fun apps

It's been a while since we put together our list of the best Photo Booth apps, and wow, have they come a long way! We all know that photo booths are as essential to a good party as the food and drinks, whether you're celebrating a birthd…

You may have seen this hilarious sketch on SNL that has a bunch of adults using the app BeReal during a rather tense situation. (if you haven't seen it yet, go watch now! I'll wait.) This sketch does a great job explaining what BeReal is…

Recently, as you may have heard (ahem) a bunch of influential musical artists have been leaving Spotify , podcasters are rethinking the platform , and plenty of listeners are canceling their Spotify Premium subscriptions. (Which is evide…

If you're getting ready for the Super Bow (whoa) this Sunday, and plan on having company to make it more fun, we've got 7 apps for your Super Bowl party that you'll want to download stat, from party planning help to food and drink delive…

Lately, a lot of readers have been asking us about apps that let you check out free library books. Or, free e-books to be technical. So here's the info on a favorite of ours, the hoopla digital app . While I love the feeling of being sur…

Before the holidays kick into full gear, I recommend you download one super-fun, get-off-the-couch app that also happens to be 100% free: Active Arcade. It's entirely designed to get you moving (and maybe burning off all that pie eating)…

This holiday season, I've been researching apps for holiday planning as one of many ways to make big holiday meals easier. Whether you enjoyed last year's COVID-mandated reprieve from big get-togethers , or you're just raring to baste an…

My son is all about LEGO these days, which is why I was intrigued when I heard about Brikit , a new iPhone app that takes stock of the LEGOs you have and makes suggestions -- complete with instructions -- on what to build. Turns out, it'…

Each time there's a live streaming Apple Event to announce the new products and updates, we watch diligently to see what's new for parents and families, or which advances and improvements will actually make our lives a little easier, mor…

Let's take a minute to applaud our teens who've been willing to quarantine this year. It's been brutal to lose so many activities they love, and they've handled it with flexibility and (mostly) good attitudes! While we'd hoped we'd be "b…

Every year, we share our top 10 most popular posts on Cool Mom Tech. From the best podcasts for kids to customizing your iPhone 14 home screen, here are the posts we wrote this year that resonated the most with our readers in 2020. Also …

Since 2020 has precluded in-person watch parties, I was glad to see Disney step up their game with GroupWatch. Just like Netflix's watch party , GroupWatch lets you watch content from Disney+ with others who are far away -- and who also …

If you haven't heard by now, the customization features on the new iOS home screen are alllll kinds of extra (i.e. you can turn your home screen into a Harry Potter tribute , Microsoft Paint throw-back , or neon color study). It's pretty…

When I first heard about the new Spotify Kids app , I was pretty excited. Would this be the app that would wean my son from the Moana soundtrack and expand his musical horizons? Is this the app for kids who are ready for their own music,…

This is a sponsored message for Together app As so many families and friends are struggling to stay connected during this Coronavirus quarantine, they've turned to technology to help them stay in touch. But with the Together app , your k…

Anyone else the escape of audiobooks while we find moments to ourselves? These audiobook apps proved to be the perfect literary lifeline for me while I was stuck at home with my young children during the quarantine, and are keeping me go…

When you think "voracious reader of the classics" you don't generally think at the same time "..and big game, toor!" And yet, that's how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade , this fun, quippy, clever, and fair…

We used to say "photos or it didn't happen," but it feels like 2020 is all about "filters or it isn't Instagram." You may have noticed folks you follow using wacky filters -- or oddly flattering filters that bathe them in a beautifully h…

Just in time for the holidays, we've found 15 fun Amazon Echo skills that can help you stay organized, add a little more fun to your family time, and even put some magic into the holidays for your kids. If you and Alexa are in a rut, jus…

Last week, my daughter Sage and I had a great time talking with the crew from News12 (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) about our favorite fun, educational apps for grade schoolers that help your kids make the most out of screen time. I'm g…

If you've got kids in summer camp, you may know that each day they don't get a letter from home is another reason they grow up to resent you. Kidding. But they do like to get lots of letters -- and I admit, I am not the best daily letter…

If you've got a Harry Potter fan in your house, or you are one yourself, then you've probably already downloaded the new Harry Potter: Wizards Unite app on your phone and are ready to play. The game, which was announced back in 2017, is …

I'm always on the hunt for YouTube alternatives for my son, and I've just discovered a good one in Vooks , the app that streams animated children's books. If you're wanting your kids to be entertained by something other than toy cars bei…

We have shared a ton of clever pregnancy announcement ideas and sex reveal (FKA gender reveal , inaccurately) ideas over the years, and surely you've seen Pinterest boards packed full of creative marriage proposal ideas. But having just …

With all the not-so-great news coming out around YouTube recently -- from their pedophilia problem to the horrific content spliced into kids' videos to the infamous Momo challenge -- I've been looking for some YouTube alternatives. From …

Feeling inspired by Jordan Shapiro's interview on NPR with our former Spawned guest Anya Kamanetz , and reading his book for our upcoming interview with him on Spawned, I decided to let my tween daughter give TikTok (formerly Musical.ly)…

If you're looking for an amazing last-minute holiday gift that the people on your list will love, consider a digital subscription gift. It's one gift takes up no space in their home, yet provides hours of entertainment, learning, or fun.…

Anyone on the hunt for fantastic iPad apps for 6 year olds? This topic came up recently in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook Group , and yay, our members shared their tried and true favorites, both educational and just for fun. So whether …

I loved the Secret Code book when it came out two years ago, and so I was especially pumped to see the new Secret Code app bringing the book to life with its recent launch. Where the story of Rox's Secret Code introduced kids to the poss…

My daughter came home from a sleepover this past weekend asking if she could download Musical.ly (now known as TikTok). I've been hesitant about this app after hearing friends' kids with various issues, not to mention the stories we've s…

Halloween is right around the corner, so we decided to round-up fun Halloween apps for kids that aren't too scary, all of which happen to be free (yay!). What a fun way to get them excited about Halloween, though if your kids are anythin…

This is a sponsored message from Kinsane Entertainment Inc. If you've ever told your kids not to play with their food, well, now there's one way they totally can: Fruits vs Veggies Supermarket App for iOS and Android . This fun, safe, an…

This is a sponsored message from KinToons Music! Singing! A flying turtle with a jet pack! An ice cream-eating duck! It all comes together in the wonderful new KinToons Nursery Rhyme DJ app , a fun, colorful, and totally safe environment…

Over the weekend, my husband and son became completely engrossed in these escape room apps (or puzzle room, to some people), and after taking a look myself, I can totally see why. Warning: they are pretty freaking awesome, so much so tha…

As my son gets older, I'm starting to look for cool educational apps to give him a leg up on counting and letters and other basic skills. The clear favorite for now? The brand new Khan Academy Kids , a free learning app from Khan Academy…

I'm always happy when companies find a way to take their kids' toys, games and activities and add components or extensions that keep them fresh for kids to play with. One of the best tech companies at this: Wonder Workshop , whose robots…

With the popularity of the Musical.ly app , it's no surprise that Facebook has jumped on the bandwagon with the launch of their new Lip Sync Live feature. Related: 12 risky apps parents should watch out for Similar to what folks share on…

This is a sponsored message from Spotify Spotify remains the world's largest global music streaming subscription service and for good reason. It's transformed the way we can all find and enjoy music for free. And now, thanks to some amaz…

News flash: our kids love video games. But they also love to help cook in the kitchen. So when we saw that the new Issa's Edible Adventures app teaches them to cook virtually and IRL, we knew we had to try it out. It's part Carmen Sandie…

With the warmer weather finally here, I'm looking forward to getting outdoors with my family. We're avid campers and hikers, and I have to admit, I enjoy the time we spend away from screens. Turns out, it's also Screen-Free Week, so how …

Our Cool Mom Picks' editor, Liz, had the awesome opportunity to check out the latest Crayola creations at the 2018 Toy Fair, and we are pleased as tropical punch (aka magenta) to sneak peek their brand new and upcoming releases with you!

Editor's note: Please scroll to the very bottom for some important updates on our Movie Pass experience. When I first heard about MoviePass on Facebook, I thought it sounded a little too good to be true. All the movies you could possibly…

My timeline started blowing up with bizarre side-by-side photos of selfies and museum portraits. I tracked it down as a feature of the new Google Arts & Culture app (iOS and Android ) which is free, fun, and possibly has some educational…

Harness your thoughts (and maybe a New Years' resolution) with one of our favorite free journal apps.

The Portable North Pole app and website is hands-down our favorite way for kids to get a chance to talk with Santa. And this year, it's back with new features that make it better than ever. For kids who are clever, curious (and maybe a l…

Hot Wheels is getting a big tech upgrade, thanks to their newest partnership with a longtime Cool Mom Tech favorite, Osmo . You'll be able to recapture your living room floors from miles of winding plastic track, but still let your kids …

The TBH app has been blowing up over the past few weeks and just hit #1 in the App Store for iOS following the announcement that Facebook has purchased it. I've seen multiple articles referring to it a "kindness app" or an "anonymous com…

We're longtime fans of Toca Boca around here, and their newest app, Toca Life: Office does not disappoint. Because if there's one thing my kids seem to want more than anything, it's to be a grownup. Related: Toca Boo: A fun Halloween app…

My tweens know that I have a pretty strict policy about social media in our house. We won't even have the conversation about setting up accounts for them on Facebook or Instagram until they're the minimum age required by the app. And eve…

Each year, there's one tech gift that we see and go...yup. That's going to be the one everyone wants. And this year it's the new Collector's Edition Propel Star Wars Drones that I got to check out at a top secret press preview event this…

We're kicking off our Back to School Tech Guide with some of the very best reading apps for kids and whether your kids are just beginning to string together letters to make words or they're tearing their way through Harry Potter for the …

Are your kids as smiling-face-with-hands excited to see The Emoji Movie as ours are? We've already bought our tickets for opening day tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we have to wait to start celebrating our love for everything emoji, rig…

If you're on Instagram Stories , Snapchat, and now Facebook Story , you know that stickers are THE hottest thing right now. All caps required. Well, we found a fun new free app for you to try that let's you turn your selfies into sticker…

Yes, International Emoji Day is a thing. 21st century, y'all! And while we've described that the upcoming addition of custom emojis to your keyboard will lead to some creative options, there are some awesome sets of emojis we'd really li…

I like to keep at least one totally mindless, just-for-fun app on my iPad for some winding-down entertainment at the end of the day. Of course, Candy Crush and 1010 have dominated recently, but I've just discovered the Stack app (iOS and…

Thanks to FaceTime, my kids are able to chat face-to-face with our relatives and friends around the country -- something this mom is really thankful for. But, at this point FaceTime videos are still just one-on-one. That's where the fun …

Well, here's one way to ensure no one will ever throw away that greeting card you so lovingly wrote out and mailed. These Tine message tags allow you to send photos, video, even audio messages using a special code that you can stick pret…

If you caught that awesome GE commercial that ran during the Oscars, asking, what if female scientists were treated like rock stars ? then no surprise that they're extending the campaign in a very 2017 way: With a SciMoji women of scienc…

One of my favorite new discoveries at Toy Fair 2017 was Turtle Mail , a cool WIFI-connected gadget that actually lets you send messages to your kids without them needing a screen. That's because your little notes print out like a cash re…

Anyone else burning out on Candy Crush and 1010 lately? Me too, so I just downloaded The Path to Luma (free on iOS and Android ) and I have to say that it's turned out to be better and more interesting than I expected. In fact, my kids a…

This is a sponsored message from Warner Bros. Pictures As you might have heard, The LEGO Batman movie is coming to a theater near you this Friday, but right now, you can download the new, free LEGO Batman Movie app so your kids can save …

This week, LEGO launched a new social media-style app for kids called LEGO Life ( iOS and Android ), a free app that's designed for kids ages 7-12 to share their LEGO creations and get ideas and inspiration for new projects to build. As …

As much as I love tech that makes my life simpler, easier, and cheaper, sometimes I find a device that just makes life a little more magical. And that's how I feel about Moonlite , a little gadget gives a modern edge to storytelling. Thi…

We love finding cool toys and apps that do a great job teaching our kids the basics of coding, since it's a language we expect they'll want (and need) to know when they're adults. When they've got great design and fun play through too, i…

I will always be a fan of real books I can turn the pages to read while my kids are in my lap, but there are plenty of times when a sweet, entertaining ebook on my phone is a total lifesaver, like the The Snow Fox , which we discovered t…

For super cool black and white photos beyond the couple of Instagram filters you get, take a peek at the free Hypocam app (iOS and Android ) that we're loving. Related: 5 terrific pro photography tips beyond selfies Related: The new Came…

We've tried a lot of Christmas apps over the years (like, lots), and let's just say a good Santa app is hard to find. We've narrowed it down to these 5 fun Santa apps that we think your kids will love. You can track Santa's flight on Chr…

Who ever thought that one day, the fine art of thoughtfully handwritten, artful notes would be considered punk? Well, the husband-wife team behind Punk Post is who. And they are determined to bring handwriting back in the coolest way pos…

We're big Trivia Crack fans, so it's no surprise we've been enjoying the Halloween-themed content in Trivia Crack Kingdoms this weekend, and we bet you will too. Unlike the original Trivia Crack app, Trivia Crack Kingdoms lets you choose…

If you're looking for a little downtime for your kids this Halloween weekend, we bet they'll love Toca Boo , a fun Toca Boca app our own kids love to play. And, it just so happens to be on sale for a limited time. Your younger kids will …

We always get excited when there's a new Toca Boca app to download, and their newest launch, Toca TV , is no exception. It's a cool, kid-friendly, parent-approved video streaming service for kids age 3-8 that you'll want to check out sta…

Lately, my preschooler is all about airplanes, but even if your kids aren't as obsessed as mine, I bet they'll still love the Sago Mini Planes app. Similar to Sago Mini Friends app (which we've featured here on Cool Mom Tech), the Sago M…

One of the funniest new Message apps now available for iOS 10 has to be Grammar Snob, a sticker app that lets you correct the grammar in your friends' texts. Grammar police, this one's for you. Does the wrong use of your vs. you're drive…

I love the idea of traveling the world with my kids, but actually getting out there and doing it is another thing. I mean, the chance that we'd go float the Amazon or climb the Himalayas anytime soon is minimal. Scratch that, it's nonexi…

Our back to school 2016 guide continues with our picks for some of the best reading apps for kids. From preschoolers learning ABC basics and sight words, to older kids needing a synonym for obsequious (or uh, maybe that is the synonym?),…

We parents know that science is everywhere and why it's so important. So we always love tracking down some of the best science apps for kids each year, to show kids how fun science can be, and how it's a part of pretty much everything th…

No matter how many times I run to Goodwill or Kon Mari my house, in just a few weeks I feel like we have more toys and video games and stuffed animals than my kids could ever play with. But, of course, they still ask for new things every…

Before my family headed out of the country on vacation, I spent weeks learning Italian using the free and very popular Duolingo app . And now Duolingo lets you practice not only your foreign language skills, but your knowledge in any are…

Beyond cropping out background noise or scrolling through a few Instagram filters, I don't usually spend a ton of time messing around with my photos. But after downloading the new and free Prisma app for iOS this week, I've discovered ho…

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard something about Pokemon Go , the new, free app that's blowing up the Internet. In fact, it's about to take over Twitter in user activity. Seriously. We've been getting lots of…

The kids have been out of school for a bit and chances are you've heard the "bored" word at least once. Or maybe you have a toddler who is ready for a new activity approximately every three-and-a-half minutes. Either way, check out the f…

If you're like me, you try a bunch of lipsticks out on your hand, then think you find the right one only to realize it's totally not your color. Well, that's all about to change thanks to the new free Urban Decay Vice Lipstick app which …

Mis Amigos! One of our favorite early-reading apps, Endless Reader , has gone espagñol with the Endless Spanish app , an adorably playful and educational preschool app for both iOS and Android users. Similar to the awesome Endless Reader…

Summer nights are perfect for staying up late, lying on the lawn (or roof deck if you're a city dweller) and looking up at the stars. But, often, streetlights and other ambient light can make it hard to see everything that is up there cl…

I'm convinced the reason my kids keep going back to play Osmo , one of our favorite educational tools for kids, is its brilliant mashup of digital elements and tangible controls they can actually touch and move around on the table. If yo…

With all the time I spend outside of the house waiting for my kids to finish a class or practice, I'm always trying to find something new to do on my phone. You know, other than continually refreshing my Facebook feed or checking to see …

Like most people, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't Google some information, whether it's five times or 25 times. (Okay, sometimes 25 times an hour.) So you can imagine my excitement when the Gboard app rolled out a couple days…

With the school year ending soon, I know that my kids aren't going to stand for games or apps that feel too much like a school lesson. Nor do I want them to spend their summer days doing nothing but memorizing math facts. But after playi…

I sometimes think I have the sense of humor of a ten-year-old, which comes in handy since I do have a tweenage son who thinks things like talking cupcakes and singing basketballs are pretty hilarious. What's even more hilarious is when w…

One of my favorite memories of childhood was my Highlights magazine showing up in the mailbox. I'd always turn straight to page 14 to do the Hidden Pictures before my sister could. (Sorry, sis.) My kids still love getting the magazine to…

Though your kids may not be able to find their shoes when you are running out the door, they are sure to love finding the solutions to the problems posed in Alien Assignment , a fun, free app for kids as young as three. Created by the Fr…

In this week's Spawned podcast, our editor Liz's Cool Pick of the Week is Brain Pop, a website I have turned to for years with my homeschooled kids to find smart, kid-friendly videos about topics as diverse as William Shakespeare, the Ci…

When your preschooler wants to play, but you really need a few uninterrupted minutes to finish some work or get dinner on the table, we've found an entire menagerie of adorable friends who will be happy to set up a playdate at any time. …

Even though my kids don't have cell phones yet, they love texting their grandparents and especially love sending them audio messages (which iOS 8 made very easy to do). Sure, grabbing my phone and sending a sweet I scored a goal at my so…

As much as I can hold my own on the dance floor, the stark reality is that I have about two moves I heavily rely on. (Ask anyone at any wedding I've ever been to). Despite my efforts to expand my moves repertoire, I think I have to releg…

At first glance, Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector may look like a cute cartoony app for young kids to waste a few minutes of their day. Yet, it's one of the few apps in my household that has the parents, teens, and my younger tween all hooke…

When it comes to my range of talents, I'm sadly lacking in the music department. Yep, I'm pretty much tone deaf, unlike Kristen, the former music therapist, who puts us all to shame there. However I still really want my kids to get the b…

My kids get really excited about President's Day because it means a day off from school. But I'd like to make sure that they spend a little bit of time reflecting on our former presidents too, so I love an app that helps with just that. …

Welcome to our new weekly series on Cool Mom Tech that introduces you to some of our favorite free apps to download to your devices. Because as much as we love all the useful, fun, and entertaining apps we recommend here, admittedly we l…

If you're tearing through the list of snow day activities to keep the kids occupied when you're stuck indoors, allow us help you with two beautifully designed, really fun new apps we've discovered from Seedling . As in, the same company …