App Defaults

Updated December 2025

I'm always interested to see what tools and apps people use, so have added this section as a living document of the software and tools I'm currently finding most useful.

Where possible, I've added referral links (marked with a *) to help support the site at no extra cost to you. I only refer apps, products and services that I use and am happy to recommend.

Obsidian for long-term notes, thoughts, tracking workouts, and journalling. I also have a vault connected to the repository for this site, and use Obsidian to write content.
Note to Self for quick temporary notes, such as shopping lists, things I need to remember for a few hours, etc.
Ente Photos for photo management. Ente is a privacy respecting and open-source photo management solution that I've been using for a year or so now. I'm really impressed with the speed of development and features it received in the past year, and feel my family's memories are much safer stored in an open-source platform which can ultimately be self-hosted. (Referral *: Enter code WBVL5B after signup to receive bonus storage).
Todoist for tracking any and all tasks, from taking out the bins to completing my tax returns. I also use Todoist in my business to track things like sales enquiries, content schedules, and so on. Nothing comes close to it for natural date input.
Waterfox, a privacy focussed fork of Firefox. Firefox was one of the originals and best, but their recent drive to introduce AI everywhere is disappointing. Waterfox is fast, reliable, and respects user privacy.
1-Password I use 1-Password for both business and personal. Other password managers are available, so please use one if you're not already!.
Proton Mail/Drive for email and file storage/sharing. Drive recently introduced Sheets, near-completing the G-Suite alternative I was looking for. Unfortunately, though, Proton Calendar is still not there (yet). (Use this referral link* for 2 week trial + USD$20 credit)
Proton Lumo is a privacy-respecting AI chatbot from Proton. I've been using it for coding assistance, and recently to plan and track my health goals. It's privacy focus allows me to upload data from Fitbit and Lifesum safely without the worry about it being used for training.
Zed for coding and plain-text editing. After years using VSCode, Zed has won me over with its speed, rapid rate of development and simplicity. I hope that native devcontainers support will be introduced soon.
Fitbit for health, weight, and sleep tracking. I've use Fitbit for years, and whilst I have been tempted to look at other platforms, Fitbit has recently received some nice updates. Android's introduction of Health Connect has also meant it can synchronise accurately with other health tools. Fitbit's food tracking isn't good though, so I complement it with...
Lifesum for food tracking. Lifesum is exceptional, and the recent introduction of AI to the food tracker (and its updates) have been a game-changer. Snapping a photo of food, or quickly typing a summary of meals is so much simpler than scanning individual barcodes and manually adjusting portion sizes.
Amazon Music I keep switching between Spotify and Amazon Music. I find Spotify much faster, more reliable, and has a bigger selection of pre-built playlists, but I'm trying Amazon Music again at the moment, and it is getting better.
Emma for finance tracking. Emma's integration with banks is great. (Use this referral link* to get 30 days of premium)
11ty for static sites, including this one.
... More to be added...