How many waking hours are we spending on our phones? The answer to that may be a simple click on your settings away but in our hearts we know that we spend way too much time for it to be considered healthy. So in this day and age, when the dependence on technology is not something that can be avoided, we need to be smart about the choices we make and take advantage of the technology instead of becoming slave to it.

This week we’re talking about Applications that may help make our time in lockdown a little less crazy. From music to food to games, health and design, there are countless Apps in store that can help, many of the best ones for free. The top 10 Apps this week were: 1) ZOOM, 2) WhatsApp Messenger, 3) Tik Tok, 4) Facebook, 5) YouTube, 6) Messenger, 7) Instagram, 8) IQ Option, 9) Recordeon and 10) Snapchat. They all indicate a time when people are trying to make working from home more efficient and use leftover time to connect with friends and family.

Instep presents a variety of applications (apps) that we’re all using most these days…

Pocket

An app that is designed to save anything, its best usage comes from saving online articles, particularly ones you want to save for reading later. Once the article is saved in the app, you have to refresh it and that’s it. A long lead can be read online or offline, whenever your heart desires and away from the rush hour in any given day. For those who love to read, this is a must-have app and the fact that it’s free makes it an easy download. Having won awards in the past, Pocket is for those who like to read and prefer both variety and long form. An interview from Paris Review or a story from Granta magazine can now be read offline, in solitude, as opposed to when surrounded by distractions. – Maheen Sabeeh

Ludo Star

There are thousands of Ludo game apps out there for one to choose from and those who are into the board game must have explored many of them. For someone (like me) who doesn’t really play games online, Ludo Star came as a good time pass activity when a friend suggested it for time in quarantine. It is certainly not the best but it is fun and refreshed childhood memories when we used to play the board game with family and friends. For playing Ludo Star, one can either log in via Facebook that makes their name and picture visible to other players while they can also keep their identities hidden and appear as a guest instead. Playing options include one-on-one, four players, teaming up or on a private table with people you know. Give it a try; you might find some entertainment there.  – Buraq Shabbir

CamScanner

With the entire world on lockdown, one is unable to get important chores done, for example there’s a crisis when you need to get important documents scanned. CamScanner is one application that makes your life easier. This app turns your smart phone (android or iPhone) into a scanner and helps you scan, share and manage various documents across devices. The best part is that performing a simple scan of a document is fast and straightforward. When you download the app, it’ll automatically take you to the ‘My Docs’ screen. Click the ‘Camera’ icon in the bottom right-hand corner and voila, you are all set to start scanning. First time users of CamScanner have to give permission to take pictures and record video.

It is an ideal app for parents who have to regularly send their child’s homework to respective teachers. All you have to do is scan the homework and send it across via email or Whatsapp.  – Maria Shirazi

WhatsApp

Not exactly a game changing app that’s new, WhatsApp has come a long way and this communication tool has become integral to our life in a manner that no one had imagined when they first download it. No wonder then that WhatsApp is the number two App in the App store right now. It’s the first application we all check in the morning and has become a convenient solution for sharing documents, images, videos etc. For those who aren’t into gaming or other snazzy features and applications that their phones can support and just want to connect easily with their loved ones, WhatsApp is the answer. It’s hard to catch a break from the application when work communication heavily relies on it and during times of isolation or lockdown as we are currently experiencing, this green interfaced program has brought us sanity, linking us to the outside world.   Haiya Bokhari