The Sundarban
Published Mar 28, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT
Tashreef’s fascination with person technology began in the college library when he stumbled upon a tech magazine, CHIP, which in the demolish inspired him to pursue a level in Computer Science. Since 2012, Tashreef has professionally authored over a thousand how-to articles, contributing to Windows Document and How-To Geek. He at the moment focuses on Microsoft Windows assert material at MakeUseOf, which he has been the utilization of since 2007.
With hands-on journey building net sites and technology blogs, he brings intellectual developer insights to his technical writing. You’ll leer his total work portfolio at itashreef.com.
You’ll also also stumble upon his short how-to video explainers, simplifying complex subject matters. Previous writing, Tashreef enjoys establishing short explainer movies, gaming, and exploring absorbing presentations.
Not too long in the past, I needed to plot up a phone for my getting outdated guardian, and some of the pre-put in apps were a tad too bloated for their utilize, critically on their older Android phone. I basically wanted to search out a lightweight browser, a total keyboard that suited their hunt-and-peck typing fashion, and, clearly, a messaging app that became a small bit more customizable.
Android phones contain a sort of Google apps pre-put in that can sluggish your phone down and feel unnecessarily bloated, whereas others, admire Google Maps, are incredibly effectively-made and a reduce aid above their opponents. After a small little bit of trial and error, I settled on three apps that made a noticeable distinction in efficiency when dilapidated completely for hunting and texting.
Firefox Point of curiosity
A stripped-down browser built for velocity and privacy
Credit ranking: Tashreef Shareef / MakeUseOf
The first thing I replaced became Chrome. Firefox Point of curiosity is Mozilla’s lightweight, privacy-first browser for Android, and or now now not it is a in actuality a sort of journey from the customary Firefox app. The establish standard Firefox offers you tabs, extensions, and a corpulent hunting toolkit, Point of curiosity strips all of that away. You earn one display cover, one net page at a time, and a trash can icon that wipes the entire lot in a single tap.
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That simplicity is the sole reason why it exists. Point of curiosity permits Enhanced Tracking Protection by default, blockading advert trackers, analytics trackers, and social media trackers with none setup. You’ll plod additional and block net fonts and JavaScript fully while you resolve on even much less recordsdata utilization. On an older phone with limited RAM, this makes an real distinction. Pages load noticeably faster because the browser isn’t pulling in tracking scripts and heavy advert frameworks alongside the assert material you in actuality resolve on.
The trade-off is that Point of curiosity doesn’t block YouTube advertisements or other embedded in-net page advertisements the formulation a corpulent browser with an extension admire uBlock Foundation would. It also doesn’t own tab give a boost to, bookmarks, or an extension system. But for someone who just true desires to discover something up, read a little bit of writing, or review an online establish without Chrome eating into their phone’s resources, Point of curiosity does the job and does it rapid.
Firefox Point of curiosity
OS
iOS and Android
Label model
Free
Firefox Point of curiosity offers you developed advertisements and tracker blockading feature, which you might maybe perchance also also combine with iPhone’s default Safari browser.
Easy Keyboard
A no-frills keyboard for total typing
Personally, I prefer SwiftKey over Gboard, which comes pre-put in on many Android devices. Each are phenomenal keyboards, but they’re also feature-heavy. Autocorrect, GIF search, AI solutions, clipboard managers, suppose typing — it all adds up. For my guardian who forms slowly with one finger at a time, some of these aspects just true earn in the formulation.
Whereas you happen to’re privacy-acutely conscious and resolve on a keyboard that doesn’t phone dwelling, FUTO Keyboard provides an infinite balance of aspects and usability. Its offline suppose typing engine is rapid, beautiful, and doesn’t ship your audio to any server. But FUTO soundless carries a gorgeous amount of weight for someone who just true desires the fundamentals.
Easy Keyboard takes a a sort of way. Or now now not it’s an launch-source keyboard with out a net permission, no tracking, no advertisements, and no autocorrect. Your entire app is diminutive, uses almost no RAM, and launches straight. You earn a clear layout with adjustable height, long-press symbols, an optional amount row, and a condominium bar that doubles as a cursor preserve watch over might perchance own to you swipe throughout it. That final feature is surprisingly valuable for fixing typos without precisely tapping between characters.
The evident scheme back is the entire lot it doesn’t own. No emojis, no GIFs, no swipe typing, no clipboard history. Whereas you happen to need any of these, you’re going to wish to swap to every other keyboard temporarily. But for a phone that is basically dilapidated for texting and total searches, Easy Keyboard retains things rapid and distraction-free.
Easy Keyboard
OS
Android
Label model
Free
Easy Keyboard is a lightweight Android keyboard app wrathful by minimalism, privacy, and velocity. It provides crucial typing aspects without advertisements, unnecessary permissions, or developed customization, guaranteeing a straightforward journey.
Samsung Messages
Extra customization than Google Messages provides
By messaging apps, or now now not it’s exhausting to counsel the rest over Google Messages. Or now now not it is the default RCS client on most Android phones, and RCS give a boost to is what makes texting between Android users feel new — read receipts, typing indicators, high quality media, and quit-to-quit encryption. Changing it formulation giving up aspects that most of us query from a messaging app in 2026.
That acknowledged, Google Messages soundless lacks the customization that Samsung Messages has equipped for years. Samsung permits you to plot person backgrounds, bubble opacity, and textual assert material distinction for every dialog individually. Google Messages handiest offers you a world light or dismal theme. Whereas you happen to’re someone who likes their messaging app to feel personal, Samsung’s per-chat customization is a clear salvage.
Samsung Messages also involves a trash bin that holds deleted conversations for 30 days. Delete a chat by accident in Google Messages,
