As of July 2014, there were 1.3 million apps available on Google Play and 1.2 million on iTunes, so we get that it may feel impossible to sift through it all to find the gems that can make your life easier and more feminist. Well, here at Ms., we’ve waded through the depths to find some nifty apps for feminists on the go! You can thank us in 2015…
1. Fairshare
Availability: iTunes, Google Play
Cost: Free
Rating: 4.5
Released: Feb. 21, 2014
You know how it is when you live in a house with several roommates or family members: chores need to get done, yet somehow, you find yourself always washing the stacks of dirty dishes left out, taking out the trash and wondering why Joseph didn’t go buy more paper towels after he used the last one. These tasks often land on women’s shoulders. Thanks in part to the way many of us are socialized growing up, girls and women are often expected to take on most of the housework and sometimes subconsciously gravitate toward taking care of household chores even if they believe everyone should be doing their fair share. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. FairShare lets multiple people organize their household, split costs, use a “smart” shopping list, schedule tasks and then log those tasks—including how long each one took. No more martyred dish washing!
2. GenderTimer
Availability: iTunes, Google Play
Cost: Free
Rating: No ratings yet
Released: Nov. 7, 2014
Contemporary research has shown that women and men generally speak about the same amount with some reports claiming that it’s actually men who speak more. Yet some people still insist that women are excessively chatty (check out these outrageous numbers). We can see that that claim is unfounded, just like we can see that women are grossly underrepresented in film speaking roles. So, if you’ve got a cousin or colleague who refuses to believe that notions about gender and speaking are skewed, prove it yourself with GenderTimer. The app allows you to record the number of women and men speaking in a scene, then tells you the percentage of how much each sex spoke. So whether you’re watching HBO or conducting research, this is the app for you.
3. iCitizen
Availability: iTunes, Google Play
Cost: Free
Rating: 4.5 to 5
Updated: Dec. 12, 2014
Sometimes politics are hard to follow, but iCitizen wants to help you keep up by providing aggregated political news and information catered to your interests. For example, you can choose “women’s rights” and stay up to date on the most recent elections, newly proposed ballots, politicians, legislation and the voting records of elected officials. It’s pretty sweet. iCitizen also lets you contact politicians and rate your own local and federal officials, so you can take an active role in politics. While iCitizen was released in 2013, it now may be more important than ever for us to get involved in our state and local politics, as that’s where most legislation in the United States gets passed.
Availability: Google Play
Cost: Free
Rating: 4
Released: Nov. 6, 2014
With protests against police brutality taking the United States by storm, there has been an increase in police-watch advocacy and information. While documenting police brutality will not always lead to justice, it’s still a crucial action to take. But sometimes, police will illegally order citizens to turn off their cameras, confiscate recording equipment and even arrest people for filming them in public. In most cases when police officers have broken the law by deleting people’s recordings, there sadly isn’t much you can do if you don’t have a cloud. But when you record police with the ACLU’s Mobile Justice app, there’s no chance for tampering, because as soon as you stop the recording, it’s sent directly to the ACLU. With the app, which is specific to individual states, you can also read a Know Your Rights brief for your state, alert nearby Mobile Justice app users if you are stopped by the police and provide more detailed incident reports to the ACLU. Right now, the app is only available for Oregon, Missouri, Nebraska and Mississippi (with an old ACLU app for New Jersey), but let’s hope that more are on the way.
5. TVTP (Trans* Violence Tracker Portal) Incident Reporter
Availability: Google Play, Blackberry
Cost: Free
Rating: 4
Updated: June 2, 2014
This app collects real-time data on anti-trans violence, including user-submitted incident reports, which it submits to the Trans* Violence Tracker Portal for investigation. With violence against transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, disproportionately high as compared to the whole population, it’s alarming how limited media coverage on this kind of violence is. TVTP Incident Reporter wants to change that by increasing accountability for the crimes and keeping track of everyday violence against trans folks.
Availability: iTunes
Cost: $2.99
Rating: No ratings yet
Updated: Nov. 2, 2014
SandApps has made a business out of making streamlined iPhone and iPad apps for everything from Agribusiness to Shakespeare. Somewhere in the middle, they also cover gender issues. With the Women and Girls app, you can track and compare different aspects of women’s progress and gender statistics using visual charts of your choice. Want to know how many girls are enrolled in primary education in India vs. Afghanistan? Or how many women hold seats in Hungary’s government? Now you can. Stay up-to-date on the global state of women’s rights.
Photo via Shutterstock.
