THE BEST APPS ISSUE

I recently had a favorite app turn on me. It was one I used regularly to check the ingredients of beauty products to make sure I didn’t slather anything too toxic onto either me or my toddler.

- Amy Spitzfaden

DON’T WORRY, BE APPY!

Recently, though, I submitted a product they didn’t have in their database, uploading the label, ingredient list, and other details. After several weeks, they notified me that they had added this product to their database, only to find I needed a premium subscription to see it.

We can rely so much on apps that errors and shortcomings feel like a betrayal. I took to the internet to find a replacement app that wouldn’t put work I did for them behind a pay wall. Fortunately, someone pointed me toward the Yuka app (page 26), which does the same thing but is stricter in its ratings.

It’s important to break out of our app ruts. The app you’ve been using every day for five years might not be the best available option anymore, or it may even be making you feel worse without you realizing it (hello, social media). I tested a health app I was sure I was going to recommend until I discovered it includes mandatory weigh-ins complete with photos of your scale.

Fortunately, for every app that disappoints, often others offer the same benefits and are easier to use, prettier, more reliable, and more affordable.

I hand-tested and compared each of the apps I recommend in this section with other apps on the market to make sure the best ones make it from the App Store to your iPhone.

Do you have an app you can’t live without? We love hearing about all the apps our readers discover! Email us at [e-mail] to tell us all about it.

Happy downloading!

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