My defaults (2026)

I think sharing my list of default apps is a great idea for my first real blog post (see “Hello, blog”). Thanks to Robb Knight for this one! I promise myself that I’ll review this list in 2027. That will be my New Year’s resolution, made at the end of summer.

• Ad Blocker: I wouldn’t dare leave home without uBlock Origin
• Bookmarks: Just the browser’s built-in bookmarks manager
• Browser: Hardened Firefox on desktop and Safari on mobile
• Budgeting and Personal Finance: Apps from Ukrainian banks
• Calendar: I don’t use one (for real)
• Chat: Signal and Telegram as a necessary evil
• Cloud File Storage: iCloud+ with Advanced Data Protection
• Code Editor: Zed with AI turned off
• Contacts: Apple Contacts
• Design: Figma and Affinity (it’s free now!)
• Health: Waking Up, Portal, and UV Index
• Mail Client: Apple Mail and Gmail with personalization turned off
• Mail Server: iCloud+ and Gmail
• Meal Planning: I don’t use one
• Music: Apple Music and YouTube
• News: Kagi News
• Notes: Apple Notes and a little notebook on my desk
• Package Manager: Homebrew
• Password Manager: 1Password in the EU region
• Photo Management: Apple Photos
• Photo Shooting: Apple Camera
• Podcasts: YouTube
• Presentations: Apple Keynote
• Read It Later: I’m still looking for one
• RSS: I’m still looking for one
• Search: DuckDuckGo (sorry, Kagi Search, you’re too expensive for me)
• Shopping Lists: I’m just memorizing it
• Social Media: Bluesky, YouTube, and LinkedIn as a necessary evil
• Spreadsheets: Google Sheets
• Terminal: Ghostty
• To-Do: I’m still looking for one
• Translator: DeepL
• VPN: IVPN because of its energy-efficient iPhone app and ethical business model
• Word Processing: Google Docs

Special mention: Vorssaint deserves special attention. This brilliant FOSS app fixes all those notorious macOS quirks and replaces five other apps for me.