It’s been a while since I’ve done one of my app posts and in that time I’ve accumulated more apps that I use on a pretty regular basis that I think would be super handy for people (students particularly!) . This collection has everything from more calendar widgets to fun tools for social media!
This is such a useful app for if you have roommates that you split things for, or if you go out with your friends a lot and go double dutch frequently. You input your expenses into whichever group you were in and select how the bill was to be split. My main use of this app is to track all the groceries/restaurant trips that Jill and I take and it’s super straight forward because we just split most of it equally.
The app also lets you split by percentages or specific amounts if you had a complicated bill! You can even take pictures of receipts and add comments to each entry.
2. Camscanner (Android/iOS)
I’m not saying that I use this app to do things like make copies of my readings but I’d like to point out that it would be perfect for that thing. You can also use it as an alternative to a scanner if you’re like me and don’t own one and don’t want to hoof it to the library to use one.
It’s so much better than taking a picture of your documents because the app also helps you adjust the perspective of the picture so it reshapes it back into a more readable document. There are also colour adjustments you can make depending on what kind of document you Camscanned. Not to mention, other features like watermarks, editing your docs, downloading them as PDFs, and sharing them with friends! There’s also a batch mode in case you have long documents that are possibly more textbook-length.
I have so many gift cards and loyalty cards and membership cards in my wallet that I’m carrying around a tiny brick. Most of the time I don’t even need most of these cards but I’m lugging them all around with me because what if I pop into that store with the membership card and I need to scan it? It’s those hypothetical situations that have me taking those cards everywhere. If you know me and my style, this is not my jam at all. So because I’m a millennial and I love when technology is my best friend, I found an app that solves this problem!
You scan all of these loyalty cards and your wallet becomes so much thinner. My mom was pretty hyped when I told her this because she insisted that I needed to put her AirMiles card onto the app so that I could help her collect points.
As far as I know, they don’t really work with gift cards if the store needs to actually swipe the card but if they can just input the number, this works! You can make comments about the card if you need to, like the PIN or the amount left on your gift card. One other nifty feature of this app is that it recognizes the locations of grocery stores and offers up the card you need! Whenever I go into Zehrs or Valu-Mart I get that push notification from Stocard reminding me to use my PC Points card.
4. Today Calendar (Android)
I feel like I’m going to be forever on the hunt for the best calendar app and calendar widget. I’ve gone through so many pretty and functional apps but still haven’t found the holy grail of what I need from my calendar apps. I will say that Today Calendar comes pretty close to my ideal at least at this point in time. The app has multiple views which is nice because I love having all those options.
The main selling point for me is that the widget for the app is exactly the aesthetic that I’m looking for. I’ve been looking for a super simple white font calendar widget for the longest time and I’ve finally found one that I like!
5. Screen Filter (Android)
Okay so this is such a first-world problem to have, but have you ever used your phone at night/in the dark but your dimmest brightness setting was still glaring? This app takes your phone brightness down even more so that you can Tweet and Instagram until the wee hours of the night without straining your eyes.
My phone is set up so that I can trigger an automatic brightness setting by double tapping my home screen. I will also warn you that if your setting is dim enough and you accidentally trigger it in the daylight…you’re going to have a difficult time getting it back.
6. Scorepal (Android)
I love my boardgames and I’m definitely neurotic enough to insist on an app to help track points for games that I’ve played. Really this all started when I bought Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small because the scoring mechanism is a little bit more involved. I’m competitive so I want to make sure that we’re counting points correctly so that I can gloat knowing that there was no tallying error.
Most games should be in the database already and it’s pretty easy to use and add new players, etc. The app also lets you track all your previous game plays (so I can see how much I suck at Sushi Go).
I just wanted to use Bitmoji stickers in my snaps – this is the one and only reason I downloaded this app. Don’t judge me, please. Just look at the cute stickers I can add now! Also, when your friends also have Bitmojis on Snapchat, there are duo stickers! I’m so much fun to hang around.
The majority of my time was trying to find the most realistic outfit for my Bitmoji. I apparently am sleepy all the time in my Snapchats. Also, I’m extremely basic, the puppy filter is my all-time favourite because I was meant to be half-dog.
Vicky Jiang 