What is the best free app on your phone?

Nothing here costs anything, which makes the argument about what you actually open.

1

YouTube

Effectively unlimited video without paying anything.

2

Google Maps

Turn-by-turn navigation that replaced an entire industry of devices.

3

WhatsApp

Free messaging that became the phone network in much of the world.

4

Spotify

Ad-supported access to most recorded music ever released.

5

Gmail

Email with enough storage that nobody deletes anything anymore.

6

Instagram

Photos, stories and an endless recommendation feed.

7

Duolingo

Language lessons broken into streaks and five-minute drills.

8

Signal

Encrypted messaging run by a nonprofit with no ads.

9

Wikipedia

The whole encyclopedia, offline-capable, no subscription.

10

Google Photos

Automatic backup plus search that finds the picture by description.

11

TikTok

A recommendation engine that needs no follows to work.

12

Shazam

Names the song playing near you in a few seconds.

13

Citymapper

Public transport directions that account for the walk to the platform.

14

VLC

An open-source player that opens every video file ever made.

15

Google Translate

Camera translation that reads a menu in a language you don't have.

16

Strava

Run and ride tracking with a leaderboard on every local hill.