Top 20 Useful and Entertaining Apps for Elderly People

That electronic device in your pocket or on your desk gives you lots of power, especially if you download the right apps. The best apps for elderly people run the gamut from games and media experiences to visual assistance tools. Below, learn all about nearly two dozen of these apps and how you can use them.

1. Meal Village

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Meal Village is among the meal delivery services most often used by older adults in Chicagoland. Through the Meal Village app, you can have fresh and tasty meals delivered chilled right to your home every day. Just heat them for 2 minutes, and they're ready to eat! It's that easy to order great food from your phone.

Meal Village caters to a variety of dietary preferences. Whether you need low-sodium, diabetic-friendly, or vegetarian meals Meal Village has got you covered. You can purchase meals on the go without any commitment. Meal prices start at just $6.95 per meal, making it both affordable and convenient for you.

2. Words With Friends

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

This word game is among the best entertainment apps for older adults. For starters, it's similar to Scrabble, a game that many older adults know well. Additionally, over the years, the app has earned a justified reputation as a way to stay connected with friends and family. You can play against your loved ones in this online game over days or weeks, making it easy to keep in touch.

3. GoodRx

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

You can use the GoodRx mobile app to get medication discounts of up to 80% at drugstore chains. The app offers additional rewards that you can use to further drive down your costs. Alongside its discounts, GoodRx includes a medication tracker, prescription notifications, and care services such as short-term medication refills.

4. Spotify

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Maybe you aren't yet using a music streaming service despite these app's prevalence. In that case, Spotify certainly makes the list of great apps for older adults. The joy of accessing nearly all recorded music (and podcasts) right from your mobile phone can be a tremendous thrill at any age. Plus, Spotify doubles as a simple social media app since you can see your friend's profiles and playlists.

5. Audible

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Another prominent app with podcasts, Audible is best known as a leading app for listening to audiobooks. This makes the app highly entertaining for, in particular, older adults who love reading but have experienced some level of vision loss. You can also access audio sleep aids or guided meditations through the Audible app.

6. Speechify

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

If you have trouble reading small print, Speechify can help. This app takes words on a screen or in print and speaks them out loud. This way, it's easier to enjoy news articles and understand emails. The speed control, text highlighting, and voice selection features are a help as well.

7. MyFitnessPal

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

For some, getting older means changing the way you eat. These shifts can go better when you track them as you make them, and MyFitnessPal is a top-quality app for this need. It's also a fitness app through which you can record your exercise and see your progress over time. The app comes with exercise and recipe ideas to keep you inspired and motivated.

8. Magnifying glass and light apps

Price: Free

Available for: iOS (Magnifying Glass With Light) and Android (Magnifying Glass + Flashlight)

If you're visually impaired, magnifying glass and light apps can help. They turn the compact device right in your pocket into a digital zoom-in and zoom-out tool. These apps enable you to turn up your phone flashlight's brightness or dial it back. You might find these apps handy for reading in dimly lit spaces or making sense of the small text on medicine bottles.

9. Medisafe

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Older adults can use Medisafe to set and stick to medication schedules. You can also use this great app for older people to manage over-the-counter items. Along the way, the app will alert you to potential drug interactions, remind you when it's time to schedule refills, and track key health metrics.

10. Ridesharing apps

Price: Free

Available for: iOS (Lyft, Uber) and Android (Lyft, Uber)

Lyft and Uber, the two most popular ridesharing apps, are especially convenient for many older adults. Namely, for older adults with mobility issues but without a car, Lyft and Uber take the hassle out of getting around. You can simply hail a ride from the app whenever you need to go somewhere, and it'll usually arrive within 10 minutes. The rides can be a touch expensive (though less costly than taxis), and the convenience is worth the cost.

There are additional options in the Chicagoland area. Some of those apps include Arro and Curb for e-hailing taxis throughout the city.

11. Lively

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

You can use this app to call emergency services whenever you feel unsafe or need medical attention. The person on the other end of the line will stay on the phone with you until help arrives. You also have the option for Lively to contact your family or friends as you seek out emergency assistance.

12. AARP Now

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Standout tools within AARP's feature-rich mobile app are its built-in games and local search tool for member discounts. You also earn AARP Rewards each day you use the app or when you record steps, cycling, or swimming through your smartphone fitness tracker. Both AARP members and non-members can use the app.

13. Be My Eyes

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

As this app's name suggests, it can make a world of difference for visually impaired older adults. You can use it to read instructions or product labels, put together an outfit with matching colors, or do anything else visual-based. It's also available in 185 languages, so you can use it no matter your first language or what you're trying to read.

14. Google Maps

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Older adults with memory challenges may especially benefit from Google Maps tool for saving one's parking spot. To use this tool, tap the blue circle on the map showing your location. You'll see a Save Parking button appear in the white menu that pops up toward the bottom of your screen. Tap this button to mark your parking spot so you can easily find your car after you run errands.

15. Empower Personal Dashboard

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

If you've retired or will soon do so, you'll likely find this app highly useful. Download the app to track your retirement savings alongside your budget, mortgage, cash, and other financial assets. Whether you're planning to stop working soon or have already done so, Empower Personal Dashboard helps you control your finances.

16. Snapfish

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

You might have grown up on printed photo albums and framed pictures. You might also be annoyed with how many photos you've built up within your phone's storage. In either case, Snapfish can help. This free app gives you 100 four-by-six-inch prints per month, with discounts on other print sizes as well. From there, you can remove photos from your phone storage without any worries about losing them.

17. LastPass

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

If you struggle to remember your passwords for apps and websites, you'll benefit from LastPass. This app stores all your passwords and auto-generates and saves new passwords for all apps and sites you use. The result is enhanced security without any need to memorize a whole bunch of letters and numbers. Beware, though, that you may need to pay a small amount per year to use LastPass on more than one device.

18. Pocket Physio

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

When getting ready for or recuperating from hip or knee replacement surgeries, certain physiotherapy exercises can help. Pocket Physio guides you through all these exercises via written guidance and videos. The app also includes breathing exercises and tips on pain management and how to use mobility assistance devices.

19. Luminosity

Price: Free

Available for: iOS and Android

Older adults with dementia may find that Luminosity helps them sharpen their memory. The app comes with games designed to stimulate memory and improve how quickly your brain moves through certain processes. You can look at the app's analysis of your gameplay to understand your cognitive patterns and decide what to train.

20. Find My iPhone or Google Find My Device

Price: Free

Available for: iOS (Find My Phone) and Android (Google Find My Device)

With these apps, you'll never again lose your phone or other devices. To start, connect all your devices to whichever app is designed for your operating system. Then, confirm that you can successfully use the app on one device to generate a sound on another. If so, you're all set with these apps, and you can use one of your devices to locate the others if they go missing.