The apps I relied on in 2025

Plus: Wrapping up with gratitude

Thanks for taking a moment to open my newsletter. This is my last one of 2025, if you can believe it.

I always get a little sentimental around the holidays. Christmas has held a special place in my heart for as long as I can remember. I still think about those childhood weeks leading up to Christmas Day, and especially Christmas Eve. My sister and I would try our hardest to stay up late, hoping to catch a glimpse of the big guy himself. We never made it very far.

Sometimes it feels like a bit of that Christmas magic has faded, and technology plays a role in that. Phones and tablets now do so much that they have replaced things we used to really want. Games, gadgets, books, music. It all lives on a screen. I see it firsthand with my kids. Their wish lists are a lot shorter than mine ever were.

Still, I love this time of year, especially the music that comes with it. Even if it’s no longer spinning on a record player in my uncle’s living room.

In this newsletter, I’m going to share the apps I relied on most in 2025. Some are longtime favorites, others are newer additions. I’m constantly perfecting my setup, trying to find what works best as both a dad and a journalist.

Before we get to that, I want to pause for a quick look at what 2025 meant for this newsletter.

What started as an occasional post turned into something much more. I began the year with about 37,000 subscribers and I’m ending it with nearly 62,000.

California leads the way, which probably won’t surprise you. After that come Illinois, Ohio, New York, and Texas.

And here’s the wild one. These little emails added up to more than 2.89 million opens in 2025. There’s probably a joke in there about spamming you, but I truly hope the information you’re getting is useful, practical, and worth your time.

All of this is to say thank you for being here. I don’t take it lightly, and I’m grateful you chose to read along.

The Main Rule I Use When Choosing Apps

In case you’re not familiar, I have one big rule when it comes to the apps I use every day. I prefer them to be cross-platform.

It’s no secret that I regularly switch between iPhone and Android. Because of that, I try not to rely too heavily on built-in iPhone apps. Apple makes some excellent software, and the integration across its services is great. But to really get the most out of that ecosystem, you have to be fully all-in with both an iPhone and a Mac.

I do use both. I also use an Android phone.

So while there may be better or more polished versions of certain apps on one platform, the fact that an app works everywhere is usually what keeps me loyal to it. I’m not saying every app I use is cross-platform. Some are iPhone-only. Some are Android-only. But in general, I look for tools that work no matter what phone you’re using.

There’s also a bigger reason behind that preference. I believe technology should connect people, not divide them.

We all saw this play out for years with iMessage. Android users were treated as second-class citizens because of blue message bubbles. Even now, with RCS making cross-platform messaging much better, it’s still a reminder of why tech works best when it’s built on universal standards that run across everything.

That’s what the internet was designed to do. And that’s what I believe in.

With that, here are the apps I relied on in 2025 and why they earned a spot on my home screen. Keep in mind this list doesn’t include basics like Maps and Photos.

Rich’s Apps of 2025

Airalo - When it comes to eSIMs, Airalo is the service I rely on most. I’ve used it in several countries and it has consistently worked at a fair price. Installation is easy, and aside from one hiccup in Japan on a Pixel phone, it’s been rock solid.

AllTrails - This app gave me my love of hiking. The filters make it easy to find trails that match your ability and time, and you know exactly what you’re getting into before you go. I especially like tracking my route and staying on course using the Apple Watch compass integration.

Backdrops - My favorite app for finding fun, unique, abstract wallpapers that look great without distracting from app icons.

Bitwarden - An excellent free, cross-platform password manager that does everything most people need without paying. I also like its built-in tools for generating strong passwords and unique usernames based on your Gmail address.

Blip - A newer app I started using after a recommendation from radio listener Don. There are lots of ways to share files cross-platform, but Blip stands out for how simple it becomes once everything is set up. It feels like AirDrop for everything. It does require an internet connection.

Caffeine - Android-only and one of my favorites. Once activated, it keeps your screen on for a set amount of time so it doesn’t go to sleep. Perfect for recipes, instructions, or reference material.

Candy Crush Solitaire - One of Google’s Apps of the Year. I tried it out and immediately got hooked. It’s a fun twist on classic solitaire.

Canva (iOS, Android) - I honestly don’t know how I lived without this. It does just about everything I need for social media posts, quickly and easily.

ChatGPT - This is the AI I used the most in 2025. It’s not perfect, especially right after major updates, but I’ve trained it to handle many of my recurring tasks. At this point, it understands how I work surprisingly well.

Clever Cleaner - The only app I recommend for cleaning up iPhone photos and storage. It’s free, has no ads, and actually works.

Dropbox - This is my work hard drive in the cloud. I keep all my TV footage here, and it’s easy to search, organize, and share with my editor. I also like that it’s completely separate from my personal Google Drive.

Edits - Instagram’s free editing app, and I’m glad it exists. It has a lot of solid features, though CapCut still does better captions and offers more aspect ratio and background options. That said, it’s free, and I’m convinced reels uploaded through it get better reach.

Email Me (Android) - Another listener recommendation. This Android-only app creates a simple shortcut on your home screen that lets you email yourself notes instantly. I use it all day to send myself things I want to remember or deal with later.

Email Me (iOS) - The iPhone version comes from a different developer and offers more features, but I mostly use it the same way: sending quick notes to myself.

Faye - A modern way to buy international travel insurance directly from your phone. Everything is instant, and claims are easy to submit if you need them. I interviewed one of the founders and have kept it on my phone ever since.

Fig - A fantastic app for identifying allergens in food. You tell it what you’re allergic to, scan a product, and it tells you if that allergen is present. A beautiful and practical use of technology.

Firefox Focus - A simple private browsing app. If you don’t want something showing up in your Google history, like medical research or gift shopping, you can delete your entire session in one tap.

Flighty - The best flight tracking app I’ve ever used. It’s beautifully designed and packed with nerdy details like plane age, route history, and whether you’ve flown that aircraft before. It’s been iOS-only since day one, and I’m losing hope it will ever come to Android.

FlyFin - I interviewed the founder on my radio show and started using it right away. Think Tinder, but for taxes. It connects your accounts, identifies potential deductions, and lets you swipe yes or no. At the end of the year, you can have them do your taxes or export everything to your accountant.

Glimpse Notifications - If you have a Samsung phone, you need this app. It lights up the entire screen when notifications arrive so you can see them clearly, similar to how iPhone and Pixel handle alerts.

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Incogni (Sponsored) - I rely on this service to remove my personal information from hundreds of data brokers, websites, and other places it shows up online. It’s easy to get started, and I like that you can see both high-level progress and detailed removal activity. You can also submit custom removal requests, which is a nice touch. Use my code RICHONTECH at checkout.

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JustWatch - I’ve tried just about every movie and TV tracking app, and I keep coming back to JustWatch. Great database, easy watchlist tracking, and excellent sorting options, many of which are free. My only wish is sorting by Rotten Tomatoes score.

Libby - The best way to get free books on your Kindle through your local library. I love the Skip the Line section, which has new titles available instantly. I’ve read so many books this way.

Meteor (iOS, Android) - My go-to speed test app. Easy to use with fun animations.

Michelin Guide - I wasn’t big on Michelin until watching Knife Edge on Apple TV. While I’m not always into ultra-fancy food, the app is a great way to quickly find highly rated restaurants when traveling.

Monarch Money - This replaced Mint and Rocket Money for me. It does a much better job connecting accounts, tracking transactions, recurring charges, and net worth. It’s well worth the $99 per year.

Moonlitt - There always seems to be a blood moon, harvest moon, or blue moon. This app shows moon phases on iPhone, explains what they mean, and offers a great widget. Simple and fun.

Night Sky - There are lots of stargazing apps, but this is the one I keep coming back to. Point your phone at the sky and instantly see constellations, stars, and planets.

NordVPN - I’ve grown to love the Threat Protection Pro feature. It works even when the VPN itself isn’t active, blocking malware, malicious sites, and ads that often deliver scamware. When overseas, you can connect to a U.S. server, and sites work just like at home.

Obsidian - I started the year with Evernote and ended with Obsidian. Evernote is still more polished, but I like that Obsidian’s files live locally and in my cloud, which feels better long term. Two plugins I rely on are Better Export PDF and Omni Search.

Picsart (iOS, Android) - I mostly use this to fit images into different aspect ratios. If I need to turn a 16:9 image into a square with borders, this makes it fast and easy.

Premiere (Adobe) - Adobe’s new mobile editing app is excellent. It includes waveform views on the timeline, which makes audio-based editing much easier. Captions are still weak, but overall it’s impressive. Android is coming.

Proton Authenticator - I switched from Authy to Proton Authenticator. It’s free, cross-platform, beautifully designed, and lets you choose whether codes sync across devices or stay local. It’s been excellent.

Raindrop - My preferred bookmarking app across iPhone, Android, and desktop. I mainly use it to save websites for later, tagging them with AI-generated keywords. You can also pay Raindrop to handle that tagging automatically.

Savewise - Discovered through the radio show. It automatically activates credit card offers and helps maximize points and miles, if you’re into that sort of thing. They also recently added the ability to automatically bulk-clip digital grocery coupons, which is a huge time-saver.

Speechify - I interviewed the mom of the founders at WWDC. It reads just about anything out loud, including PDFs and articles, using excellent voices. I like bookmarking articles on my computer and listening on my phone later.

Upside - A cashback app that links to your credit or debit card. Claim offers at supported businesses and earn cash back automatically. It works especially well for gas stations and groceries.

Waze (iOS, Android)- The Time to Leave feature is why I use Waze daily. Connect your calendar and it tells you exactly when to leave to arrive on time. You can also enter any address and see a scrollable timeline of departure times and visualize how traffic impacts the trip.

Whisper Memos - iOS-only and one of my favorite apps. Dictate a memo on your Apple Watch or iPhone and it gets transcribed and emailed to you. Recording time now goes up to 90 minutes, making it great for meetings and quick thoughts on the go.

Wispr Flow - My favorite voice-to-text app. It works on iPhone, Windows, and Mac. Android support can’t come soon enough. When it’s good, it’s incredible. Occasionally, it just has an off day and doesn’t seem to understand the stuff I say or proper punctuation.

Weather by Tomorrow - I love this app for storm tracking. It has the best visuals for following tropical storms and hurricanes.

Zoe - Discovered through my TV reporting. Zoe grades foods from 0 to 100 and tells you how often you should eat them. The goal is eating 30 varied plants per week. You can scan a barcode or take a picture of prepared food, and it uses AI to identify ingredients and score it.

Your kind words…

Before I go, I just want to say how much it means when I hear from you. I’m flooded with emails each week, and believe me, I truly do my best to respond to as many as I can. Please understand if I’m not always able to reply.

I really appreciate hearing that what I’m doing is helpful. My goal has always been to cut through the clickbait and hype and bring you vetted, practical information you can actually use in your daily life.

Thanks for taking the time to send notes like these. It means more than you know.

Nancy (San Pedro, CA) - Love you on KTLA and enjoy the emails with your findings.

Vicki (San Pedro, CA) - Love watching you on the morning news and I really look forward to your weekly newsletter.

Fred (Southern California) - Thank you, and I look forward to your broadcasts here in Southern California.

Ingrid (Laguna Niguel, CA) - I love your newsletters. So informative and easy to understand.

Larry - Keep up the good work. I’ll still watch your segments, even though I suspect you might be an Apple-lyte. ;)

Sarah - Really appreciate your show, the tips, and the time you spend helping us all.

Michelle (Huntington Beach, CA) - Love the show and the newsletter.

Anita -Thank you for your time and expertise.

Pam (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) - As a senior who used to be tech savvy, you make me feel better about my knowledge. My husband and I watch KTLA every morning and night. You’re the best.

That’s going to do it for the Rich On Tech Newsletter in 2025. Have a fantastic holiday and I’ll see you in the new year.

Rich