App stores are crowded places these days, and because storage space on your phone is often at a premium, you’ll want to find and fill it with not only the best, but also the most helpful apps out there. Because they come and go quicker than the latest fashion trends, and digging through Google Play, the iTunes App Store, or any of the others is such a mission; a little nudge in the right direction is often very welcome. Here are the apps we think you need to check out this week.

Here’s the paradox of social networks: the more active you are on them, the less social you’re being in real life. You can keep up with everything your friends are doing, but if you take a second, you realize that all those photos they post have a constant: you aren’t in them. If you’d want to step away from the screen and back into the picture, Free might be the tool to help you do it.

Designed as a modern social network for making you actually socialize, it utilizes some familiar tools from the days of internet yesteryear. You’re given three status options that you can set for yourself: going out, flexible, and busy. You and all of your friends list availability, making it easy to see who’s around and who’s ready to do something. From there, organize your pals with a roll call and hit the town together to make some memories that don’t have to be shared on a digital wall.

iTunes