Cheap and Easy Apps, Gadgets to Help You Stay in Touch

One of the best ways to share experiences and memories virtually is through photos and videos. There are endless useful features in Google Photos, but one of the most valuable for families and friends is the ability to create and collaborate on shared albums. Create and access albums on the web or the apps (iOS, Android); each album currently supports 20,000 videos and photos, and Google Photos offers unlimited storage if you agree to compress uploaded photos to 16MP (otherwise, they count toward your overall Google account storage tally).

The app has plenty of smart bells and whistles to make the experience more special, from built-in photo-editing tools to automated features that stitch together collages and memories with AI.

To get started, click the Albums tab on mobile and the web, and select the "+" button to create a new album. Give it a name, and select photos from your phone or computer. Then share it with others by tapping the share icon () on Android or the web, or the three-dot menu () > Share on iOS.

To add photos or video to an existing album, tap the "add to album" icon up top (square with a plus sign on the top right) and select photos from your phone or PC. Find updates to shared albums in the Sharing tab.

Music is a powerful way to connect, but you don't have to be in a packed stadium, lighters (or smartphones) aloft, to be moved by a song. Music-streaming services let you take your tunes anywhere, and with Spotify, you don't have to make an old-school mixed tape to share your favorite music.

When you create a collaborative playlist on Spotify, any of your friends with access to that playlist can add or delete tracks. Creating one is simple—just right-click on any playlist and choose the "Collaborative Playlist" option. (If you find your friends are getting out of hand with their terrible music, shut off this option at any time.)

If you need help getting started, here's how to create a Spotify playlist.

Though many use Instagram as a way to connect with as many people as possible, the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app also lets you limit your stories to a "close friends list." So if you only want a select few to see a tour of your new apartment, vote on that night's outfit choices, or hear the latest drama, go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu (), and select Close Friends. Your follower list will appear; tap Add next to those you want as Close Friends. Then, when you go to post a story, you can share it with all your friends or just those on your Close Friends list.

Though Instagram has copied many of Snapchat's features in more easily shareable ways, Snapchat's ephemeral, disappearing snaps (which can be photos, videos, or text chats) can feel like a more personal way to stay connected and be silly with friends and family. There are endless ways to trick out your snaps, from different text styles, emoji and stickers, layered filters, and augmented reality masks and games. You can also customize icons and Snapchat groups for specific friends and group chats, and have fun keeping daily Snapchat streaks going with your closest friends and loved ones.

Marco Polo (Android and iOS) is a similar experience to Snapchat. The app is designed for busy people who want to catch up on-the-go, letting you to chat back and forth in video calls, but on your own time. Videos don't have to be live. You can give a tour of where you are staying abroad, say hi to the kiddos back home, or just chat without having to type. It's great for being able to see and hear loved ones, without having to set a specific time to meet for a Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts call.

The most popular messaging app in the world, WhatsApp makes it super simple to stay in touch with friends wherever you are. All you need to set it up is a phone number. WhatsApp doesn't (yet) have ads, is available on a variety of platforms, and has an array of friend-specific chat features to share location, send filters and stickers, or launch audio or video chats with the knowledge that all your communication is end-to-end encrypted.

Of course if you're a card-carrying member of the Apple ecosystem, iMessage and FaceTime should be your go-to ways to keep in contact. With iMessage, you can send messages back and forth with other iOS users (messages will be blue as opposed to green) without eating into your monthly text allotment.

Similarly, if you're on Wi-Fi, video chatting via FaceTime won't eat into your cellular data. (You can use FaceTime on cellular, if necessary. Make sure it's turned on via Settings > Cellular > FaceTime and toggle it on.) With iOS 12.1+, FaceTime supports group chat with up to 32 people; here's how to use it. (Skype can now handle up to 50 people if you have a truly humongous group.)

If you'd rather have a physical object to feel close to a loved one, these long-distance friendship lamps might do the trick. The lamps can turn on, off, or dim with just a touch to let people know you're thinking of them. Each person connects their lamp to Wi-Fi, and with each touch the lamp cycles through a rainbow of colors. Assign each loved one a color so when they tap their lamp, yours lights up with their special hue.

Smart displays makes it easier than ever to feel like friends and family far away are in the same room with you. More smart home devices are evolving from audio experiences to hybrid smart screen speakers with video chat capabilities, such as the Amazon Echo Show and Google Home Hub (or Facebook's Portal device.) As these smart displays become more popular in homes, you can cook dinner alongside friends or family, watch shows together, play games, or just chat in the living room or around the kitchen table as if the screen wasn't there at all.

If you have an extensive list of people you’d like to stay in contact with, but don't have time to send everyone a separate email, consider a newsletter. With email marketing tools like MailChimp, you can create a daily, weekly, or monthly newsletter to blast out updates about your travels or other adventures right to your friends' inboxes. Just don't go overboard; you don't want them unsubscribing.

Slack is mostly for corporate communication, but it can also help you keep in touch with friends and family. The free version of Slack lets you communicate with a person or group within a shared workspace, and saves up to 10,000 messages before they get deleted. If you don't care about preserving your message history, you can keep chatting for free forever. You can also customize your Slack instance by setting up as many channels as you want, adding custom emoji and Slackbot responses, and integrating apps like Giphy. If things get a little disorganized, here's how to keep Slack tidy.