14 Best Apps for Best Friends in 2026

Texting your best friend is easy. Feeling close to them when you're both busy, in different classes, different cities or different time zones is harder. The apps below aren't another chat app; they're small rituals: a photo that appears on their lock screen, a pet you both have to feed, an alarm that wakes them up with your voice. We grouped them by what you want to do together, so you can pick two or three instead of installing all fourteen.

Cute apps for best friends: widgets, pets and photos

1. Locket Widget: photos straight to their home screen

You snap a photo in Locket and it shows up in a widget on your friends' home screens a moment later. No feed, no likes, no followers, just the people you added. It's the app most best-friend duos start with because it's so low effort: a picture of your lunch, your outfit or your cat becomes a tiny "thinking of you". You can add a widget just for one person, so your bestie gets their own spot on your screen. Free, iPhone and Android.

2. Widgetable: a shared pet and cute widgets

Widgetable turns your home screens into a shared space: a virtual pet you both feed and play with, a counter of how many days you've been friends, a widget that shows the distance between you, mood bubbles, doodles and photo frames. The shared pet is the hook: it gives you a reason to open the app every day. Free with optional paid extras, iPhone and Android.

3. A shared photo album (iCloud or Google Photos)

Not flashy, but best friends say it's the one they're glad they set up. Make one shared album for the two of you and drop in screenshots, trip photos and memes. Years later it's a timeline of your friendship. iCloud Shared Albums are built into iPhone; Google Photos shared albums work on both platforms. Free.

Daily rituals: wake-ups and check-ins

4. PingPal: wake each other up

PingPal lets you set an alarm on your best friend's phone. Record your voice ("GET UP, we have a test in an hour"), pick a song, add a photo or a GIF, and choose the time. It rings on their phone like a real alarm, even if it's on silent or Do Not Disturb, and it works between iPhone and Android. You can ask for a wake-up proof: a morning selfie, copying a pose, or a 10-second dance video. It's perfect for friends who share early classes, gym mornings or a flight, and for friends in different time zones who want to be the first voice the other hears. Free, iPhone and Android.

Wake up your bestie with your voice tomorrow. PingPal is free on iPhone and Android.

5. BeReal: one real moment a day

Once a day, at a random time, BeReal asks everyone to post a photo from the front and back camera within two minutes. With a small friends list it becomes a daily window into what your best friend is actually doing, not the curated version. Free, iPhone and Android.

6. Snapchat: streaks and quick snaps

For many friends, the Snapchat streak is the friendship ritual: send each other a snap every day and the counter grows. Add Snap Map if you both want to see each other's location, or keep it off with Ghost Mode. Free, iPhone and Android.

7. Marco Polo: video messages for different schedules

Marco Polo is like a video walkie-talkie: record a message, your friend watches and replies when they can. It's great when you're in different time zones or have opposite schedules and live calls keep falling through. Free, with a paid plan for extras, iPhone and Android.

Fun apps for best friends: games, movies and music

8. GamePigeon: games inside iMessage

Pool, word games, cup pong, darts and more, played turn by turn right in your chat. Zero setup and very addictive. Free, but iPhone only (it lives in iMessage).

9. Discord: hang out, play, stream

Make a private server for you two (or your whole friend group), drop into a voice channel while you study or game, and share your screen to watch something together. Free, phone and computer.

10. Teleparty: movie nights from different places

Teleparty syncs Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube and other services so you both press play at the same moment, with a chat on the side. Each person needs their own subscription to the service. Works best in a desktop browser. Free basic version.

11. Spotify Jam and Blend: music together

Blend makes a playlist that mixes your tastes and updates over time; it's fun to see what you have in common. Jam lets you listen to the same queue at the same time and both add songs. Blend works on free accounts; starting a Jam needs Premium. iPhone, Android and desktop.

Practical apps: location, plans and money

12. Find My, Find Hub or Life360: share your location

Best friends who share locations say it's mostly for small things: knowing they got home safe after a night out, or seeing they're five minutes away. Find My is built into iPhone, Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) and Google Maps location sharing work on Android, and Life360 works across both with extras like arrival alerts. Only share if you both want to, and you can pause it any time.

13. A shared calendar: never miss a plan

Google Calendar (free on both platforms) lets you share one calendar for trips, birthdays and "next time we see each other". If you're in different time zones it shows each event in your own local time.

14. Splitwise: split costs without the awkward bit

Trips, concerts and Uber rides add up. Splitwise keeps a running tab of who paid what, so nobody has to remember or ask. Free basic version, iPhone and Android.

All 14 apps at a glance

If you only install three: Locket for the everyday photos, PingPal for mornings, and one "together" app (Teleparty, Discord or Spotify Jam) for your weekly hangout.

10 things to do with your best friend on your phones

1. Wake each other up on exam or interview days with a voice message alarm.
2. Start a Snapchat streak and see who breaks first.
3. Name your Widgetable pet together and take turns feeding it.
4. Make a Spotify Blend and each pick a "song of the week" for it.
5. Have a Friday movie night on Teleparty with snacks you both buy.
6. Play one GamePigeon match a day; loser picks the next movie.
7. Send a "morning selfie challenge": both of you post the first photo after waking up.
8. Keep a shared album called "us" and add one photo every week.
9. Plan your next meet-up in a shared calendar, with a countdown widget.
10. Set a surprise alarm for their birthday morning with a song you both love.

Want ideas that don't need a phone? Here are 100 things to do with your best friend, at home, outside and from far away.

Looking for games that need no download at all? Try these games to play with your best friend over text, call and FaceTime.

Long-distance with a partner rather than a friend? See the best apps for long-distance couples.

FAQ

What is the best app for best friends?

For everyday closeness, Locket Widget (photos on each other's home screen) is the most popular. Add Widgetable for a shared pet and PingPal if you want to wake each other up.

Are there free apps for best friends?

Yes. Every app on this list has a free version. Some, like Widgetable, Marco Polo and Spotify, have paid extras.

What are good apps for long-distance best friends?

Marco Polo for video messages across time zones, Teleparty or Discord for watching together, Locket for daily photos, and PingPal to be the first voice your friend hears in the morning, even if it's a different time where they live.

Is there a widget app for best friends?

Yes: Locket Widget shows your friend's photos on your home screen, and Widgetable adds a shared pet, a friendship day counter, a distance widget and more.

Do these apps work between iPhone and Android?

Most do: Locket, Widgetable, PingPal, BeReal, Snapchat, Marco Polo, Discord, Spotify, Life360, Google Calendar and Splitwise all work on both. GamePigeon is iPhone only, and Find My only works between Apple devices.

Related: apps for long-distance couples · wake-up texts for friends · send an alarm to a friend's phone · all blog posts