What Are Your Favorite Apps?

I thought this would be a fun Watercooler topic. What are your favorite Apps on your mobile device after the Wyze App? Try to:

  1. List the App
  2. What the App does.
  3. Why you like it.

Here are my top 3:

QuillPad
Note taking App like Windows NotePad.
Free, open source, no ads, great Data Safety policy. Very clean and basic.

Voice Audiobook Player
I use it to listen to podcasts
Can skip audio forward or backwards, change playback speed, free, open source, no ads.

Amaze File Manager
I use it to make APK backup files of the Wyze Apps so I can roll back.
Free, open source, no ads, great Data Safety policy. I used to use another App but like this better.
https://teamamaze.xyz/

I also have VLC and Firefox, but you probably are familiar with those.

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There are SOOOOO many to choose from. The Google Play App Store says I only have a few installed… 210, so choosing my favorites is a difficult task. I am not a Fruit Phone user, so all I have is Droid on the list.

In addition to the Wyze App, I am going to also rule out Alexa, Google Home, Amazon, etc. from this as those just aren’t Gee Wiz Sexy any more and are ubiquitous in the IoT sector. Also excluded are Financial Apps, Office Apps, News Apps, Boredom Apps, OS Settings Apps, Weather Apps and the like.

Keeping my list focused on the Forum and Wyze as much as possible, here are my top dozen daily drivers and not so mainstream apps that have impressed me so much I have paid for them:

Click here to view the Daily Dozen List

In no particular order except for how they appear on my Home Screen:

MacroDroid is way up at the top. Used to script custom macros using just about every single function on my phone. I have every cam and AI notification type with a custom notification tone as well as alarms, bells, buzzers, loggers, auto deleted, blocks, launchers, lockers, unlockers, … I have 136 macros programmed to automate it all. A very technical and feature rich app that can get very advanced.

Free Notifications Reader reads all my emails, texts, Push Notifications, Alerts and System Messages to me through my BT Headset. I spend 8 to 12 hours a day on the road and I have the BT in my ear the entire time. I have it shut off automatically if the BT isn’t connected. As soon as a Person push notification from Wyze comes in, I know immediately which cam. All I have to do is listen for when the next cam triggers to know where on my property the perp is headed. It is also great for knowing when I need to pull over and address an immediate need. When replies come in from the Forum, those emails are read to me so I can decide if I want to wait or log in and reply. And absolute gem and incredibly versatile.

Internet Guard is an app focused VPN Firewall App I use to limit use of WiFi or Mobile Data usage to any installed app. I am cheap, so I buy annual mobile data from a discount provider. I only pay for 5GB a month and I am on mobile data for a vast majority of the day. There is nothing worse than a stupid app sucking up half my months gigs in the background for no reason whatsoever.

GlassWire also has a VPN component, but I don’t use it as I prefer the Internet Guard UI and it isn’t subscription based. But, I use GlassWire 24\7 to monitor immediate and historical app mobile data and WiFi data usage. It has great alert alarms if data exceeds preset thresholds in a specific time so that I know if I have a runaway app. The Wyze app has tripped the alarm in the past and tried to suck all the data out of my plan. This keeps it from going on until I am out of data. GlassWire also has great reporting graphics so I can visually see where all my data is going. It also places a persistant notification that shows me how far into my data bucket I am and resets every month on my renewal date.

KeePass is my password management program. I have been using it for over a decade. Fully encrypted, biometrically locked, key file enabled, locally stored. It is integrated for auto fill capability and can be backed up to an external SD\USB and run resident from that.

TinyCam Monitor Pro is a Cam streaming app that has a great multicam viewing layout and is compatible with almost all Wyze cams. Does not require any RTSP firmware. When I want to see more cams than Wyze can show me, this is what I use. Has some very versatile features and functions, although I haven’t explored them all.

Analiti is a WiFi Network utility app that reports all kinds of data for testing the strength, speed, and coverage of my WiFi and the devices on it.

FStop Gallery Pro is the best gallery app I have found to fit my needs. Google Photos is garbage and I needed an alternative. This does the job quite well.

Screen Master is a screenshot editing app that I just recently started using. Love the features and capabilities to markup any photo or screenshot in the Gallery.

Xplore is my File Management App. That has a dual directory UI format and the ability to see everything. Very feature rich with the ability to load cloud storage directories, sync files, access mounted OTR storage, and has a biometric lock.

Folder Sync is an app I use to automate the movement of files from my phone’s resident storage to the mounted SD card so that I maintain a clean file system. Runs on a schedule with all sorts of sync file options and will also sync to cloud storage. I also have 6 redundant cloud storage backup sync apps that I also use daily for automated backups to each of my 6 cloud storage providers.

Castbox is my podcast player. I spend all day on the road and listen to 6 or 8 full podcast episodes each day.

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I thought of this thread topic because of the Wyze App. I was looking for an Android File Explorer that could backup and make an APK file of the Wyze App (because rolling back to an older Wyze App is very common). I started using ES File Explorer, but switched to Amaze File Manager.

Thanks for sharing your Daily Dozen. I learned of a couple of Apps I want to try.

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I use Super Backup Restore to backup every app installed or updated on my phone to a directory on my SD on a schedule. I can set it for up to 5 previous versions or to unlimited. That is then Synced to a cloud backup by one of my cloud sync apps.

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Curation! :+1:

I’ll bet you give that creepy Android Digital Wellness app a workout. :bar_chart: :grin:

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I really do wish I could just delete it. I have it completely silenced and disabled as much as possible. The only time I see it is when it goes into DND when I am sleeping.

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Yeah, it’s a bugger. A Facebook stub won’t go away, either. Though you can uninstall it, it comes back on reboot. Thanks, OEM.

By the by…

I’d be interested in a non-nosy ad-free-or-lite screen recording app if anyone can recommend a strong favorite. Android 10 here so it’s net yet native in the OS.

Wyze engineers will sometimes ask for a screen recording when they dig into an issue you’ve presented…

Have you tried ScreenCam? It is free, open source, no ads and no time limit. Works on Android 8.0 and up.

https://alternativeto.net/software/screencam/about/

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Thanks, Steve! I’ll check it out. :slight_smile:

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I have mostly been using the resident Android Screen Record feature from the drop tray icons (not sure if it is version specific, I have it using Android 11).

I have also tried Screen Recorder but don’t like it.

I am going to give the one @StevenA mentioned a shot.

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@peepeep

I want to know what is for dinner. :rofl:

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It may be a concern for some that ScreenCam is not available for download & install thru the Google Play Store. It is available on F-Droid or by direct APK download, however many may not be familiar with using F-Droid or APK installs.

Update Edit: Nope. Had to uninstall it before I got to use it. It is not ā€œFreeā€. It is a nickel and dime piecemeal paywall app with key features requiring plugin purchases. Show Screen Touches during a screen record is a basic feature. I’m not going to stick around long enough to see what else is behind the paywall. I would rather view full page ads to access features than be forced to pay for them before I ever test them.

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True, for all the info the app provides it doesn’t note the peeps most delectable. :slight_smile:

ā€˜ā€¦frogs can be a bellwether…’ -Cute albino chick :blonde_woman:

For most, the native recorder is easily available as you say, but for my phonemake/model/Android 10 it was excluded by the OEM. There’s a workaround whereby you can access the hidden feature, but when employed it freezes the phone.

I had vetted a screen recorder app looooong ago, used it once or twice and uninstalled it. I found it in my Play Ssore app > Manage apps and devices > Manage > Not Installed. Widely used and a 4.8 rating, fwiw.

Wow. 100M downloads and 6M reviews with a next to impossible 4.8 rating? Is it real?

Thanks Peep! I’ll give it a shot and report back.

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BuzzKill. It lets you set up rules to trigger actions based on the content of your notifications. I’ve even made IFTTT applets that send notifications just to trigger BuzzKill actions for a wider range of triggers. It’s the best $3 I’ve ever spent on an app.

For an example use case: I have my phone set to auto-silence during work hours if it’s wirelessly charging. When my dog was in the hospital super sick and I didn’t want to miss updates, I made a rule to temporarily unmute my phone and play a dog bark notification whenever I got an email from the vet. Support is also super responsive.

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Youversion Bible app 1st. I’m a believer.

Samsung modes and routines - automation routines like IFTTT and modes (scenes). Easy.

Tasker and Plugins - anything android and everything else automation or almost. Difficult.
Lots of help available though.
Google’s making it difficult for some things.

Samsung Good Lock and Good Guardians. Useful.

Bitwarden - supports my Yubikeys, hasn’t been hacked that I know of.

Samsung Secure Folder - lockbox for critical documents, apps etc.

Among others.:wink:

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:100: Modes and Routines is supremely underrated. It’s taken over almost everything I’ve historically used Tasker for.

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