Whether I am configuring a new iPhone or iPad, or restarting from scratch (which I often do on iPads), there are few essential third-party applications that I install first. Here's a quick rundown of my must-have third-party applications:
Password Manager. iOS and iPadOS have a built-in password manager, but you cannot put all your eggs in one basket, right? Yes, I use the iCloud password, but I also install third-party password managers. I have 1Password and ProtonPass. Currently, ProtonPass serves as my archive. I am currently evaluating Bitwarden as a replacement for 1Password.
Note taking. Tot is my must-have app. The built-in Notes application is, of course, more than adequate for my use, but Tot is simply indispensable! This is my extended clipboard app, note app, and scratch pad.
Messaging. The built-in Messages is the default, of course, but since it is not cross-platform, I use Signal. Yes, for cross-platform privacy and security, and not to forget convenience, Signal is the best solution out there. Signal is run by a foundation (yeah, others are beholden to their investors, or can be bought and enshittified by new owners), and the foundation has no interests in using your data, metadata and chat/voice data, to monetize.
Mail. I use Fastmail and ProtonMail. Yeah, I have too many e-mail accounts, and am trying to reduce it already.
VPN. I have a life-time subscription to Windscribe, but I also have a Wireguard VPN server at home. These two applications are must-haves on my iPhone and iPad.
Social Media. I only use two (2) social networks, BlueSky and Mastodon. Currently, it is the BlueSky's official app, and for Mastodon, Ice Cubes, a FOSS Mastodon client.
Browser. I am not much into third-party web browsers, but I install DuckDuckGo and Firefox (or sometimes Firefox Focus) as alternatives when sites fail to render on Safari.
Photo and video. Halide is my third-party camera favorite, and Blackmagic cam is the one for video capture.
News. I have Apple News+ as my main source of news, but my third-party news application is an RSS reader, NetNewsWire. On the iPad, I have Flipboard, too.
Others. Financial applications (bank, mobile money), ride-sharing and food delivery applications.
Notice that I do not use any of Meta's applications. I also do not have any Google application installed on my devices (work GMail is retrieved by Fastmail).
There are other utilities, tools, games, that I also install, but not with the priority of those mentioned above. I guess if I were to have a very limited number of third-party applications to install, these are it. What about you? What are your must-have third-party applications?
1Password - https://1password.com
ProtonPass - https://pass.proton.me
Bitwarden - https://bitwarden.com
Tot - https://tot.rocks
Signal - https://signal.org
Fastmail - https://fastmail.com
ProtonMail - https://proton.me
Windscribe - https://windscribe.com
Wireguard - https://wireguard.com
BlueSky - https://bsky.app
Ice Cubes - https://github.com/Dimillian/IceCubesApp
DuckDuckGo - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/duckduckgo-private-browser/id663592361
Firefox - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/mobile/ios/
Halide - https://halide.cam
Blackmagic Cam - https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccamera
NetNewsWire - https://netnewswire.com
Flipboard - https://flipboard.com