Bookmarks (75)

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Yumbox is an easy to use app that allows you to keep track of your favorite restaurants in your area. You can easily log all of your favorites, categorize them as...

While there may be debate about whether iOS 19 will be a UI revolution or evolution, there does seem to be a consensus view on app icons. Namely, that they are likely to switch from squircles – squares with rounded corners – to circles. Whether one looks better than the other is of course a matter of subjective judgement. But there is a small...

There’s no shortage of music-focused apps on the App Store, but one that’s long stood out among my favorites is MusicHarbor. Now, as part of a big version 5.0 update, the app supports a feature that Apple Music should have added years ago: news integration. Here’s why I think Apple News integration would be a perfect addition to not only the Music app but...

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Queue aims to be the simplest podcasts app out there. It offers a clean interface, and all of your podcasts are kept in one neat vertical list. From that list, you...

I wrote last year about MagicMiles, a new app that helps users create entire travel itineraries using AI. With its latest update, MagicMiles is getting a much-requested feature: the ability to add transportation and lodging to the travel itinerary. more…

Gentler Streak, the Apple Design Awards-winning fitness and wellness app, is getting another update – this time to make the app even easier and more intuitive to use. After adding new Home Screen widgets with health metrics, Gentler Streak is now introducing a new For You tab that combines the user’s Streak with health information from the wellness section. more…

Foodnoms is a powerful nutrition tracking app that I’ve written about before. It’s designed to be fast and easy to use with a design that’s optimized perfectly for Apple platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. This week, Foodnoms is getting a big update with completely revamped Shortcuts integration. more…

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Remind Me Faster is a nice companion app for Apple Reminders, helping you transcribe your thoughts into reminders as quickly as possible. It doesn’t replace Reminders, but instead makes it more...

The CEO of Roblox has responded to parental concerns about harmful content in the app by telling them they shouldn’t let their kids use it if they are worried … more…

A new WhatsApp message threads feature appears to be on the way, after it was discovered in an app beta. It follows a flurry of new features launched last month, comprising colorful chat themes, linked social media accounts, and ChatGPT support extending to images and voice messages … more…

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Rovelist is a simple habit tracker app with a clean design, home screen widgets, and an intuitive interface. It’s available on iPhone, and provides everything you’d need to stay motivated and...

If you’re a heavy Mastodon user (or were a Twitter user back in the good old days), you’re probably familiar with Tapbots – the company behind the popular Ivory and Tweetbot apps. The developers now have some good news to share with Bluesky users, as they announced this week that they’ve been working on a new app for the platform. more…

Reddit posts will be less likely to break the rules of a given subreddit, thanks to a number of changes the company is introducing to its apps. These include the ability to ask an AI to check your post before you submit it … more…

Update: CNBC reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dismissed its lawsuit against the three lead banks, as the White House downsizes the consumer rights agency. A high rate of Zelle scams originating from social media contacts has led JPMorgan Chase Bank to block payments made through social media networks and messaging apps. Chase said that Zelle was intended as a method of...

Digg – once known as “the homepage of the internet” – is making a come-back, after being bought by its co-founder Kevin Rose in partnership with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. It’s an interesting move given that Reddit was a competitor who pretty much inherited that “homepage of the web” accolade. Also ‘interesting’ is the pair’s belief that most moderation can be done by AI...

The UK’s privacy watchdog has announced a “major investigation” into the child protection measures of three popular apps: TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that it has previously succeeded in bringing about child protection changes on X, Sendit, BeReal, Daily Motion, and Viber … more…

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Fluro provides a delightful recap of everything you’d need to know in a day, all in a neat Mac interface with a special LED scroller. It delivers the weather, your calendar...

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Finma is a financial management app for your iPhone. It has a focus on user privacy and doesn’t require a connection to your bank account. It also features beautiful charts and...

Tripsy, a popular app to help users plan and organize their trips, has just received another major update with some useful new features. The new version of the app makes it easier for users to check their expenses in different currencies and also to see nearby places on a map. more…

A high rate of Zelle scams originating from social media contacts has led JPMorgan Chase Bank to block payments made through social media networks and messaging apps. Chase said that Zelle was intended as a method of transferring money to family, friends, and other trusted contacts, and should never be used to make online purchases … more…

Plans for a Reddit paywall of some kind have now been confirmed by CEO Steve Huffman, after hints about it last summer. Huffman confirmed the plan for paid subreddits during a pre-recorded Ask Me Anything video shown during the company’s earnings call … more…

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Due Tomorrow is a students ultimate homework companion. It helps you manage your assignments, keep track of everything with reminders and calendar integration, and includes a neat little AI chatbot that...

Gentler Streak, one of the most popular fitness and wellness apps for Apple devices, has just been updated again. This time, the latest version of the app adds multiple new widgets with different health metrics, so that users can get an overview of their health right from their Home Screen. more…

My colleague Zac Hall yesterday shared the Mac apps he currently uses, and it got me thinking about the Mac apps and utilities I couldn’t live without. Some are major apps, like Final Cut Pro, but there are a bunch of utilities I use on a regular basis that I’d really miss if I didn’t have them … more…

It was discovered last year that location data for US military and intelligence personnel serving overseas was being sold by a Florida-based data broker, but the source of that sensitive data was unclear at the time. It’s now been revealed that the data was captured by a variety of mobile apps with revenue-sharing agreements with a Lithuanian ad-tech company, and then resold by an...

A new accessibility program based on an app for deaf and hard of hearing users is being tested on the New York MTA system. It will provide riders with instant access to a live sign language interpreter when engaging with staff. The approach means that any member of Metropolitan Transit Authority will be able to help with directions and other queries without the need...

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Bento|Craft is a great tool for easily making Apple-style bento box graphics in a matter of seconds. It provides dozens of templates and mockups, allows you to customize layouts, and export...

Mistral, a French company specializing in AI tools, has just launched a native app for its chatbot “Le Chat” for iOS. While previously the tool was only available through the web, and iPad users can now download the app for a better experience. more…

Apple’s Messages app has a lot of great features, including the recent iOS 18 additions and Genmoji. But one thing that’s sorely missing: good tools for tracking your unanswered messages. The new Mac app RPLY seeks to solve that problem with AI. more…

CardioBot is a health companion app for iPhone and Apple Watch that shows users how they can live a healthier life. The app has now been updated with new features, including “Activity Coaching” and fully interactive graphics. Read on as we detail everything that’s new with the update. more…

The Iconfactory, makers of the now-discontinued Twitterrific app, have today launched the spiritual successor to their Twitter client. Tapestry pulls together feeds from Bluesky, Mastodon, RSS, YouTube, and more into a single timeline. more…

A Grubhub security breach has exposed personal data for both customers and drivers, says the company, after an “incident” involving a third-party contractor. The company has not revealed the exact scale of the security fail, but has admitted that the personal data includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, and partial credit card numbers … more…

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Wheels aims to be your all-in-one digital skate journal, allowing you (presuming you’re a skater) to track all things skating. It helps track your rides, your skateboards, and offers a clean...

TikTok has bounced back from its time offline according to traffic logs, but creators are worried about the uncertain future of the app. Some are assuming the worst, and preparing for the platform to shut down, while others feel TikTok has a unique role and it would be difficult to replicate their success on other platforms … more…

Bookshop.org launched five years ago as an online store with a mission of supporting local book shops. Now, that same philosophy is fueling a new ebook app for iPhone and iPad, which enables you to enjoy ebooks while sending your funds to local, independent bookstores. more…

Digital collectible card game Marvel Snap is back in the App Store, after the game’s developer seemingly severed connections with TikTok parent ByteDance. Trump has suggested that Microsoft is negotiating to buy TikTok, despite the company’s CEO having previously described the suggestion as “the strangest thing” … more…

Despite the fact that you can still use the service, TikTok is still very much so banned in the United States. President Trump promised to not fine TikTok and its service providers for continuing to run the services, but that’s just a promise. He also signed an executive order officially suspending the ban, but there’s great odds that that executive order doesn’t actually hold...

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Inscreen taps into Apple’s Screen Time API, and aims to help users be more mindful about the time they’re spending on their devices. Rather than forcefully blocking app access, Inscreen takes...

Scheduled Threads posts are now available to all, after the company first began rolling it out to a small number of users last month. Additionally, users in a few countries can now highlight and annotate parts of other people’s posts when sharing them … more…

Photo editing app Luminar Mobile is delivering two highly requested user features today. Full RAW image editing support and iCloud sync between devices arrives in Luminar Mobile 2.2. more…

The never-ending saga of the TikTok ban continues, with a ByteDance board member suggesting that a compromise would be possible. The remark was made by William E. Ford, an American businessman who is one of the directors of parent company ByteDance … more…

AI chatbot ChatGPT is down for many users in the US and the UK, with a variety of errors being reported – including gateway errors, login failures, and chats not loading … more…

There’s a new app called “People” coming soon to the iPhone that looks promising. Like Cardhop and other Contacts app alternatives, People wants to modernize your address book with important context. more…

I’ve played guitar as a hobby since I was in junior high. While the instrument hasn’t changed, the tools I use to make it possible have — sort of. In addition to the built-in GarageBand app, these are the two must-have iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps I use for for fun. more…

The Truecaller app has long been able to flag some incoming spam and scam phone calls, enabling you to reject them, but Apple privacy rules prevented the iOS version from working as effectively as the Android one. This means the iPhone would fail to identify many callers that would be flagged on Android phones. A new Apple API in iOS 18.2 solves the privacy...

Canon just launched a brand new iPhone and iPad app called Live Switcher Mobile, and it aims to make multi-cam livestreaming easier than ever. more…

Social media apps X and Bluesky are both rolling out dedicated video feeds, in apparent attempts to take advantage of the continued uncertainty around TikTok. With X, there’s a new play button icon launching a continuous video feed looking very similar to TikTok, while Bluesky offers custom feeds for video which you can choose to pin … more…

Today, Meta is announcing Edits: a new mobile video editing platform. This comes just hours after TikTok (and as a result, CapCut) were banned in the US – though TikTok is currently being restored, at least temporarily. more…

After being offline in the United States for 14 hours, TikTok now says it is in the process of restoring service. In a statement posted to social media, the company said: In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face...

In a new notification sent to users, TIkTok has confirmed it is shutting down in the United States. The company says it is “working to restore” its service in the U.S. “as soon as possible” with the help of incoming President Trump. Apple has also removed TikTok from the App Store in the United States. Google has removed the app from the Play Store....