Are you often disappointed with the results of your iPhone photography? Do you get pictures that don’t have the “pop” you want them to? Are the colors washed out? Or do you just want to move beyond the basics of snapping quick photos with your phone? If any of these apply to you, fear not! We’re here to help you take better iPhone pictures.

The new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S both pack phenomenal cameras in their small bodies. The iPhone 6 includes an 8-megapixel sensor (far larger than the first digital cameras), and the iPhone 6S has a whopping 12 megapixels available. Both phones include a lot of technology from Apple that promises to improve the quality of the colors and clarity of the photos as well. As you’ll see, the 6-used for the photos in this article-can result in some high-quality pictures.

But you don’t need a new iPhone to take great pictures. These seven tips will help you get the most out of every shot no matter which iPhone you’re using.

Understand Composition

When you take an iPhone picture, how much time do you spend thinking about exactly what to put in the shot? Probably not very much. You take out your phone, snap the photo, and move on. But if you want to take great pictures, you need to understand a bit about composition and how to frame up your shot.

Entire books have been written about photo composition, but this will be a necessarily brief overview. We’ll start with the rule of thirds, one of the foundational elements of many photography schools. Imagine that your divided into thirds both vertically and horizontally (as in the photo below). The rule of thirds states that the important parts of your photos should fall on or near one of those lines. Many people have a tendency to put their subject smack in the middle of the frame-and while this isn’t a bad way to go, it doesn’t add much visual interest.

Another common iPhone photography mistake is not getting close enough to your subject. It’s an easy one to make when you’re working with a smartphone camera, because you can’t zoom in (unless you’re using an iPhone camera lens, that is), so you’re going to need to walk up close. You can use digital zoom later, but that will result in low-quality pictures. So get up close to whatever you’re taking a picture of. Don’t let it get lost in the background!

Finally, use a foreground object to draw your viewers’ eye into the photo and give it depth. Especially when you’re photographing landscapes, the resulting image can feel rather flat. By placing an item in the foreground-such as the fence in the image above-you give your viewer something to focus on first. Their gaze will be drawn from the foreground to the background, creating a sense of depth.

Find Interesting Angles

When taking iPhone photos, most people snap away at iLevel (sorry; couldn’t resist). Instead of trying to replicate your own view of the scene, look for a way to make the photo more interesting by changing the angle at which you take the picture. Crouch down, stand on top of some nearby stairs, get under a latticework floor, or tilt your phone diagonally. These new perspectives make your photos more interesting, as they don’t just reproduce what people have seen before.

Low angles work especially well for most shots-the sky tends to give you a clean background, and looking up at something makes it seem larger, adding a sense of scale to your photo. And because we don’t usually see objects from this angle, it adds an element of the unfamiliar, which is great for making a photo visually engaging.

Use Light to Your Advantage

The iPhone is remarkably good at dealing with difficult lighting situations-in fact, I sometimes get better pictures from my phone than I do with my DSLR when the light is uncooperative. This means that you don’t have to worry about lighting as much as you might with other cameras, but it’s also a good idea to understand what light is doing to your photo.

Direct sunlight will blow out a lot of your photo, leaving you with a huge white spot that fades out toward the edges, obscuring much of your picture. Shoot away from the sun, in shadow, or, for the best pictures, on an overcast day, to get the best results. When the sun is shining and it’s high in the sky, you’ll get very harsh shadows; you can either avoid these to get a smoother picture or take advantage of it to get a dramatic photo with a lot of contrast.

Using light in interesting ways also makes for great photos. Get a silhouette of a person against a sunset. Use a bright light as a focal point for your photo at night to do the opposite. Photograph shadows and reflections. If the lighting in your photo is less than optimal, trying making the picture black and white. This can salvage many shots that are sub-par in color.

Understand HDR

High dynamic range (HDR) photos are becoming very common, especially among smartphone users. Put simply, cameras that use HDR actually take a number of different pictures at different exposures-usually dark, medium, and light-and combine them to get as much detail out of the different parts of the photo. A great example of where this is useful is when you’re photographing something in shadow under a bright sky (as in the image below). Your camera will usually pick up the details of either the shadow or the sky, but not both. HDR helps in these situations.

Most of the time, leaving HDR on Auto is fine. Your phone will detect when it could be helpful and enable it. However, if you’re going for a high-contrast shot that requires your subject or background to be at a significantly different exposure than something else in the photo, you may want to turn HDR off so that you have more control over where your iPhone camera picks out details. You can see just how much of a difference HDR can make in the image below (notice the details in the sky).

Also, be aware that many HDR photos have a very specific, over-saturated look. While the iPhone is good at blending exposures to give you really good photos, some of the results may scream “HDR.” Take a look at your photo after you’ve taken it and decide if you should re-take it with HDR off for a more natural look.

Choose Your Focus

In almost every photo, there will be elements that are in focus and elements that are out of focus. This is just a fact of photography (and of human eyesight). But that doesn’t mean you have to let your iPhone choose what’s in focus! If you want a specific part of your photo to be in sharp focus, and you’re less concerned about another area of the photo, you can make sure that your phone focuses on what you what.

Just tap anywhere on the screen to move the iPhone’s focus to that point. If you’ve tapped on something close to you, it will bring the focus in; if you tap something far away, the focus will move out. It’s that simple. To see it in action, just point your camera at an assortment of objects, some close, and some far away. Tap through them to see how it changes the photo as a whole.

You can also lock the focus in place and adjust your image as you see fit. To lock the focus, tap and hold anywhere on the screen. When you see the words “AE/AF Lock” displayed, the focus is now locked. You can move around all you want, and the phone won’t autofocus to another object. If you’re not sure why you’d want to do this, don’t worry-as you become a more experienced iPhone photographer, you’ll start to understand why autofocus can be problematic at times and you’ll start using the focus lock more of ten.

Use a More Powerful Camera App

While the iPhone’s built-in Camera app is nice, there are a lot of great alternative camera apps out there. Manual ($1.99), one of the most powerful and popular alternative camera apps, lets you control shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance, all things that you have full control of on a full-featured camera. It also has a built-in rule-of-thirds grid and a histogram, letting you get a better idea of how balanced the image is.

ProCamera ($2.99, pictured above) offers many of the same features as Manual, but includes a few more as well, such as being able to save your pictures in TIFF format, which retains more picture quality. It also shoots video, captures images during filming, and can even read QR codes, making it a very versatile app.

And if you’re looking for an app with a little more personal focus, check out our list of 15 great selfie apps!

Embrace Editing

Most people’s experience with photo editing ends at using Instagram filters, but there’s a whole world of great editing apps out there that will help you get the most out of your photos. VSCO Cam (free) is one of the most versatile editors, offering cropping, straightening, exposure control, temperature adjustments, and contrast editing. VSCO says that their app is built to “complement, not define, your photographs.” And because it’s free, it’s really tough to pass up.

Here’s a quick example of what VSCO can do. Below is an original picture:

And here’s what it looks like after a minute or two of quick edits:

If you’re looking for more specific effects, you can find apps for those too. Tadaa SLR ($0.99), for example, helps you to create shallow depth-of-field, which places one part of your image in focuses and blurs the rest a bit for a very artsy feel. Snapseed (free) works well as a general editor, but also provides a number of filters that will give your photos the specific feel you want. And if you’re looking for great black-and-white shots, Noir Photo ($2.99) will help you out with dramatic lighting that takes your photo to an entirely new level.

Now Start Shooting!

Photography is a great hobby, but it takes a lot of practice, no matter how well you’ve prepared and how many articles you’ve read. The main ingredient in photographic success is practice. Take a lot of pictures, and experiment with a lot of different settings, apps, and body positions. Bend the rules to create images that make your viewer uncomfortable. Break them to make a statement. Take pictures of everyday objects and momentous occasions. The more you practice, the better you’ll get!

What are you favorite iPhone photography tips? Do you use any specific apps? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

If you are an Android geek, you must be well aware of System UI Tuner options. System UI Tuner is a set of experimental features hidden in Android and it debuted with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The good news is, it’s a part of Android N as well and it comes with a new bag of tricks. So, what are the new options it brings and how to unlock it on Android N? Well, here’s how:

Enable System UI Tuner in Android N

Firstly, you will have to enable System UI Tuner on Android N to unlock the cool tricks it offers. To do it, go to Quick Settings, available at a swipe down from the notification shade and press hold the Settings cog icon for around 5 seconds. Once you release the press hold, you will get a message saying “Congrats! System UI Tuner has been added to Settings“. You will then find the System UI Tuner at the bottom of the Settings page.

After you have enabled System UI Tuner on Android N, here are a few options you can try:

Note: As Google puts it, these are experimental features, so they might not work as well as expected. To remove it, you can again press hold the Settings cog and select “Remove” when a prompt comes up.

1. Turn on Night Mode

The Night Mode aka Dark Mode that was part of Android M Preview is back and it’s part of the System UI Tuner options. You can enable it via the Quick Settings or go to System UI Tuner->Color and appearance->Night mode. The dark theme for Android now comes with the ability to turn on automatically depending on your location and time of day. You can also adjust the theme’s tint and brightness.

2. Calibrate display

If you are unhappy with your display’s colors, you can calibrate it with Android N. To calibrate your device’s display, go to System UI Tuner->Color and appearance->Calibrate display. You can then change the three bars that say Red, Green and Blue. The feature does not work in real time at the moment and you will have to hit “Apply” to see the changes. If you like what you see, you can select Ok, otherwise the settings will be reset.

3. Activate gesture to enable split screen

Split-screen multitasking is the biggest draw of Android N, as it finally brings true blue multitasking to the OS. While activating the multi window mode is easy enough, System UI Tuner includes an option to enable a gesture to start the mode. To enable the gesture, go to System UI Tuner->Other and turn on “Enable split-screen swipe-up gesture”. Once enabled, you can start the split-screen mode by swiping up from the recents/multitasking button and it looks darn cool.

4. Show Battery Percentage

Android N shows you your device’s battery percentage when it’s charging but if you want to see battery percentage at all times, there’s an option for that in System UI Tuner->Status Bar. Just scroll down below and tap the Battery option. Then. select “Always show percentage” and you will see the battery percentage being shown at all times.

5. Change clock style in status bar

Don’t like the clock style in Android N’s status bar? You can change it by going to System UI Tuner->Status Bar->Time. You can choose to show seconds along with the hours and minutes or you can even hide the clock icon. In this page, you can even hide any of other system settings icons from the status bar like WiFi, Bluetooth, Cellular Data etc.

6. Turn on/off ‘Do not disturb’ with volume buttons

Do not disturb is one feature we use often and you can even turn it on or off with the volume buttons. To enable volume buttons configuration with Do not disturb, go to System UI Tuner->Do not disturb and enable “Show with volume controls” and “Volume buttons shortcut”. After you’ve enabled it, you will see an enable ‘Do not disturb’ button when you press the volume button and you will be able to Turn On ‘Do not disturb’ by press holding the volume down button.

7. Show ‘full importance settings’ to set priority of notifications

While we are yet to unlock its full potential, “Full importance settings” do allow you to set priority notifications. You can enable it in System UI Tuner->Others. Once you enable it, swipe a notification slightly and tap the settings cog you see. You will then see a bar, which will let you set the priority of notifications from low importance to urgent importance.

Tried these System UI Tuner options in Android N?

These System UI Tuner options in Android N might be experimental features but they do bring in added functionality, which comes in handy. They also seem to work surprisingly well, contradictory to the ‘experimental’ tag. So, if you have installed Android N on one of the Nexus devices, go ahead and try out System UI Tuner and let us know what you feel.

Android Oreo brings a lot of new features which make your Android device even more secure and easy to use. Of all the features that come with the new update, there is one which is my absolute favourite. That feature is called Autofill and I have been waiting for this one since ages. Whether you are using password saving feature inside Chrome or using a password manager like LastPass, it's no secret that how easy they make it, to log into your accounts on different devices. Once you have saved all your passwords, all you need to do is to remember a master password and you are done. However, this feature was missing on the Android apps, that is, until now. With the new Autofill feature in Oreo, you can now log in to your apps with your saved passwords in Google or any other password manager that you are using. This is the best feature of Android Oreo for me, and today I am going to show you how to use it on your device.

Note: I tried the Autofill feature on my Nexus 5X and Google Pixel running Android Oreo 8.0.0.

Using The Autofill Feature in Android Oreo

Since the launch of Android Oreo, most of the major password managers like LastPass, 1Password, and Dashlane have rolled out updates to support this feature. Even if you don't use any password manager (which I highly recommend that you do), you can still use it directly using Autofill with Google. Autofill with Google uses the passwords that are saved by Google Smart Lock via its Chrome browser. So, let us take a look at both the methods one by one.

Using Autofill With Google

As I mentioned earlier, Google uses your passwords that you have saved while using the Chrome browser to let you use its auto fill feature. Needless to say, you need to be logged in with the same Google account on your device which you are using the Chrome browser on your desktop. So now, let's just get into the methodology.

1. First of all, make sure that your device is running on Android Oreo. Now open Settings, and go to System->Language & input and tap on “Advanced”.

2. Here scroll down to find "Autofill service" and tap on it. Now, enable "Autofill with Google".

3. Now, let us take an example to learn how to use this feature. Suppose you have just installed Twitter and you already have its login information saved with Google. Launch the app and tap on login.

4. Here, you will see a pop-up card telling you that Google can fill your login information, tap on it. The next screen will show you some information about this feature, ignore it and just hit continue.

5. Now, depending upon how many different Twitter accounts you are using, Google will provide you with options for all of them. Just tap on the one you want to use and all your information will be filled in.

Using Autofill With Password Manager

Using Android Oreo’s Autofill feature with third party password managers is very similar to using it with Google. Before we start make sure that you have a password manager installed on your device. If you have not use any such services till now, I highly recommend that you do. We have already created a list of the best password managers you can get in 2017. You can read all about them here. Now, let's get started.

Note: For this tutorial, we are using LastPass, but you can use any other password manager which has been updated to support this feature. As mentioned earlier, both 1Password and Dashlane now support this feature alongside LastPass. Also, you will need to set up LastPass or the password manager you are using to use Autofill in Android Oreo. 

1. Assuming you have your password manager installed on your device, go to the "Autofill services" settings as we did previously. However, instead of selecting "Autofill with Google"  select LastPass or the password manager you are using.

2. Like before, we will use Twitter as an example, so just launch the Twitter app and tap on login. Here, you will see that you can use your password manager to log in to your account. Tap on the pop-card.

3. Depending upon, whether you have enabled unlocking your password manager with your fingerprint or not, it will either ask you to enter your master password or a fingerprint authentication. After authentication, it will show you your Twitter login saved in your password manager. Tap on it, to auto-fill the login information.

As you can see, the process is almost identical to that used in Autofill with Google section. We are just changing the service which we are using as our password manager and nothing else.

Autofill Information in Apps on Android Oreo Devices

I love using password managers. They allow me to keep strong and unique passwords for all my accounts without having to remember them. But, they always remained a cause of pain whenever I had to use the login information on my Android apps, but, not anymore. Now, with the Autofill integration with Android Oreo, automatic login has become as easy on mobile devices as it was on the desktop. That's why it is my top feature of Android Oreo. What are your favourite features of Android O? Let us know, in the comment section below. Also, do share with us, whether you are excited about the Autofill feature or not.

Android is one of the most preferred operating systems out there, simply because of the customizability it offers. The user can change almost every aspect of one’s device, and even tweak it in certain ways to make sure their devices perform better. All of this is primarily dependent on your device’s config file, that is, the build.prop file. This file contains all the configuration data for your device as well as the Android system installed on it. Many power users modify this file in order to tweak their device furthermore. We recently did an article on some of the coolest build.prop tweaks for your Android device. Sadly though, since this is a system file, the general conception is that you need a rooted device. Well, don’t worry, as there is a way around that as well. So, if you’re an Android user looking to the build.prop file on their Android device but don’t have root access, read on, as we share with you our guide on how to e dit build.prop without root access:

Edit Build.prop Without Root Access

Note: The following method requires you to have a custom recovery like TWRP or CWM. You can either install the custom recovery or even choose to simply boot through it for this process. This is because you have full access to system files in recovery mode. Also, this is only possible if the system partition is mounted, something which stock recoveries don’t allow. I tried the following method on Samsung Galaxy S8 and Moto X Play, and it worked just fine.

• To begin with, download and install ADB and Fastboot drivers onto your system, as shown here.

• Install an advanced text editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text on your system. This is will be used later on to edit the build.prop file.

• Next up, switch off your device and head over to the recovery mode. Once there, tap on “Mount”. A list of all the partitions on your device will open up. Make sure the checkbox next to ‘System’ is checked, and the checkbox next to “Mount system partition read-only” is unchecked.

• Once you’ve mounted the /system partition, connect your device to your PC and open the ADB window. Once there, type in the following command to transfer the build.prop file onto your system:

adb pull /system/build.prop <path to save file>

For example, I wish to transfer the file to C:\Beebom on my system, hence the command that I’ll be inputting will be:

adb pull /system/build.prop  C:\Beebom

As you can see below, the build.prop file will now be transferred to the specified path, in my case,  C:\Beebom.

• Now that your build.prop file has been transferred to your system, you can edit it easily using the text editor you downloaded previously. To do so, simply right-click on the build.prop file and select “Edit with Notepad++” or any other text editor that you may have downloaded.

• A new Notepad++ window should now open and you should easily be able to modify the build.prop file. Once you’re done with your edits, simply save the changes.

• Now that you’ve edited the build.prop file, we need to transfer it back to your device. To do so, run the following command in the ADB window:

adb push <path to your file> /system/build.prop

So, since my file is located at C:\Beebom\, the command that I’ll be inputting will be:

adb push C:\Beebom\build.prop  /system/build.prop

• Now that you’ve transferred the modified build.prop file, you need to set its permissions as well. To do so, open up the ADB shell by typing in the following command:

adb shell

• Once you’re inside the ADB shell mode, type in the following command to set the right permissions:

chmod 644 /system/build.prop

And that’s it. You can now close the ADB window. Your build.prop file has now been modified as per your preferences.

Edit Build.prop Without Root on Your Android Device

Modifying your build.prop file can help you make more out of your Android device. The strongest advantage of Android over other operating systems is its level of customizability, something which is primarily dependent on the build.prop file. And while not everyone has root access, one can still modify their build files using the above method. Do note that whatever you do with your build.prop file, always and always have a backup ready just in case. Well, that’s all from my side but I would love to hear the multiple tweaks you tried to implement on your device in the comments section below.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated AAA gaming titles of the year, and with Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the horizon, my excitement for this game has reached an all-time high. Sure, I’ll admit the fact that the original Battlefront was mediocre at best, but this time around, EA & DICE have played smart by adding a promising single-player campaign. As a player, you'll be able to customize and upgrade your heroes, starfighters and troopers with abilities that you can exploit in battles.

This epic first-person shooter is all set to be released on November 17th, but you can access it right now even if you haven’t purchased the full game. In order to start playing right away, you need an Origin Access subscription if your preferred platform is PC or EA Access subscription if your preferred platform is Xbox One. The subscription can be availed at either $4.99 on a monthly basis or $29.99 on a yearly basis. Such a subscription based service is not available for the PS4 platform, so if you’re planning to play it on Sony’s console, you’ll have to wait a little longer.

The game is now available as part of the EA’s Play First Trials that exclusive to subscribers. As part of the trial, players will have a time-limit of 10 hours to play the game’s campaign missions and various multiplayer modes. If you actually enjoyed playing the game, you can purchase the game with a 10% discount that’s exclusive to Origin/EA Access users. However, if you’re a PS4 user, you can simply purchase the Star Wars: Battlefront II Elite Trooper edition that’s priced at $10 over the Standard Edition to access the full game 3 days before the actual release without any time limitations. It’s worth noting that the Elite Trooper edition is available across all the three platforms.

If you care even a little bit about your online security, ideally, you should enable two-factor authentication on all your accounts. However, although this practice is good for security, it makes logging in your accounts a little cumbersome. Waiting for a code and then entering it manually just doesn’t feel natural. However, if the inconvenience is the only thing stopping you from this security feature, there’s a very nifty solution for you, that is, if you use Google as your primary account. In 2016, Google launched its Google Prompt feature which made two-factor authorization very easy to use, however, it still kept the SMS and Calling as the default options. But today, Google made its Google Prompt feature the default two-factor authentication option. So, if you are interested in security, this is how you can set up and use Google Prompt for two-factor authentication:

Use Google Prompt For Two-Factor Authentication

Google makes it very easy to use two-factor authentication. This is really good because now you get the security of the two-factor authentication without the hassle that comes with it. But, before we can use this feature, we will first have to set this up, so, let’s see how to do that, shall we?

• Setting Up Google Prompt For Two-Factor Authentication

1. First, launch a browser on your desktop/laptop and then log into your google account. Now click on the following link to head to your Account Settings.

2. Now, under “Sign-in & security” click on the link that reads, “Signing in to Google”.

3. Here, under the “Password & sign-in method” you will find the “2-Step verification” setting. First, click on it and then on the “Get Started” button on the next page.

4. After you click on the Get Started button, you will be asked to sign in again for security reasons. Once you log in, you will see your mobile device (Android/iOS) on the screen. Click on the “TRY IT NOW” button. Now, Google will send a prompt on your device, just unlock the device and tap on “Yes”.

5. The last step is to add a backup two-factor authentication method in case the Google Prompt method fails. If you already have a number attached to your Google account, you can choose either the SMS or Call option. If not, you will either need to link your phone number or you can choose other methods provided by Google.

6. The last step is to enable the two-factor authentication. Just click on the “TURN ON” button.

• Logging In Your Google Account Using Google Prompt

Now, let’s see how we are going to log in our Google account.

1. Load Gmail on your browser and click on log in. Now enter your password as you always did. As soon as you enter the password, you will see Google asking for you to authenticate the login attempt on your smartphone using the Google Prompt.

2. As we did during the testing, unlock your phone and tap on “Yes” and you will be redirected to your account. See, how easy it is!

Google Prompt: Easiest Two-Step Verification Process

Although Google Introduced this feature last year, it kept SMS and Calls as default options for its two-step verification process. However, now Google has made its Google Prompt feature the default option for its two-factor authentication service. This shows that even Google thinks that the Google Prompt is a better solution for the two-factor authentication problem. Set it up for your account now and tell us, if now, you are  more likely to use the two-factor authentication then before, or not, either way, we will love to hear from you. Drop down your thoughts in the comments section below.

Twitter is one of the most influential social networking platforms on the Internet and has placed extensive focus on the security of its users. It has included SMS-based verification of account logins on the platform for multiple years but it isn’t the most reliable. Imagine you’re on the move and have no network, or want to log into your account on a tablet PC then SMS is obviously not the handiest option. Hence, Twitter recently debuted the ability to use third-party authentication apps to verify your sign-in attempt.

The third-party authentication apps are quite simple to setup and would come in handy for users who regularly sign in and out of their accounts. So, if you’re one of these individuals and were planning to simplify the verification process, we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide on how to set up a third-party authentication app. Follow the steps defined underneath to complete the setup:

Step 1: Setting Up Twitter Verification

Before you can set up a third-party authentication app to verify your sign-in attempts on Twitter, you’ll need to enable login verification for your account. This is the standard two-factor authentication that’ll help secure your account via SMS-based verification. Let us check out how to go about it:

Note: I set up login verification on my Redmi Note 3, running Twitter v7.28.0-alpha.636 and it worked perfectly fine. The method works almost similarly on both Android and iOS.

1. Open the Twitter app (Free) on your Android device, swipe towards the right to open the hamburger menu and tap on the “Settings and privacy” option at the bottom and go to the ‘Account’ section.

2. Under the Accounts menu, you need to navigate to ‘Security’ and tap on the ‘Login Verification’ checkbox to kickstart the process.

Note: Before you can set up login verification, you’ll need to add both your email address and phone number to your Twitter account.

3. You will first be informed on how the verification process works and asked to re-enter your password to move ahead with the process. You’ll then need to verify your mobile number by entering the 6-digit code you receive in the same window.

4.  Once the two-factor authentication is enabled, you will have to provide a unique code everytime you try to log back into Twitter. You can even use the backup code generated by Twitter (as shown in the screenshot below) once this process is complete.

Note: Don’t forget to save your backup code somewhere safe (e-mail or print copy), so you can use the same to access your Twitter account if you ever lose your device.

Upon a new login attempt, the login code will be sent to your message inbox since SMS is the default method for verification purposes. However, Twitter just recently made an important change to their two-factor authentication process and now allows you to use 3rd-party authentication apps to verify your login attempts.

Step 2: Use Third-Party Authentication Apps

Now that you’ve enabled login verification for your Twitter account, you can now follow the steps defined underneath to handover the verification process to a third-party app such as Authy, Google Authenticator or 1Password. Let’s check out the process:

Note: It is important to enable the standard SMS-based two-factor authentication, talked about in Step 1, on your Twitter account before shifting to a 3rd-party authentication app. I’m using Google Authenticator for this purpose as it is the easiest once to use and is also compatible with Twitter.

1. If you just completed the 2FA activation process, you’re already in the login verification section of the Twitter settings menu. Now, you’ll need to tap the “mobile security app” checkbox that’s underneath the Text message option.

2. You’ll now see a prompt with a ‘Start’ button, tap on the same and enter your password to start the setup process for a third-party authenticator app, i.e Google Authenticator (Free).

3. On the next screen, you just need to tap the ‘Set up now’ button and Twitter will automatically recognize any compatible third-party authentication app available on the device and register your account on the same.

Note: If you’re performing the verification process on your desktop, you’ll need to scan the QR code shown on your screen via any third-party authenticator mobile app. You then need to verify the same by entering a passcode shown in that app.

4. As you can see in the screenshots below, Google Authenticator pops-up with my Twitter credentials and you only need to tap “OK” to add your account to the same.

5. The final step requires you to verify the third-party authenticator app by entering a code from the same into Twitter. And voila, that’s it. Your third-party authentication app is now set up and ready for use.

Use Authentication Apps with Twitter Login Verification

Twitter is a hotbed for conversations and no user wants their privacy to be compromised, especially out of the blue. Thus, the added layer of security will give them some peace of mind, assuring them that their account cannot be logged in to without a code. Third-party authentication apps simplify the login process as you can enter the currently active code and do not have to wait for an OTP to land in your message inbox.

So, are you planning to secure your Twitter app with a third-party authentication app? Do share your experience with us in the comments down below.

Every year, a new version of Android arrives, with a lot of improvements and additional features. To take advantage of those improvements, developers keep updating their apps every now and then. They also keep adding new features to their apps to make sure their apps remain viable. However, updates don’t necessarily make an app better. Well, here’s why:

• Developers have to cease support for older versions of Android in order to accommodate some change in the code.

• Devices with older hardware find it difficult to adapt to the changes made for the current gen hardware.

• UI changes sometimes make the updated version cumbersome to use.

• Some beneficial features from the previous versions get omitted.

Thus, people often want to rollback to the previous version of the app or look for older versions, that are more suited for their device. We know that the Google Play Store doesn’t let you rollback an app to its previous versions. However, there are a number of third-party sources that offer older versions of Android apps for download. Here are some of the online repositories that let you download old versions of Android apps:

1. APKMirror

If you want to get the latest APK files of the most popular apps or hunt down its oldest available version, APKMirror is the place to go. The site provides APK files for the majority of apps from the Play Store. You can get the versions of an app released 2 years ago, from its repository. Unfortunately, you can’t get extremely older versions of that app, as they might not be compatible with the current set of codes on the app’s servers.

Getting the desired version of the APK is easy. You have to search for the app on the site’s search bar and scroll down to check out for all the older versions listed that can work with the current changes.

Then, just hit the link to your desired version to download it and install it on your Android device.

Visit Website

2. uptodown

uptodown is a repository for apps from all the major platforms. You can get old versions of your favorite apps from platforms like Android, iOS, Ubuntu, Mac and web apps. Like APKMirror, you can get the older versions of your desired app that are supported by the developer’s servers. However, unlike APKMirror, the variety of apps are limited, with only the well-known ones taking the stage.

To download an app’s older version, you will have to search for the app in the site’s search bar and tap on the “Versions” button to see a listing of all the previous version APKs. Then, you can just download the version of the app you want and install it.

Visit Website

3. APK4Fun

APK4Fun is another well-known repository for getting older versions of Android apps. Generally known for providing safe and secure APKs for side-loading them to your Android phone, the site provides a number of previous version APKs of popular apps.

Downloading them is easy too, you have to search for your desired app and you will find older versions of it listed below the download button. The website provides a lot of details around the version of the apps and you are given a choice of additional mirror links to download your preferred version of the app.

Visit Website

Note: These online app repositories let you download APK files of the older version of an app. To install APK files, you’ll have to enable the “Unknown Sources” option in Android Settings->Security.

Also, you’ll have to disable “Auto updates” from Play Store to make sure the apps don’t get updated to the latest version automatically. You can do so by going to Play Store Settings->Auto-update apps and tap on “Do not auto-update apps”.

How to Install Third Party Apps as System Apps in Android

 Get Older Versions of Apps easily on Android

The online repositories of the apps we have mentioned above are safe and secure. There are many other sites that host old APK files but not all of them are safe. Some sites offer APK files with malware, so make sure you download APKs from the aforementioned websites online.

So, if an app update has removed your favorite feature or it’s just not working well enough on your device, just install the older version and you should be good. If you know of any other websites that are equally good as the ones mentioned here, do write it down in the comments section below.