Really Useful IMessage Apps and Stickers
In iOS 10, Apple has updated its Messages app with a host of new features. One of those features, an app store specifically for Messages, was greeted with loud cheers from users and cheers! from brands. Good news: Not all of these apps are horrible branded stickers. In fact, there are some really useful ones.
Aircraft app and TripIt make it easy to share flight information
If you travel a lot, you are probably sending your flight information to friends or colleagues. The app in the air (free) makes this process a little easier. Once you’ve entered your flight details into the app, you can send everything via Messages in just a couple of taps. If another person has the Air App App installed, they can check their flight information in real time, but even if they don’t, they will receive the most recent arrival time and exit information when they need it.
TripIt (Free) also has an app that does the same, although there is a caveat here: you’ll need a TripIt account for this to work. If you do, then that’s great, but if you just want to dump your flight number information and send it to a friend, the airborne app doesn’t require you to sign up for anything to do so.
Venmo and Square Cash Pay friends with text message
Venmo (free) and Square Cash (free) are a couple of the easiest ways to send money to friends . Integration with iMessage makes this process even easier. Instead of going into the app, you can simply go to Messages, hit the Venmo or Square Cash button, and then send the payment to your friend from there.
Both apps work in messages in much the same way as they do in full apps. You start by requesting or sending money, then choose an amount and you’re done. The iMessages app just removes the step of opening the app and finding a contact.
Blur / Secret / Privacy Send self-destruct images
A few years ago, self-destructing graphical messages were all the rage in unsafe messaging applications . For those of us who don’t want to send in nude photos, self-destructing messages are still great for pointless junk you might send to someone during the day, or the silly “is this what you mean?” photo from a grocery store.
The three free apps do a pretty good job of messaging ephemeral messages. As the name suggests, Blur (Free) blurs an image before sending it, and then allows you to set a time after which it will disappear by itself. Secret for iMessage (Free) does the same, but also lets you draw on the picture as much as you can with something like Snapchat. Confide (Free) works a little differently. To view images, you have to move your finger across the screen to reveal small portions of it at a time, so it is not possible to take a screenshot of the entire screen.
Whichever option you choose, both people need the apps installed to use, but they are free and work without registering any additional accounts.
Versus asks the recipient to compare two images
Whether you’re a designer looking for feedback on two different designs, or trying to pick the best outfit in a store, it’s pretty common to ask someone for an A or B review between two images. Versus (free) is an app designed to do just that. Yes, you can always just send two images, but Versus simplifies this and puts the two side by side.
If the recipient also has the app installed, they receive a small survey in which they can choose the one they like best, but if not, it is still sent as an image file that is easy to look at.
Friends polls make group decisions easy
If you use group messaging to organize outings, then polling with friends (free) can be useful for organizing where and when to go. As the name suggests, this is a poll app where every group member can vote.
For example, create a survey with multiple restaurants and send it out. Once everyone has voted, you can continue making your plans. This is certainly not something most of us will need often, but it is useful when you are trying to convince a lot of people to make a decision about something. You get three surveys for free before you have to pay, so it’s worth seeing if you’re in charge of organizing the fees.
ETA quickly informs everyone when you arrive
One of the most common text messages most of us send is our arrival time when we are heading somewhere. Some mapping apps, like Waze , integrate ETA messages into the app itself, but if you’re not using Waze or using a different mode of transportation, ETA ($ 2.99) is worth taking a look at.
ETA is not really a mapping application . Instead, it simply tells you how far away you are at any point. This way, after you enter your home address into ETA, it will always tell you how far you are from home by car, on foot or by bus. The iMessage app allows you to instantly send this data to a friend. Better yet, if both of you meet somewhere, they can also press back to send their arrival time.