From Tinder to Candy Crush, many of the apps seem geared to a younger crowd. However, there are many apps designed specifically for older, mature adults. With over 2.2 million apps in the Apple and Google Play Store, they’re just a lot harder to find. Don’t worry though. Here is a guide to the top must-have apps for adults over the age of 65.
Easy Facebook for Seniors: Let’s face it – everyone you know is on Facebook. From your children to your next door neighbor, a Facebook profile is essential for keeping in touch with everyone in your life. However, Facebook can sometimes be overwhelming for newbies. Easy Facebook for Seniors is a free app designed with an older generation in mind. It is more user-friendly than the original Facebook app and has no clutter or distractions to confuse anyone new to the app. You will only see what is absolutely necessary to stay in contact with friends and family.
Pillboxie: It can be a struggle sometimes remembering what medication you need when. Now, you can ditch those daily pill boxes and enter the digital age with a virtual one for $0.99. With Pillboxie, you can physically picture your medication in the app and drag them into pill boxes to organize your prescriptions. The app will also notify you when you need to take your daily medication.
Magnifying Glass with Light: As we age, our eyes get worse. Sometimes it’s hard to read the menu at a restaurant, a document at the bank, or a book from your library. However, with the Magnifying Glass with Light app you can aim your phone at whatever you’re reading and instantly magnify it. Another handy feature that comes with the app is a light that illuminates your pages to make it even easier to read.
ManDown: For $2.99, ManDown is a medical alert app that is handy for anyone living alone. When you download the app, you set up a profile with your personal and medical information as well as your emergency contacts. Then, you have your emergency and medical personnel at the palm of your hands. If you are having a medical emergency, you can simply hit the SOS button which will send an alert to your designated contacts with your location. There is also a phone monitoring feature that once activated, monitors your phone’s movement. If the phone does not move for 30 seconds, a pre-alarm warning is triggered and after a minute, a full-blown alert is sent to your contacts.
NextDoor: When you retire, that doesn’t mean you have to stop making money. With NextDoor, you can start your own small business and meet your neighbors at the same time. You post pictures of the items you’d like to sell and interested neighbors can respond if they’d like to buy it. The goal of the app, however, isn’t only to provide a platform for seniors to sell items online, but a way to connect with like-minded neighbors.
These five apps are essential for any senior’s phone. From medical emergencies to running a small business, you will have everything you need in the palm of your hand.