Best Apps: Oct '19 Edition

A quick roundup of some of the interesting new apps on Android, iOS and the web...

1. Ambient noise to help you focus and sleep: Dark Noise (iOS)
2. Calendar: Etar (Android)
3. Chat with close friends on Instagram: Threads (Android/iOS)
4. Borrow books from the local library: Libby (Android/iOS)
5. Email: mailbox.org, Mailspring, StartMail
6. Feature-rich calculator: PCalc (iOS)
7. Find out who is tracking you when you are reading your favourite news online: Trackography
8. Find pen pals: Pen Pals, SLOWLY (Android/iOS)
9. Get ratings for privacy policies of websites: Guard
10. Identify plants: iNaturalist, PlantSnap, Seek (Android/iOS)
11. Journaling: Journey (Android/iOS)
12. Maps and navigation: OpenStreetMap
13. Mobile wallet for all loyalty cards and rewards: Stocard (Android/iOS)
14. Mobile VPN: Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 (Android/iOS)
15. Messaging and sharing: Briar (Android), Lockdown (iOS), GoToConnect, Jami, Keybase, OnionShare
16. Note-taking with powerful OCR search features: GoodNotes, Magpie (iOS)
17. Package tracker: Arrive (Android/iOS)
18. Photo editor: Cinemagraph Pro, Pixelmator (iOS)
19. Privacy-based search engines: Ecosia, Qwant, Search Encrypt
20. Privacy-focused personalised news: Tonic (iOS)
21. Proofreading tools: After the Deadline, LanguageTool, Slick Write, Word Counter
22. Read it later service: wallabag (Android/iOS)
23. Reddit clients: Infinity (Android), Xeddit (Web)
24. Search for alternatives to popular apps and services: AlternativeTo
25. Stargazing reference guides: Night Sky, Sky Guide (iOS), Starlight (Android/iOS)
26. SoundCloud alternative built on the blockchain: Audius
27. Streaming Search Engine for Movies and TV Shows: JustWatch
28. Tailored meditation instructions: Brightmind (Android/iOS)
29. Trip planner: Tripsy (iOS)
30. Turn any Wikipedia page into an extremely citable academic paper - M-Journal
31. Twitter client: Nitter
32. Virtual credit cards: Blur, Privacy, Token
33. Wallpapers: Artpaper
34. Web browsers: Vivaldi, LeakZero (China only) (Android)
35. Web traffic analytics: Similarweb
36. YouTube clients: NewPipe, YouTube Vanced (Android)