The app world wasn’t having such a great week as news of the iOS Masque Attack, a vulnerability that lets malicious third-party apps masquerade as legitimate alternatives, prompted the U.S. government to issue a statement. Yikes! But don’t be too afraid, because like always, there are some great apps to check out from iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
Android
Messenger
Messenger is another texting alternative for Android built by Google. The app obviously follows the new Lollipop-ish design language and is a pretty straightforward text messenger as it only sends MMS and SMS text. So in some ways, it’s simply Hangouts-lite but also much more streamlined so it’s a little easier to navigate. If that’s something you’re looking for or you’re just tired of Hangouts and whatever Google’s standard stock offering is, give Messenger a shot for free. We’ll even help you get set up. [Free]
iOS
Kwilt
I have photos tucked away in all the small corners of the internet. I have Xbox One screenshots OneDrive, work assets on Dropbox, and photos of varying embarrassment on social media, so when someone asks “Hey, can I see your photos from Halloween?” I have to use some brain power to actually remember where they would be. Kwilt wants to bring some order to the chaos by acting as a photo stream of consciousness for wherever you photos might be hiding. You can also edit and share from the app, and Kwilt just pulls from your disparate apps and services and doesn’t actually store anything locally, so space isn’t an issue. Just make sure you have an internet connection, and all your photos — every single one — will all be in the same place. [ Free]
PhotoTime
PhotoTime is a godsend for the photo-obsessed. PhotoTime uses facial and image recognition to automatically organise photo storage on your smartphone. You can also just type in a person’s name, and it will pull up all relevant photos of that person. It’s basically a smart assistant dedicated specifically for your massive camera roll. This goes beyond Apple’s native app, which just files away photos by location and time, so it’s definitely an upgrade from what you get out of the box. [Free]
Windows Phone
Chronos Calendar +
As that “+” sign would indicate, this is a ground-up redesign of the immensely popular Chronos Calendar. Now with more customisation options, an improved design and added features, it’s worth that $US2 price tag more than ever. If you’re still in the hunt for a calendar app for Windows Phone that can actually keep up with your busy life, Chronos Calanedar + could be the solution you’re looking for. [Trial/$US2]
Movie Creator Beta
Movie Creator Beta is one of those apps that pretty plainly spells out what it does with just its name. This app, available for all Lumia devices running Windows Phone 8.1, is an intuitive movie maker that stitches together photos, videos or Cinemagraphs into exportable MP4 files. You can add music, text, and selectively cut wherever you wish. It’s another great video editor from Microsoft Mobile, but with my favourite Windows Phone device being HTC’s One (M8) for Windows, I’m unfortunately out of luck. [Free]
Multi-Platform Updates
Aviary
The Aviary team released a huge update to its popular iOS and Android photo editor. This is the app’s first major update since being acquired by Adobe in September bringing a variety of new tools as well as syncing with Adobe’s creative cloud. Bonus: you can download Aviary tools for free when you sign into the app with a Creative Cloud account, but only though the month of November so don’t wait too long to download this great app (if you haven’t already.) [Free]