Apps

5 free productivity apps for students

Apps to help you ace those classes!

Published

July 25, 2018

Isa Rodriguez

Every student knows (or should know) that part of excelling in school work is not just studying hard, but also studying smart. Luckily for kids today, there are now apps that help make a student’s workflow easier and more efficient.

From task reminders to instant citation makers, here are my top five picks for free productivity apps that will help any student.

Forest

Sure, having a smartphone is convenient, but it can also be pretty distracting. Trump the urge to fiddle with your phone when you’re supposed to be doing something else — like studying — with this app.

Here, you’re tasked to grow trees, and eventually, a forest. The catch? If you leave the app, your tree dies.

The premise is as simple as that, but it proves to be an effective way to keep focused and grow a lush virtual forest. Download it here.

DropTask

Group projects and assignments can be daunting and unorganized tasks. Lucky for you, there’s DropTask to help.

DropTask is a unique task manager that will work on your phone or your laptop. It allows you to organize every single thing in your school life. Group together certain assignments and even share tasks with classmates to ensure smooth workflows and efficient task distribution.

It also helps that it has a pretty colorful visual design, perfect for those who aren’t so fond of normal lists and notes. Download it here.

Google Keep

For a lot of things in school, note taking is something you can’t get out of. Might as well find a way to make this activity easier, right?

One great app for this task is Google Keep. It has an easy interface that allows you to organize notes like post-its, plus it allows for plain text, lists, and even photos.

Google Keep has a dedicated app, but you can also open it up via your web browser. It syncs everything to Google Drive and saves offline edits so you’ll have only one set of updated notes. It’s the small victories in life, kids. Download it here.

Exam Countdown Lite

When exam season is around the corner, scheduling and meticulous planning are key. Make sure you have all your bases — erm, subjects — covered with this app.

Exam Countdown Lite takes care of your test scheduling woes. It allows you to take note of all the important dates and organizes everything in a way which allows you to see everything, including countdowns to the very second your exams start.

The app also has alarms, social media integration (so you can share your deadly schedules to the world!), and even note-taking capabilities. Download it for Android or iOS.

Citationsy

We all know that research papers are hard and formatting is especially a pain. Say no more: We have just the app for that.

This ingenious app not only formats citations in more than 1,500 styles (which includes APA and MLA), it also does this by scanning the book’s barcode. Yep, that easy.

Unfortunately, this free app is only available for iPhone and iPad users, which you can download here.

Of course, we found something for Android study folks. Citation Maker is a good alternative app; unfortunately, it doesn’t support barcode scanning. Download it here.

Happy studying! 🤓

Apps

Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Published

May 28, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Is your wallet buckling from the weight of so many subscription services? Well, Meta has a trio of new subscriptions for you to sink your hard-earned cash towards. If you have a few dollars, here’s Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus, and WhatsApp Plus.

All three subscriptions are designed to add new features which can enhance the experience for those who practically live on these apps. Among the three, Instagram Plus is the meatiest. It offers users the ability to view other people’s Stories without showing up as a viewer, create more tailored audiences outside of Close Friends, and extend the duration of a Story beyond 24 hours, among others.

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Since it shares similarities with Instagram, Facebook Plus offers much of the same features. WhatsApp Plus, however, offers more customization options including new themes, ringtones, and stickers.

If that’s not enough, Meta has also released a new subscription system for Meta AI. Though the basic use of the AI is still free, the new Meta One Plus and Meta One Premium plans offer more capacity and performance for power users. The company is also testing new creator-focused plans, Meta One Essential and Meta One Advanced.

Of course, the new AI-based plans are more focused on those who actually use the AI software. Meanwhile, the three app plans are more for regular users. Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus will cost US$ 3.99 per month. Meanwhile, WhatsApp Plus will cost US$ 2.99 per month.

Apps

Meta quietly launches Forum app for Facebook Groups

The app highlights discussions from Facebook Groups.

Published

May 22, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Since the rise of other platforms, Facebook Groups haven’t enjoyed as much popularity anymore. Despite this (or maybe even to help with this), Meta has unleashed an all-new app called Forum.

Designed specifically with Facebook Groups in mind, Forum collates discussions from Groups that the user might be interested in. Much like the websites of the same name from the 2000s, the app wants to feature conversations, rather than canned content that the algorithm shoves towards users on the main Facebook feed.

Users can also ask questions. Forum will sift through real discussions to find an answer. The closest analog today is searching Reddit for troubleshooting questions to get answers based on human experience. The main feed of the new app, however, feels more in tune with Quora’s concept.

That said, it’s a refreshing way to bring social media back to human-made feeds. It’s also a stark admission that the main Facebook feed (and, frankly, Instagram too) is just too inundated with content that users are not interested in.

Lately, Instagram also made the same admission by launching its own “lightweight” app called Instants. Like Forum, Instants was made to recapture the essence of Instagram before the rise of the almighty algorithm.

Forum, however, was launched with much less fanfare than Instants. There was no announcement. Rather, it’s just a casual drop from out of nowhere. The app is available now on the App Store and the Play Store.

Apps

Apple Sports: Free app expands globally ahead of World Cup

Personalized, intuitive experience to get fans ready for the World Cup

Published

May 20, 2026

GadgetMatch

Apple has expanded the availability of its free Apple Sports iPhone app to more than 90 new countries and regions.

This brings the app’s total global footprint to over 170 markets. The massive expansion comes just weeks before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup this June.

It only means the standalone app is positioned as the primary real-time tracking fan for millions of football fans worldwide.

The rollout shifts Apple’s strategy toward global sports integration by providing the utility completely free of charge on the App Store.

A massive influx of international users are expected to use the app, as it provides a more direct experience — eliminating the need for third-party score tracking platforms.

As part of the personalized, real-time FIFA World Cup coverage, the app is introducing dedicated tournament features.

This includes allowing users to explore group stage standings, follow specific national teams, and view the current bracket through tournament bracket view.

In addition, visual formations for each team’s starting lineup will be provided ahead of every match.

Apple Sports is also tailored for those who have an entire ecosystem of Apple devices. The app can deliver real-time updates directly to a user’s iPhone Lock Screen and Apple Watch.

Fans can further add widgets to their iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Home Screens, and jump easily into the Apple TV app with a single tap to find live matches.