Lifestyle

9 International Apps That You'll Need To Stay Relevant In The US

by Natassia Nettleman
Shutterstock

When there are over 1 million apps, it's hard to know which ones are useful and which ones will lead you closer to the "insufficient space" pop-up message.

Here are nine popular and practical apps that other countries are using that you should know about (and download ASAP):

1. Deliveroo

Deliveroo is a food delivery app that lets you select your favorite foods from your favorite restaurants and have it delivered straight to your door. Average delivery time is 32 minutes. Bam! Like most people in school or in a 10-plus hour job, you're busy or tired and you don't have a lot of time to cook or eat out. With Deliveroo, you can feel comfortable pressing “play next episode” on Netflix knowing food is on the way. The food and drink app for iOS is currently available UK, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Dubai,  Singapore and Hong Kong.

2. Tilt

Tilt makes is super easy to collect money from your friend group for literally anything: weekend trips, birthday gifts, summer travel, parties, student club dues, large T-shirt orders for a charity event, rent, house bills — anything really. The app is available on both iOS and Android in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, the Netherlands and France, and they are expanding quickly. Tilt is really popular at universities and perfect for any social organizers who loves to plan but doesn't want to front all the money or get stuck with the bill. Think about it. You will probably have to collect or contribute money sometime this week, so give it a download and a try. Did I mention it's free to use?

3. Lark

Trying to lose weight, get fit or live healthier? Don't struggle alone. Let your Lark personal coach help you lose weight and become your best self. Your Lark coach keeps an eye on your exercise, sleep, and diet, and texts you motivation and advice in the moment, when it's most helpful. Unlimited personal guidance and support. You text your friends every day, so why not text your personal fitness cheerleader, too? Lark's StayFit Coaching is free to use. Get automatic activity and sleep tracking and coaching for staying fit, or choose a premium paid membership for a personal coach who is available 24/7. Lark is available on iOS and Android in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, South Africa and Ireland.

4. TaskSpotting

The lifestyle app for iOS and Android is popular in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. TaskSpotting describes itself as an “exciting way to connect with brands, try new products, and earn rewards all on your phone!” Companies and individual users can post “missions” such as food tasting, checking out car prices at a nearby lot and more. Other users can then complete these “missions” based on their GPS location and earn monetary rewards. It's great if you are looking to earn some quick cash but more importantly, it's a fantastic way for companies to receive genuine and quick feedback from thousands of customers. A company can reach out to customers asking for information, data, and opinions in return for monetary compensation. TaskSpotting could change the way companies learn about their consumers.

5. Bumble

By now, everyone's heard of Tinder. Bumble is a game-changer because of one thing: Women must make the first move. After two people mutually opt in by swiping right, they're added to each other's “hive” of connections. The woman has to say something first within 24 hours or the match disappears. If you're a girl looking to date someone and tired of receiving creepy “hey girl ;) u up?” messages, this is the perfect app for you because you can set the tone of the conversation. And if you're a guy, this is a great way to meet awesome and confident women who will approach you first. Low stakes and no creeps. Fun fact: Bumble also recently launched Bumble BFF, which allows female users to make a new best friend. Not sure a boyfriend will believe that one. Bumble is available on iOS and Android in the US and UK but is expanding worldwide.

6. Morecast

This weather app is a hit in Mexico and now the US. It emphasizes precision when reporting the weather using features like live webcams, street-level accuracy, interactive doppler radars and more. More than once you've probably looked at your current weather app to see that there were going to be “light showers” and then ended up carrying your umbrella around all day when it was only slightly cloudy. If you want a weather app you can trust, Morecast is for you.

7. Periscope

Periscope is a live-streaming app that launched officially in March 2015. Available worldwide in 25 languages, the app lets you film content live on your phone and watch other peoples' live streams. Twitter acquired Periscope in early 2015, and now the service has over 10 million accounts. Many celebrities, adventurers and grassroots news reporters use Periscope to talk about and show what's going on in the world firsthand. It's a great way to see the world from so many different perspectives.

8. VSCO

VSCO helps the photographer in you come to life. This photo editing app available in 17 languages worldwide is perfect for making your photos look hip and snazzy (and you hip and snazzy by extension). It also has a developing social photo sharing side that allows you to connect, view and chat with other photo-editing lovers. Have you ever seen a photo on Instagram or Pinterest that made you say, “Wooow! How did they do that?” They probably used VSCO. If you'd like your followers to say the same thing about your photos, now you can. Get it on iOS or Android.

9. WeChat

China's top app, WeChat, allows users to message and call friends and families all over the world. It has over 650 million active users (twice the size of the US population) with 70 million outside of China. Wowza. WeChat is not just another communication app. It allows you to call landlines, create groups of up to 500 people, send a variety of multimedia messages and more. It' available on Blackberry, Symbian, iOS and Android.

Now get to downloading and see why the rest of the world can't get enough of these apps.