Just like choosing the right sweater or caffeinated beverage, selfies are not one-size-fits-all. If you pick the wrong one you may find yourself hurling your phone against the wall and need an iPhone screen repair. Since personal preference is imperative with app selection, here's a guide to which selfie app to choose based on the person you are. Thanks to a new category on the App Store called “Sharing Selfies,” none of these should be too difficult to find.
The person who likes to see both sides of the issue
You are the kind of person who looks out the window as much as you look in the mirror. People admire the scope of your vision – that you're able to remain introspective and worldly at the same time. If you have these qualities, the free app Frontback is for you. The idea behind it is enviably simple: a program that uses the front and back of your iPhone camera at the same time. Ever see something ridiculous happening on the street and want to show your friends both what's going on and your reaction at the same time? Well, creator Fred della Faille did too – and so he made it happen, according to The Verge. The app presents recipients with a “frontback” view of any situation.
“I feel like an emoji,” della Faille said. “Your face is the caption.”
With this app, you get the best of both worlds in a single screen, with the image on top, and your “caption” face beneath it.
“It's a totally new, fun way to take a photo,” one user said.
The person who enjoys looking back – but is too lazy to scrapbook
“Imagine an app that includes every day of the rest of your life,” the app description for 1 Second Everyday asks readers.
And that is exactly what it provides. Initially launched as a Kickstarter campaign request for $20,000, the project surpassed its goal nearly threefold and was launched after that. It is like a scrapbook for an increasingly ephemera-minded population. Whereas scrapbooking requires paper, glue, scissors and time, this app asks for only a second of your day – literally. It was developed by Caesar Kuriyama, who told the Kickstarter community that the project stemmed from his personal dedication to documenting his life. Nobody wants to watch four hours of home video to get to that one precious moment. With Kuriyama's app, you won't have to. Ten years of footage will fit into a compact and highly watchable hourlong film. It's like an Ingmar Bergman movie edited by Michael Bay.
For all the actors, improv comedians and general rabble-rousers out there
Many people use visual social media platforms as an outlet through which to perform – often outrageously. Just check out Best Vines to see what we mean. For all the attention-starved performers out there, SnapDash gives you a mobile stage. The app “turns every photo or selfie into a performance,” according to its website. SnapDash provides users with a selection of pre-programmed “Snaptions” – situations that must be acted out. You have mere seconds to consider the situation, organize your friends and perform it, all for the single photo that will capture your moment of collective artistry. Though it's possible to use the app individually, this is clearly a group-minded program, and the real challenge comes from communicating as a group in the very short period you're given. The app encourages exactly the kind of group diplomacy that will prepare you for a life of value – or just ridiculousness.