Our Tiny Planet
Guide
Best apps for long-distance couples
There is no single best app for long-distance couples. Most couples use a few: one for calls, one for messages, one for plans and something just for fun. This is a fair roundup by job, with what each well-known app is good at and what to check before you rely on it.
A note on fairness: we make Our Tiny Planet, a couples app that is coming soon, and it is included below. We have tried to describe every app plainly and kept to what each is known for. We have left out prices, because they change and differ from country to country, so check the app store page before you decide.
How to choose
Four questions narrow things down quickly.
- Do you both have the same kind of phone? Some apps only work on Apple devices. If one of you has an iPhone and the other an Android phone, check first.
- What do you need it to do? One app per job usually works better than one app that tries to do everything badly.
- How private is it? For messages and calls, look for end-to-end encryption, which means only the two of you can read or hear them.
- What is free, and what is not? Many apps have a free part and a paid part. Find out where the line is before you build a habit round it.
Video calls
FaceTime
Built into iPhones, iPads and Macs, and very simple to use. It is best when you both have Apple devices. Someone on Android or Windows can join a FaceTime call from a link in a web browser, but cannot start one. SharePlay, inside FaceTime, lets you watch or listen together in apps that support it.
Works on both iPhone and Android, as well as on computers, which makes it a common choice for couples on different phones. Personal messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted.
Zoom and Google Meet
Made for meetings, but handy on a laptop when you want a big picture or need to share a screen for a quiz or a slideshow of holiday photos. Free accounts have limits, so check them if you plan long calls.
Discord
Popular with people who play games. You can sit in a voice channel for hours, share a screen and drop in and out, which suits couples who like to be "together" while doing their own thing.
Messaging
You probably already have a messaging app you both like. If you are choosing afresh:
- Signal is run by a non-profit and is end-to-end encrypted by default. It works on iPhone, Android and computers.
- WhatsApp is widely used around the world, so friends and family are likely to be there too.
- iMessage is built into Apple devices and works best when you both use them.
Watching together
- SharePlay on FaceTime keeps films, shows and music in step in apps that support it.
- Teleparty is a browser extension that keeps several streaming services in sync, with a chat alongside. Each of you needs your own account for the service you are watching.
- Screen sharing on Discord or a video call works for many things, but streaming services often block it, so the picture can go black.
The low-tech way still works: choose the film, count down from three and press play. There are more ideas in our date night ideas.
Shared calendars and time zones
- Google Calendar lets you share a calendar with each other, and set an event's time zone.
- Apple Calendar can share an iCloud calendar between Apple devices.
- TimeTree is a shared calendar app made for couples, families and groups, on both iPhone and Android.
- Google Keep and Apple Notes both have shared notes and lists, good for a list of films to watch or things to do on the next visit.
- The world clock in your phone's clock app shows their time at a glance.
For planning calls across a big gap, the free time zone planner shows both clocks side by side. Our guide to making time zones work goes further.
Games
- GamePigeon adds small two-player games to iMessage, so it is for iPhone users only.
- Words With Friends is a long-running word game you play one turn at a time.
- Lichess and Chess.com let you play chess with each other, live or with days per move. Lichess is free and open source.
- Skribbl.io and Gartic Phone are drawing games that run in a web browser.
- Co-op games such as Stardew Valley and Minecraft let you share a world for hours at a time.
Our guide to games for long-distance couples has many more, including ones that need no app at all.
Apps made for couples
These are built for two people rather than adapted from something else.
- Paired gives you daily questions, quizzes and short exercises to do together, and shows you each other's answers.
- Between is a private space just for two, with messages, photos and a shared calendar of dates that matter.
- Locket Widget puts photos from close friends or a partner straight onto your home screen, so a picture from them appears without opening an app.
Couple apps differ a lot in what is free and what needs a subscription. It is worth trying the free part together for a week before paying for anything.
Letters and post
- Slowly is a pen pal app where letters take longer to arrive the further they travel. It is mainly built for meeting new pen pals, but the idea of a letter that takes time suits couples too.
- FutureMe lets you write an email that is delivered on a date you choose, which works well for an anniversary or a birthday.
- Touchnote turns a photo from your phone into a printed postcard and posts it.
- Scheduled send in Gmail or Outlook does the same job as FutureMe for a fixed date.
For letters to open at the right moment rather than on a date, see our guide to open when letters.
Music
Spotify's Blend makes a shared playlist that mixes your two tastes and updates as you listen. Spotify and Apple Music both let you make a playlist you can both add songs to. A playlist you both add to over months becomes a sort of diary.
Our Tiny Planet (coming soon)
Our Tiny Planet is our app, so take this section with that in mind. It is a shared world for the two of you rather than a tool for one job. You build a tiny planet together, with a house and a little village, and the rest of the app grows out of it.
In it you can send slow letters that take real time to fly the distance between you, write open-when letters, send a heartbeat, raise a pet together, and play more than twenty two-player games, including chess, pool, ludo and connect four. There is a film-night swipe match, a date-night planner, a shared calendar with countdowns, alarms set in your time that ring in theirs, and a time-zone and halfway-point helper. You can walk to each other on a map with your step counts, keep photo albums and a book of firsts, and talk in a private chat that is end-to-end encrypted.
What it is not: a video calling app. You would still use FaceTime, WhatsApp or similar for calls, alongside it.
It is not out yet. Leave your email and we will tell you the day it is.
Questions people ask
What is the best app for long-distance couples?
There is no single best one. Most couples use a video calling app such as FaceTime or WhatsApp, a messaging app they both like, a shared calendar, and one or two apps just for fun, such as a game or a couple app.
What apps can long-distance couples use to watch films together?
SharePlay on FaceTime works with apps that support it, and Teleparty is a browser extension that keeps several streaming services in step. Each of you usually needs your own account for the service you are watching.
Which video calling app works between iPhone and Android?
WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom and Discord all work on both. An Android user can also join a FaceTime call from a link in a web browser, but cannot start one.
Are couple apps private?
It depends on the app. For messages and calls, look for end-to-end encryption, which means only the two of you can read or hear them, and read the privacy policy to see what the company keeps and why.
Is Our Tiny Planet available yet?
Not yet. Our Tiny Planet is coming soon to iPhone and Android. You can leave your email on our website and we will send you one email on the day it is out.
