DirectChat

MAKING CHAT EASY. This messaging app bears a striking resemblance to Facebook Messenger, as it uses floating bubbles on the side of your screen. Once you’ve given it permission, DirectChat reads all incoming messages from your SMSes, Facebook, Whatsapp, work chat clients and so on, and puts a bubble on the side of your screen. Simply tap it to open the message and reply from there. There are limitations, as it only displays new messages, not the conversation so far (you’ll have to go to the app itself for that) and any app system functions, such as GIFs or special commands, won’t work here either. However, it’s very clean and useful, unifying everything into the one place, and floats on top of other apps, making it very quick. The free version is ad-supported and gives access for up to 12 different apps (including Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger and Slack), while the paid version for $2.59 offers customisation, and unlimited access. Considering how unobtrusive the ads are (you only see them when you’re fiddling with the settings), you could feasibly use the free version forever.