Third-party apps I like and use — 2023 edition

I’ve seen a lot of app lists recently, mostly due to the popularity of the App defaults thing, which originated on the Hemispheric Views podcast from Martin Feld, Jason Burk, and Andrew Canion.

As an app list enthusiast myself, I wanted to participate in the collective effort also, but as I was drafting my own list, I found that the format was lacking room to explain why I use certain apps, which is what I find to be the most interesting part of a list, and I found the format not ideal to identify on which devices some of the apps are used. So I did things differently, more like I did on this blog very recently.

Below is a list of third-party apps that I have installed on my devices. I have made an effort to write very short descriptions for each app, as many of them have already been extensively discussed on this blog. It can be assumed that I use the preinstalled “factory” apps, like Apple Mail or Apple Reminders where an app or function isn’t mentioned.

On all devices

Apps that can be found on both my computers and my phone.

Wipr: I have tried many content blockers, and this one is, simply put, the best and easiest to use.

NetNewsWire: An exemplary Mac app if I have ever seen one.

GoodLinks: What Safari’s Reading List should have always been, reliable, well-made, useful, and simple.¹

On the iPhone

Apps that are only on my phone, but I won’t go into detail about the “unchosen” ones, like my bank’s app, local transport apps, and others like those.

whatsapp: "It’s hard to avoid in Europe, and it’s a great messaging app. I can’t help but wonder why it’s such a big deal in the US (and often wrong take) for Apple Messages to be compatible with RCS, when this app that’s been around for more than a decade is both free and has end-to-end encryption."

JustPressRecord: There must be hundreds of better AI-powered apps to have your voice notes transcribed into text, but this one uses Siri’s transcript capabilities and everything is done on the device. I much prefer this privacy-first approach for now, even if services like TalkNotes look really promising.

Ricoh ImageSync: Well, it’s not great, but this is the app I have to use to offload photos from my camera to my phone.

Photomator: All my RAW photos are edited and exported to JPEG with Photomator. It is a fantastically well-made and powerful app (the App Store Awards nomination is well-deserved). The Mac version looks good too, but it was too slow to be really enjoyed on my Intel Mac.

Rainbow Weather: I paid for a year’s subscription, so you can bet I’m using it. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it after the year is up, though. It’s cool to know exactly when it’s going to rain, and I find this service very accurate and impressive. But I’m not sure if I care enough about rain to pay more than 20 euros a year.

On the personal Mac

MarkEdit: Everything has already been written on this one: not perfect but very close.

Maestral: An amazing little Dropbox app replacement (used for Blot).

On the work Mac

Here, I’m sparing you the apps installed by the IT department. I’m also not mentioning the new Safari web app thing I use for Asana and Slack (obviously avoiding crappy Electron apps).

Things: One of the best apps around, simple as that.

Pastebot: The amount of hours I’ve saved thanks to this little utility… I can’t believe it’s still not a native MacOS feature.

The Archive: I’ve talked many times about this app, and if the Zettelkasten method behind it is not really working for me in my personal life, this app is a brilliant work companion.²

MeetingBar: Does exactly what it says it does (display the time of your next meeting in the Mac menu bar), and sometimes that is all you want from an app.

Mimestream: The Gmail web interface is fine, but this is better.

Other apps and extensions

I don’t have them all the time on all my devices, but they do appear from time to time, for various reasons: a new update to try, frustration with an existing service, &c.

StopTheMadness: I consider this as a real “extension” of Safari preferences, and I really like it. It’s a bit of a hassle to keep its settings synced between three devices, so I regularly uninstall it, to install it again after a few weeks.

StopTheScript: Replaced JavaSnip in that regard, but I wish the “on/off switch” was more practical or could be set to a limited time or something.

Tot: So good and useful that I have to have it on my computer. At least that’s what I tell myself. It usually ends up being replaced by The Archive. But it’s such a cute and good little app.

Piezo: Speaking of finished software, this one may be a contender. It’s basically perfect but I rarely have to use it though, so it gets uninstalled often.

Consent-O-Matic: The newest entry in this list, not sure if I like it or not, but getting rid of at least some of these cookie banners is still a blessing.

Closing words

If everything goes the way it usually does after writing such a list, I will discover a new app in the coming days or weeks, and this list will already be obsolete. This year I am very confident it will remain the same for a while. I am very happy with the apps on this list. Sure, an interesting app like Bridges can eventually find its place here, but let’s at least wait until 2024 to work on a new list.

Although if you have any app you want to recommend, you know what to do.