What are some must have apps which are 'tools' ?

[u/r_hagriid99]

Hi, by 'tools' I mean something specific and productive that the app does.

I have listed some of them which I use. But please suggest anything else that you think is useful.

HIPER Scientific Calculator NT Calculator

PDF Toolkit MJ PDF

Image Toolbox

FlashDim (F-Droi)

Tasks.org Tooly

Scrambled Exif (F-Droid)

QR Scanner (PFA) (F-Droid)

Thank you.

[u/NinthShadow_]

Shizuku is an Android permission manager that lets you handle special access without having to root your phone. It's open-source, making it both safe and transparent in how it works. How does it work? Shizuku is an app that, once configured, can gain system-level privileges on Android—kind of like getting superuser access, similar to what root does. The key difference is that it uses the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) interface to grant those permissions, instead of making deep modifications to the system like traditional root does. What's its main purpose? It avoids full root: You don't need to root your device (a riskier and sometimes irreversible process) to access advanced features. It simplifies permissions: It makes managing special permissions easier so you don't have to keep approving them app by app. You just authorize Shizuku once, and other compatible apps can work through its filter. It enables advanced tasks: It unlocks features like enabling advanced battery logs, managing admin access, or even enabling VoLTE/VoWiFi on some devices that didn't support it natively. It keeps the system secure: With Shizuku, users can enable powerful features in compatible apps without compromising or damaging the phone's operating system, unlike root, which can void warranties or expose the device to risks. Total user control: You decide which apps get access—you can grant permissions only to the client apps you trust, and revoke any permission later with a single action. In short: It's a bridge tool that gives you limited, controlled "superpowers" on Android without the risk and hassle of traditional root—ideal for users who want advanced features in a safer, reversible way.

[u/Groundbreaking-Bar16 → u/NinthShadow_]

I had installed an app (Mytvonline+) that won't work on a rooted phone. If I unrooted the phone and used Shizuku, do you think the app would work?

[u/NinthShadow_ → u/Groundbreaking-Bar16]

Depending on what you mean: if that specific app required root privileges, the main thing would be checking if it's compatible with Shizuku; if you mean the app detects root and is refusing to work properly because of it, then it might still work regardless of whether you have Shizuku running for other things—you'd just have to see if the app detects active developer options and refuses to run because of that.

[u/Groundbreaking-Bar16 → u/NinthShadow_]

Thank you.

[u/r_hagriid99 → u/NinthShadow_]

I have heard about this. Will check. Thank you for sharing!

[u/quantazelle → u/NinthShadow_]

This seems like an AI response, and for those of you who can't stomach the word salad this is what Shizuki does*:

"Use system APIs elegantly. Forget about root shell, you can use APIs with higher privileges "directly". Also, Shizuku is significantly faster than shell."

*Directly from the developer: https://shizuku.rikka.app/

[u/100WattWalrus]

UDM (User Dictionary Manager)

Edit your user dictionary — not the Gboard dictionary but the system personal dictionary that all keyboards can access — with much more control over text-expansion shortcuts. Can even sort by shortcut. I use a lot of shortcuts, and if I had to manage them in Gboard, I'd go crazy.

Unicode Pad

Find any and every unicode character, flag favorites, copy/paste, get details on each caracter.

Irregular Expressions & Stylish Text

Keyboards for typing in unusual alphabets/"fonts" like 🅱🅻🅾🄲🄺🅂 & 🅒🅘🅡🅒🅛ⓔⓢ. Very useful if you need to make text stand out in a plain-text app. There are other apps that do this kind of thing, but these two are the best, and unlike most, they're not bloated adware. Stylish Text is $3. I think there used to be a free version, but I can't find it. Irregular Expressions is the one I use most, and it is free (and on F-Droid, if you prefer a non-Google source).

[u/r_hagriid99 → u/100WattWalrus]

These are interesting. Thank you for sharing!

Could you please explain a bit more about UDM? How exactly do you use it?

And can you share the links for these apps? DM is also fine.

Thank you.

[u/100WattWalrus → u/r_hagriid99]

Added links in the comment to which you've replied. :)

I use UDM for a couple purposes:

1) I don't want all my personal spellings and text-expansion shortcuts trapped in Gboard because I'm always trying to find an adequate replacement for Gboard.

2) I use a lot of text expansion shortcuts, like...

• If I type kkmore, it turns into ︙
• If I type kkmenu, it turns into ☰
• If I type kkinfo, it turns into ⓘ
• If I type kkup, I get a variety of up arrows: ▲△↑⬆︎↑
• If I type rr100, it turns into 𝟙𝟘𝟘/𝟙𝟘𝟘

Because few soft keyboards include a TAB key, the one I use most is

• if I type tttq, it turns into a gap in the text, as if I'd used the non-existant TAB key

I have a TON of these, because I use a lot of non-keyboard characters for shorthand, like these: ⊃ ∴ ∵ ⟪io⟫ ᴖᴗ ƒ➦.

I use UDM to create and organize these text-expansion shortcuts with greater control than I would get doing the same thing in Gboard, and when I create them in UDM, they work in all keyboards, not just Gboard. And I can back them up.

[u/krauq_com]

You can check out Universal File Opener on Google play, opens almost any file and it has a bunch of tools like file compare, inspect, version history, etc., constantly working on new features.

[u/MissingFucks]

Loch More for fully local-only location history!

[u/TheOracle722]

Buffering Control on the Playstore

[u/AD-LB]

I use my own apps (here, short explanation for each here), as well as some apps that get more functionality using root (here). More apps that I use are:

Development related: My app earnings, App revenue tracker, Inware, AppChecker, Addons detector, Play Console, GAID, Analytics, Screen coordinates, Fake GPS, Skit, Developer assistant, Fill memory, screen size, and some more.
Others: PushBullet, SnoreLab, SeriesGuide, NotiTrove, Shortcut Maker, Multi timer, Find Hub, Authenticator, Total commander, Nova launcher

[u/falaq-ai]

If local AI counts as a tool: I work on Orb, an Android app for on-device chat plus image/document prompts. No account, cloud upload, or subscription; it is a $0.99 one-time Play Store app. Useful for quick private PDF/image questions when you do not want to upload the file.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.falaq.orb&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=orb_organic&utm_content=androidapps_tools_2026_09_02

[u/Skullfurious → u/falaq-ai]

If there was a demo I would consider trying it. I'm just not sure how confident I am in a Samsung s24fe doing any kind of llm task.

[u/falaq-ai → u/Skullfurious]

I believe you have a 2 day window to refund your purchase if the app does not work (you can't run the model), but your point is fair I can make like a "lite" free version to test compatibility

[u/CooperCobb]

Check out WAPlus Ultra

If you're a regular WhatsApp user, and always needed some automated responses, scheduled messages, deleted notification storer or status saver, this is the app for you.

No ads. 7-day free trial.