even help you bring more content to your home than before.
- Pocket (most platforms)
- I read a lot of news. Pocket decided to stop development on their macOS app this year, which really upset me, but the app still works. So, to this day, I’m still using Pocket to track the news stories, guides, lessons, videos, and even my shopping lists that I need to save for later.
- NetNewsWire (iOS, iPadOS, macOS)
- RSS is the way to read news, and it’s making a comeback. With Reddit and Twitter dying and Facebook blocking the news in some countries, one thing became obvious: social networks are not appropriate places to find the news. RSS lets you collect the news you want to see in one place. NetNewsWire is iOS/iPadOS/macOS only, and can take a while to sync on a new platform or if you haven’t done it in a while, but it’s a fantastic tool for reading news across the web.
- Sky Guide (iOS, macOS)
- I live in a big, bright city, which means I don’t get to look up at the stars very often. However, this year I planned a road trip with some friends to a remote area with plenty of stars. Sky Guide helped us track unfamiliar skies, when the constellations are a bit harder to find when there are so many more stars than you’re used to seeing. If you’ve ever wanted to look up at the night sky and find out exactly what you’re looking at, Sky Guide might be your best bet. Plus, it has a red tinted mode to preserve your night vision!
- Notability (iPadOS, macOS, iOS)
- Notability is one of my most-used apps. I work with my iPad mini by my side, ready to record all of my thoughts and plans on projects thanks to Notability. It can let you take notes, record meetings, add photos, and more. You can even search your hand-written notes. It’s my one-stop note taking tool.
- Co–Star (iOS, Android)
- While I don’t really believe in astrology, I’ve always found it an interesting and fun diversion. It’s been a rough year, and an astrology app kind of helps you think that maybe, just maybe, there’s some order in the universe, rather than malicious chaos. Co—Star dives into your star chart like fortune telling is a science. And who knows? Maybe you’ll think it is too.
2024 has just begun, and I’m looking forward to whatever new (but hopefully good this time) adventures it’ll bring. Maybe a few of these apps will inspire you along the way.