Apps

Viber rolls out self destructing Secret Chats

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 13, 2017

Messaging service Viber today rolled out a new Secret Chats feature. Not to be confused with Secret Messages, a similar feature introduced in February 2017 that lets you define how long your photos, videos and texts are available after the recipient has opened them, Secret Chats use Viber's end-to-end encryption let you set a timer on individual messages so they disappear after a few seconds, get an alert when a screenshot is taken and be sure no messages get forwarded.

Concept: bezel-less iPhone 8 with wraparound AMOLED screen and Dark Mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 13, 2017

Following a concept video from Polish blog My Apple imagining what a system-wide Dark Mode in iOS 11 (along with a few other sought-after rumored features) might look like, user interface designer Vianney le Masne has taken it upon himself to put together some great-looking mockups depicting how iPhone 8's rumored OLED screen and the handset's bezel-less design could be leveraged to implement Dark Mode across iOS and in apps.

“With Dark Mode in iOS for the next iPhone, 2017 could be all about killing the four sides of your screen and making it all about your thumb,” said le Masne.

DragMeDown supercharges your App Switcher with new and useful functions

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 12, 2017

The stock App Switcher serves as a way to force quit applications when you need to, but the interface has so much untapped potential to offer more features to the end user.

Since iOS developer ijapija00 noticed there was room for improvement, he created a jailbreak tweak called DragMeDown (iOS 10).

StoreSwitcher lets you easily switch between App Store accounts

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 12, 2017

If you have more than one Apple ID associated with your iPhone for downloading apps from the App Store, then having a way to switch between your accounts more easily might be at the top of your wish list.

A new jailbreak tweak called StoreSwitcher by iOS developer Ori Kadosh is a new release that was designed with these kinds of people in mind.

ZenScreen, Chroma, Flyr, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Looking for some new apps to try this weekend? iDB has you covered. In this week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we've selected some great new apps including a wallpaper-maker, an adult coloring book, and an interactive video platform. And as always, we've also picked two great new games for you to check out.

WhatsApp to bring back its original text-only status feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2017

WhatsApp's longstanding text-based status feature was recently supplanted by Snapchat-esque slideshows containing auto-vanishing images, photos, emoji, drawings and other multimedia items. Our tutorial explains how to use this new feature, but it seems many users are unhappy with the overhauled status. If you count yourself in this group, you'll be delighted to learn that Facebook is working on bringing back the original status feature, called About.

Twitter starts censoring profiles that publish potentially sensitive content

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Twitter recently introduced several features in its mobile app that give users the option to filter out anonymous and “egg” accounts, as well as mute words, phrases, mentions and hashtags in their timelines (be sure to read our tutorial for step-by-step instructions on the new filtering options).

In its continuing mission to fight trolls on the service, the company is taking additional steps to make the platform a safer place, as Mashable reported Friday.

In a nutshell, the service has now begun censoring profiles that post “potentially sensitive” content even if the implementation seems a bit heavy-handed at the moment.

Try out iPad’s hidden floating keyboard in Swift Playgrounds

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2017

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith recently discovered a one-handed floating iPad keyboard in a beta of iOS 10.3. While it's unclear whether or not Apple will debut this handy unpublished keyboard officially when the software update releases for public consumption, Troughton-Smith has kindly provided a way for iPad owners to try it out early using Apple's free Swift Playgrounds app, here's how.

Google is bringing Safari-like Reading List feature to Chrome for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2017

Safari for iPhone, iPad and Mac has long included a tremendously useful Reading List feature that allows you to save your favorite webpages and access them easily between devices—even without an Internet connection. Google has been working on its own version of Reading List and it's slated to arrive in an upcoming update to Chrome for iOS, as reported by 9to5Mac. Like with Reading List on Safari, this nifty new addition will let Chrome users save articles and webpages for offline reading at a later date.

Cortana 2.0 for iPhone brings overhauled interface and faster performance

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2017

Microsoft today rolled out a major update to its Cortana personal assistant app for iPhone, with enhancements like faster page transitions, improved app responsiveness and overhauled user interface all part of the update. The new version arrived three months after its release on Android. Design improvements in Cortana 2.0, a free download from App Store, include a fresh new look with an improved user experience, immersive full-page answers and overhauled calling, texting and reminders.

Developers required to submit a new app version before updating App Store descriptions [U]

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 9, 2017

Developers could refresh App Store's meta data for their apps at any time, but not anymore. According to 9to5Mac, which first spotted the change, Apple's iTunesConnect tool for developers used for editing metadata now requires that a new version of the app be submitted for review before its description, release notes and other metadata can be edited. Any changes made to an app's metadata won't go live on App Store until the new binary has been approved by Apple's editorial team.

UPDATE: Several developers we talked to have confirmed that this was indeed a glitch in the system, saying they're now able to update an app's description and other meta data without submitting a new binary for approval.

Facebook Messenger now lets everyone post status updates that disappear after 24 hours

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 9, 2017

Facebook announced Thursday that a feature in its mobile Messenger app that allows people to post auto-disappearing photos and videos has now begun rolling out globally following a previous soft launch in select countries like Poland and Australia. They're calling it Messenger Day because anything you post there disappears automatically after 24 hours, just like with Instagram Stories or those auto-vanishing status updates on WhatsApp.

You're in full control of the scope of your Messenger Day and can choose to share it with everyone on the service, people you're friends with or cherry-picked contacts.