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How to add your podcast to iTunes

Here’s how to share your podcast with the world…

Despite all the competition, Apple Podcasts is still the place that the majority of listeners go to when searching for new podcasts. They’ve been in the game since the very beginning, and it would be completely irresponsible to not have your podcast on their site. Thankfully, they also have one of the easiest application processes for submitting your podcast, so you don’t have to go through an extreme process to get onto their platform. Here is an easy step by step guide on how to put your podcast on iTunes.

How to add your podcast to iTunes

Step 1: Go to the iTunes Connect site and login with your Apple ID. If you don’t have one, you’ll have to create one.

Step 2: Enter your RSS Feed URL and press “Validate.” Note: You may have to press a “+” symbol in the top left corner if you already have a podcast associated with your Apple ID. This will bring you to the page where you can enter your RSS Feed URL.

If you’re hosting your podcast on SoundCloud, then you can find the RSS feed under “Settings” and “Content”. If you’re hosting it on another site and you do not know where to find your podcast’s RSS Feed URL, rss.com made an easy guide to help you find it.

10 simple steps to creating your first podcast

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Additionally, there are some requirements to what has to be in your RSS feed to qualify. The RSS feed must contain a title, description, and registered language. You’ll also have to place the podcast into a maximum of three different categories that Apple has listed, as well as marking whether the content is explicit.

You may also want to check out the other requirements Apple listed if you are worried about the content of your podcast possibly going against the values of Apple. Most of these are guidelines for the titles and artwork, but some include the type of content that is restricted by Apple.

Step 3: After pressing “Validate,” your podcast’s information should appear. Make sure to double check it for accuracy. Once you’ve done this, you can go ahead and press “Submit.”

Step 4: Wait for your confirmation email from Apple. This can take up to 10 days. Once you’ve received it, your podcast will be available to download right away.

The 4 best apps for listening to podcasts

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Possible submission errors and how to correct them

Because Apple Podcast is such a popular choice, Apple has pretty high standards for what they allow on their site. While the content of your podcast doesn’t really matter to them, the appearance and quality do.

RSS feed problems – If you are using SoundCloud, Buzzsprout, Libsyn, or other reputable podcast hosting sites, then you shouldn’t have to worry about this being an issue (and each of those sites has their own troubleshooting methods if it is one). However, if you have your own site to host your podcast, you may run into an issue if your feed isn’t programmed correctly. There are a few feed validators on the internet that can help you find and fix your RSS feed issues.
Bad Artwork – Apple cares about appearance more than anything else, and if your podcast doesn’t look like it’s going to be high quality, then they don’t want it. Artwork seems to be a bigger issue than the audio quality (!), so you will need a quality image to go along with your podcast if you want to get it on Apple Podcast.

If you’ve successfully completed these steps, congratulations! You’ve finally put your podcast on the most important site in the industry. Don’t forget to check out other popular locations like Spotify and Stitcher, so your podcast is able to reach as many listeners as possible.

6 best sites to create your website

From top to bottom, these website builders offer the tools you need for your site.

Whether for work or school, somewhere down the line you will probably have to dabble in building a website.

Choosing the right website builder can be a difficult process. There are so many factors to consider. Things like price, functionality, and compatibility can make your site sink or swim. If you don’t know what you’re doing, your site can stumble right out of the gate.

Thankfully, we’ve done the legwork for you. Below you’ll find the best web builders out there, along with what makes them good and what limitations they have.

Best sites to build your website

WordPress

If you’ve ever designed a website, you’ve probably heard of (if not used) WordPress.

Definitely the most powerful web building tool you can find, WordPress actually comes in two variants depending on what you need. WordPress.com is typically more useful for blogs, while WordPress.org is much broader.

You can pretty much do anything with WordPress.org, making it the most customizable and adaptable web builder. However, this customizability comes at a price, with so many features, it can be a bit overwhelming to use and is not recommended for people who aren’t willing to learn a lot about the WordPress system.

Both variants have free plans that limit the features you have available to you. With a variety of different plans to choose from, you will open more features with each upgrade. We recommend trying the free version first before deciding to move up to a bigger plan. You can also design your website through WordPress, but host it through a service like GoDaddy.

WordPress is so popular that even business like Disney and PlayStation and celebrities like Beyoncé and Snoop Dogg use it. Millions of WordPress users can’t all be wrong, so it might be the right solution for you.

Wordpress Free Download ►

Shopify

As the name implies, this site is all about e-commerce.

As such, the main people who benefit from building a website through Shopify, are people looking to sell a product. They have a huge range of options when it comes to setting up an e-commerce shop, and even have third party e-commerce integration.

They make everything easy for sellers, as they have built-in features to track your inventory and stats. If you’re looking to build a site to sell a product, then Shopify will make this easier than any other web builder you could possibly find.

This ease of use comes at a bit of a steep price, ranging from $30 a month to $300 depending on the plan you choose. However, Shopify offers a free trial so you can see if this is the service for you.

Shopify Download now ►

Weebly

Most web builders require some basic knowledge of code to format pages and create your own features. WordPress doesn’t require coding knowledge, but it certainly comes in handy to reach the next level. Weebly provides a good looking website with no coding knowledge necessary.

Although this does mean you won’t be able to create any unique features or use a third party to add anything that Weebly might lack. However, Weebly provides enough features in its page builder that you may not need to get additional help.

Weebly plans range from free to $25 a month. These plans vary based on the features you want.

Weebly Free Download ►

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Yahoo! SiteBuilder

Although it might not be your first choice for your search engine, Yahoo! could be your first choice for a website builder.

The website offers different packages depending on what you’re looking to create. For a basic website for beginners, there is a free version. If you are looking to create something more, there is a professional version for less than $10 per month.

The service has a library of themes for you to pick and choose. You can even host your website through WordPress is you prefer.

Yahoo! SiteBuilder Download free ►

Squarespace

One of the most secure and easy-to-use web builders, Squarespace is the perfect choice for anyone with limited web design skills. There is no complicated hosting process, and no programming knowledge is necessary to get to work on the site.

There are dozens of pre-built templates with each being very easy to edit. Also, since it has its own e-commerce program, you’re able to create a store on your site without any third-party programs.

No other web builder can beat Squarespace in terms of how easy it is to use compared to how professional your end result website will look.

The price ranges anywhere from $12 per month to $40, depending on the plan.

The only downside to Squarespace is that it lacks third-party integration. Also, the built-in e-commerce program is restricted to a few sources like PayPal. However, the service provided may prove to be more than enough for you and your site.

Squarespace Visit Website

Wix

Wix is a great and easy choice if you’re looking for a minimal effort web builder. It has templates for any kind of page you could possibly want, with a drag-and-drop feature that makes it feel just like a word processor.

It removes all the hassle of building a website while keeping a professional look. You even gain access to a large variety of apps and extensions you can add to your site from Wix partnerships.

The only major downside it’s a pretty complicated process to get your own domain from their site. Your site will also not be easily exported to a new hosting site from Wix since it lacks a lot of copyable code.

Wix offers a free plan, but you will be restricted to using their domain name if you stick with it. To gain your own domain it is about $10 per month, and to have an e-commerce plan it costs $27.

Wix Free Download

Designing a winner

Each website builder has its own unique benefits, so think carefully before deciding which you feel is the best for you.

You need something cheaper to dip your toe into the web design community, or something professional for your business. At the end of the day, you have options.

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Best books for Harry Potter fans

If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you’re bound to love these books as well.

Sadly, we don’t have the ability to say “Accio,” and summon a good book for us to read.

After immersing yourself in the magical world of Harry Potter for decades, it can be hard to find another book series that is quite as captivating. Despite the fact that the series develops new content, there has only been one major book publication since it ended in 2007.

This has left many fantasy bookworms wishing for another series to come along and steal their hearts. Well, if you’re one of these fans, then you’ll be happy to learn about some of these other amazing young-adult fantasy series.

Whether you prefer a hard copy, an audiobook, or reading on through Kindle, we got you covered.

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Best book series for Harry Potter fans

The Last Dragon Chronicles

This series follows the same pattern as Harry Potter. It starts with a normal person entering into a world of magic and wonder and slowly escalates to massive mythical battles.

“The Last Dragon Chronicles” follows the story of a young writer, David, as he moves into the spare bedroom of Liz and her daughter Lucy. Liz is a potter who specializes in creating clay dragons.

Slowly, David starts to realize there is something mystical about these dragons, and the plot develops from there. It’s a great fantasy series to invest your time into, especially for young adults.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Sometimes when watching a movie like “The Avengers,” or reading a book from the Harry Potter series, you often wonder about the common person. What thoughts go through their head living in such a fantastical world? If these thoughts ever crossed your mind, we’d recommend “The Rest of Us Just Live Here.”

In a world where superheroes and magic are all around them, the heroes of this story are just average kids going about their day. “The Rest of Us Just Live Here” takes a unique look on magical worlds. The book asks the question, “What about the average people?” Fans of fantasy books will enjoy this unique take on magic.

A Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones)

We’re gonna guess you’ve heard of this series.

Game of Thrones is one of the most popular television programs right now. It closely follows the storyline of the books that inspired it, George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

This series is not only immersive, but it is incredibly long. The books are still being published, and the community of fans is constantly growing. If you want a novel series and fandom as large as Harry Potter than there is no better book series to turn to than”A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Which Game of Thrones house are you?

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The Mortal Instruments

You may know this series as “Shadowhunters.” The book series was recently adapted into a television series on Freeform.

Like Game of Thrones, “The Mortal Instruments” is a massive novel series that has been growing popular through TV and film. The story follows Clary Fray as she discovers she has angelic blood and is destined to fight demons and other dark creatures.

Also, make sure you don’t confuse this series with the book “Mortal Engines.” That’s also a decent series, but we’d recommend “Mortal Instruments” first.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Fans of mythology will love this series. While the movies weren’t as successful as some book-to-movie adaptations, the Percy Jackson book series is incredible.

Percy Jackson is a modern-day boy who finds out he is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. Along with his fellow demi-human companions, he learns about the hidden world of the gods.

While this series has ended, the author has continued to write other books in the same universe. Many of these follow other mythology like Roman, Norse, and Egyptian.

Witch & Wizard

James Patterson is a popular author in the world of young adult fantasy. “Witch & Wizard” happens to be one of his few series that flew a little under the radar when it first came out.

It follows the story of two siblings who recently discovered they have magical abilities. The story has a unique perspective on a dystopian world where magic has been banned. The siblings slowly learn about the magical side of their world as they try to escape from the government that’s hunting them.

Whereas magic is commonplace in the Harry Potter series, you might enjoy this fresh take with “Witch and Wizard.”

Merlin (The Lost Years) series

Move over Potter, this series follows the OG wizard.

Instead of depicting Merlin as the old man we typically see in books and film, “Merlin: The Lost Years” follows his adolescence. The books lead up to his later life as King Arthur’s mentor. Anyone who loved Harry’s coming-of-age story will also love Merlin’s.

Bringing the magical world to you

With all these books being added to your reading list, you should probably get an e-book reader to make things easier.

No matter which series you end up reading, you are sure to find something that interests you. Be sure to tell us in the comments below what is your favorite book series!

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery swish and flick: Download HERE ►

Top 7 survival games on Steam

Add these games to your download list.

No one here gets out alive.

Ever since Minecraft, survival games have been a popular genre for gamers of all ages. These games test your skills in completely different areas than what you’re probably used to when it comes to your gaming experience. No two games in the genre are alike, and that’s part of what draws people toward them.

Here are some of the best survival games you can find.

7 best survival games on Steam

Don’t Starve & Don’t Starve Together

In Don’t Starve and Don’t Starve Together, you travel through a dark and desolate landscape. You must try to survive illness, starvation, panic, and a bunch of supernatural creatures trying to kill you. The games are a challenging but rewarding set of roguelike survival games. You can play as a variety of characters with unique abilities that can help or hinder you in your quest to survive in the wilderness.

Don't Starve Together Download ►

7 Days to Die

Where zombies meet Minecraft. 7 Days to Die is a unique survival builder game. You have to combat zombies as you build a defensive stronghold. Every so often, the zombies become enraged and you’ll have to face hordes of them at a time. Fans of Minecraft and other builder games will love this intense survival version of the genre.

7 Days to Die Download ►

Rust

Picture a survival builder game like 7 Days to Die, but with less Minecraft-feel and zombies. Rust follows a more traditional survival gameplay. You have to stay fed, healthy, and safe from the natural threats of the wilderness. You’ll also have to protect yourself from other players, as the PVP of this game can be an intense part of your attempts to survive. Creating alliances can be an interesting and important thing to help you survive.

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Oxygen Not Included

Instead of just keeping yourself alive, Oxygen Not Included asks you to keep an entire space colony alive and thriving. Each character in the colony can develop attributes and jobs to help with the survival of your colony.

Each of them has different needs, however, so you’ll have to multitask quite a bit to keep them all alive and healthy. While the game is still in early access, the developers are well-known for developing highly successful games at this stage. These are the same guys that made Don’t Starve, after all.

Oxygen Not Included Download ►

Scum

In Scum, a group of prisoners has been brought to a large island where they have to fight to survive. Instead of being purely based on physical survival skills like most games, Scum lets you try a large variety of strategies using their various attributes.

These attributes include mental ones, so you’ll have to balance your physical needs with the mental strain that the prison is taking on you. This game is still in early access, but it’s already worth checking out.

Scum Download ►

Pathologic

There are surprisingly few survival games that are actually based in horror. Most of them are about post-apocalyptic settings and learning to survive in the wilderness. “Pathologic” takes an entirely different approach, by being a cross between horror, survival and roleplaying.

You play as one of three characters trying to uncover the truth about a plague that is killing a village. You only have 12 days to find a cure, as well as trying to survive the other possible harms that the game throws at you.

Pathologic Classic HD Download ►

ARK: Survival Evolved

A Pokémon-like survival game where you train dinosaurs to help you survive: need we say more? These massive pets can be used for anything from helping you create your own village, to providing a mount that will carry you across dangerous terrain. Outside of dinosaur taming, this game is very similar to other large 3D survival games like Rust and 7 Days to Die. Your main goal is to stay healthy, fed, and hydrated while you traverse the wilderness.

Ark: Survival Evolved Download ►

Beyond survival

If you’re looking for survival games for your phone as an alternative to Steam, you’ll definitely want to check out our Softonic Solutions page where our community shared some great phone survival games to try. Add your own if we’ve missed any!

Best alternative sites to Steam

Save money and find new games with these Steam alternatives.

Over the past decade, Steam has all but monopolized the PC gaming industry. It is the first place many gamers go to when looking for a new game. It has one of the most extensive collections of games, which immediately draws you in. However, there are plenty of other great retailers to choose from. Many of which have their own clients, just like Steam. Here are some of the best alternatives, when looking for some better pricing:

Best Steam alternatives

Twitch

Twitch is mostly used for streaming games, but it also has its own sales front and client. This can be really useful if you use Twitch to stream, since the client will already connect you to your account. Additionally, if you have Twitch Prime, you can receive free games every month, as well as a variety of game rewards. Definitely worth checking out if you stream or use Amazon Prime.

Twitch Free Download

Origin

EA has made some questionable business decisions in the past, but none can deny the appeal that many of their titles have. Unfortunately for fans of the Sims, Mass Effect, and other popular EA games, Origin is the exclusive platform to get these on. However, that doesn’t mean it’s exclusively for EA games. Origin also hosts some amazing indie games that can only be found on the Origin client as well.

Origin Free Download

While the exclusive games are one major appeal to using Origin, it also has some of the best deals among PC retail clients. It frequently gives out older EA games for free, and for only $5 a month, you can subscribe to Origin Access. This gives you access to dozens of old EA games and demos for upcoming releases. Its return policy is also one of the best, as you can return any game within seven days of purchasing it or 24 hours after installing, “no questions asked.”

Uplay

Uplay is basically Ubisoft’s version of Origin. Despite the fact that Ubisoft features its games on other platforms, like Steam, Uplay is still worth checking out. It has frequent sales on new releases and a unique client currency that you receive from playing the games you buy. So the more you play, the more discounts you’ll get.

Uplay Free Download

Facebook Gameroom

Just like old Facebook games, Facebook Gameroom features mostly casual mobile games like Candy Crush Saga and Trivia Crack. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking into, though. Most mobile titles can’t be found on PC storefronts, so Facebook Gameroom gives you a place to play these games.

Facebook Gameroom Free Download

Of course, you could choose to use an Android emulator for these free-to-play titles as well.

Green Man Gaming

Unlike many PC retailers, Green Man Gaming doesn’t double as a downloadable client. Instead, it provides digital keys for other downloadable clients like Steam, Origin, and Battle.net. It’s a good site to check out if you use any of these since it sometimes has sales and rewards you can collect when buying new games.

Humble Bundle Store

Known for its “Humble Bundles” where you create your own prices for a bundle of games, the Humble Store is a large collection of indie games (with a few major games thrown in), at a discounted price. A portion of your sales go to a charity of your choice, so it’s not only cheaper, but you know you’ll be helping out a cause you believe in.

Save a fortune on games with Humble Bundle

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GOG (Good Old Games)

As the name implies, GOG specializes in selling old games that are often hard to find on other storefronts. It mostly features old and forgotten indie games. These games are often sold at a fraction of their original price, so it’s absolutely worth looking into if you like older games.

GOG Galaxy Free Download

Itch.io

Steam (and many other retailers) requires a pretty thorough process for indie games to go, in order to get on their site. Itch.io makes this process much easier, allowing for practically any indie game to be featured on their site. Many of these games are put up for free, with only a few developers charging for their games. This is a great site for checking out indie games since free is an unbeatable price.

Regardless of the gaming retailer you choose, always make sure to compare prices before purchasing anything. Even with the benefits that Steam or its competitors may have, the same game may be priced differently between them. So take advantage of sales, and try going to a variety of game retailers before making a final purchase.

How to cancel your Netflix account

Simply threatening to cancel could save you money.

Despite the excellency that Netflix brings, there can be many factors as to why someone might choose to cancel their account. Perhaps they are switching to a different streaming service, or maybe they just can’t afford it anymore. Whatever the case, Netflix definitely doesn’t want you to leave. While the actual cancellation process is pretty simple, finding the cancellation can be a little difficult. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you leave Netflix behind (even if just for a little while).

Step 1: Log into your Netflix account on a PC

Step 2: Click “Account” under the top right dropdown menu

Step 3: Click “Cancel Membership”

Step 4: Click “Finish Cancellation”

You should be aware that Netflix, like many online services, may attempt to offer you a deal to prevent you from cancelling your account. This deal is perfectly safe to take, so it’s up to you to decide whether you want to take it or continue with the cancellation. The deal is likely an offer to upgrade or downgrade your plan.

You may also be interested in checking out our list of the best streaming services if you are planning to look into other streaming alternatives.

8 best websites to find copyright-free images

Looking for free photos? We’ve got some great options.

Whether you’re looking to add images to your blog or simply putting a project together, stock photos can be really useful if you don’t have time to create your own images. There are hundreds of sites on the web for helping you find these stock images, but only a few that will help you find them without breaking the bank. While high-end stock image sites like Shutterstock are tempting to use, you may want to check out some of these alternative sites to save you some money:

8 best places to find copyright-free images

8. Visual Hunt

A free stock image site that focuses on quality over quantity. They curate images so that only the highest quality are featured. But the real benefit of this site is how the search bar works. While most stock image sites are category restricted when it comes to searching, Visual Hunt broadens their categories so that similar words can still produce the same results. This may seem like a simple thing, but many sites struggle to produce content with words that are synonyms of their categories but don’t actually fit them directly.

7. Gratisography

Gratisography was created by visual artist Ryan McGuire, specifically to become “the world’s quirkiest collection of high-resolution free stock images.” They are far less focuseds on quantity compared to other stock photo sites, and instead, are dedicated to producing unique and original photo concepts to be used for personal and commercial purposes. This is the site to go to if you’re looking for something a little out of the norm.

6. Pexels

Pexels is probably the most popular free stock image site. The main reason for this is their content is mostly created for bloggers and other sites that use images to go along with their writing. It also has one of the best organizational systems for finding an image that fits the criteria you need. This site also features free stock videos as well.

5. Pikwizard

One of the trickiest things about stock imagery is finding pictures of people. That’s where Pikwizard comes in. The site offers more pics with people than you’ll probably find elsewhere. Another bonus is the free Design Wizard software. Once you’ve chosen your image, Design Wizard allows you to resize it and add shapes, text, or templates. Think of it as your one-stop shop for images.

4. StockSnap

With one of the largest selections of free stock images, StockSnap has a lot going for. Probably its biggest benefit is the extensive number of categories it offers, which can really help you search for the exact image that will fit your project perfectly. They also update their site on a weekly basis, so even if they don’t have what you’re looking for now, they may have it in time.

3. Pixabay

Another one of the largest stock image sites, Pixabay lets you customize your search results so that you can find exactly what you’re looking for. With hundreds of thousands of images on their site, all of which are published without the need for attribution, you won’t have to go anywhere else. Finding the image that fits for your project is really easy through this site.

2. Burst

The perfect free stock photo site for anyone looking to enhance a business site. They have a large selection of entrepreneurial stock photos. This makes them an easy choice for marketing campaigns, and unique business ventures that may struggle to find images that fit their site properly. Many of their stock photos come from their parent company, Shopify.

1. Unsplash

One of the best sites for free stock images in all areas: it has a huge selection, great categorization, and no attributions required. Unsplash features tens of thousands of contributors that encompass all ranges of photography and image creation. You can find many professional sites that have used images from Unsplash, even when they are willing to pay for other sites. No matter what, you’ll probably find something that works for you on this site.

Bonus: Nappy

It’s 2019 and representation matters more than ever. Nappy offers “beautiful, high-res photos of black and brown people” for free. If you need an image of a businessperson or a model, pause before making caucasian your default image. Stock photography rarely represents the world around us, so your editorial choices can help right that wrong.

Aside from these sites, there are a few others for finding free stock images, but be aware that some require attribution to be added to the images you use. Either way, good luck and enjoy your free stock photos!

Top 6 self-help apps

Improve your life with these great apps.

It can be hard to manage your entire life on your own. Things can easily start to pile up and overwhelm you, especially if you don’t have any help. That’s what self-help books were originally created for: helping people help themselves. This typically means helping them solve the problem, but also helping them get to a better mental state. This genre of books has become increasingly popular over the past decade. As such, many app developers have taken the time to develop these helpful guides into handy little apps to help you through your everyday life. Here are just a few of the most useful ones you can find:

Top 6 self-help apps

Worry Watch

The perfect app for those who are known to bottle things up, Worry Watch is a stress journal app that you can use to log your frustrations as they happen. This can both help you process through these frustrations, while also preventing them from being held in for too long. It can also help you discover important anxiety patterns that you can make note of to prevent them in the future.

Worry Watch - Anxiety Journal Download Now ►

Complete guide to self-improvement: mind and body

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Headspace

Meditation can help clear your mind and help with a variety of mental struggles such as stress, depression, and even insomnia. However, getting into a good headspace for meditation can be a difficult task, especially for anyone new to the practice. That’s where the Headspace app comes in. It teaches you step-by-step how to develop meditation skills and put yourself into the headspace you need to be to relax. It helps you go from a beginner to an expert in meditation.

Headspace Download free ►

Make Me Better

The main focuses of this app are personality development and motivation. While a self-help book may help with these features, Make Me Better holds you accountable to develop them. If you have negative personality habits or motivation issues, then this is a great app to use to change these things about yourself. It has daily reminders to work on your habits, as well as daily motivational quotes.

Make Me Better Download Free ►

Emotional Intelligence

This app helps you learn about the psychology of empathy and body language. Understanding these fields and developing skills around them is an incredibly helpful tool when working on your social skills. Social anxiety can be a crippling experience, so having an app to turn to when dealing with it can be extremely helpful. Not only that, but it can also teach you how to approach a friend who may be struggling in a helpful and approachable way. It’s not only an app for helping you help yourself, but also one that allows you to help others, too.

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HelloMind

A cheap and effective habit-breaking app that helps you to replace negative habits with positive ones. HelloMind is led by a team of expert psychologists, which means you know you’re getting good advice. You can look up all their qualifications directly on their website. Together, they’ve created a handy little app that can pick you up whenever you are down, by teaching you different ways to develop healthy behaviors. It can really bring you out of any stressful mental state you may be in.

HelloMind: Meditation Relaxation and Mindfulness Download Free ►

How to break a bad habit

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What’s Up?

An app made for picking people up once they’ve hit rock bottom. It deals with everything from anger issues to financial and emotional stresses that have caused someone to feel utterly helpless and lost. With expert articles, this app will help you learn how others have dealt with similar situations. It can not only help you get out of whatever predicament you are in, but also learn how to cope with your stress in a healthy and proper way, both for you and those around you.

What's Up? Download Free ►

Each of these apps helps to improve your abilities and mental state in their own unique ways. Most of them work really well in conjunction with each other, so be sure to find the right combination that’ll help you improve the most. Additionally, you’ll want to check out our Softonic Solutions page where we’ve listed a few extra apps to help you improve your mental state. Be sure to share your favorites!

6 best mobile life simulation games

Kill some time by playing God.

Sometimes you just want to see what life would be like if you took a different path, and video games have really help you to live out this fantasy. Ever since the Sims were invented, life simulation games have become increasingly popular. Casual gameplay devices like phones and handheld consoles are particularly useful for life simulation games, since you can turn them on whenever you need a moment to get away. Thankfully, there are hundreds of games being developed for these mobile platforms every day. With so many options to choose from, there is bound to be one out there that fits the perfect fantasy you’re looking for. Here are the best ones to check out.

Best life simulation games for mobile devices

The Sims 4 Download

The Sims FreePlay

The Sims is the original life simulation series, and their free mobile version is just as good as the original. You can create and develop your neighborhood however you like by creating unique sims however you choose. Design their houses however you want and help them get the job you think will suit them best. The Sims is all about exploring every possibility in life, and that’s exactly what you’re able to do in this mobile game.

The Sims FreePlay Free Download

Longtime fans of the series may be a little deterred by the time it takes to build things in this game. As a free-to-play game, it primarily makes money through special gems that can be used to rush productions. These gems can also be used for special cosmetics which can be a tempting way to spend your money. Ultimately, however, you can do almost anything in the game completely for free, so long as you have a little patience.

Episode

Playing Episode is like playing through your favorite novel. There are billions of episodes to play through, with all different kinds of life possibilities. Different stories have different avatar options, but most let you play as some version of yourself. You can search through stories by genre, or you can look for a particular fandom story if you want to play through an established universe.

What’s Your Story

What’s Your Story takes the same premise as Episode, but it’s mostly fanfiction-type stories. Episode has a few fanfiction episodes, but mostly has unique stand-alone stories; What’s Your Story is purely used for inserting yourself into your favorite TV show or movie series. That said, there are some incredible storylines to follow, and it can be a great adventure playing through a show you love so dearly.

Virtual Families 2

This game is very similar to the Sims, although its night/day mechanics are actually linked to your own time zone, which can present some unique and interesting options. Not many life simulators actually follow the day cycle of the real world, so it’ll be a very different experience playing this game. If you’re a fan of the Sims, then you may want to check this game out as a fun little alternative.

Virtual Families Download

Fallout Shelter

There are plenty of city builders that could fall under the category of “life simulation,” but Fallout Shelter is probably the only game that can really be considered both. It may seem like the game is solely focused on building your vault at first, but after a bit of time in the game, you’ll see it is far closer to a life simulator than it seems. Each resident of your vault has their own goals and abilities, and you can control over what happened to them. You can decide what kind of job they have, or if they are going to venture out into the wild. It is a really unique game that is reminiscent of many popular city builders and life simulators.

Fallout Shelter Free Download

If you do enjoy the city-building aspect of this game, you may want to look into playing some similar games as well, since they have the same appeal as life simulators.

BitLife

One of the most popular free apps on the market right now, BitLife lets you experience life one year at a time. It features many things that other life simulators don’t, such as plastic surgery, criminal activities, familial relationships, and even sex reassignment surgery. What happens to you is slightly randomized but you have a decent amount of control in where you are going (you can even play a minigame to try and escape prison). The names of your character and those you encounter can be manipulated through the settings you set before starting a new life. Overall, it’s an interesting and addictive adventure to see where your virtual life will head in this free-to-play game.

BitLife Life Simulator Free Download

Of course, these aren’t the only fantastic life simulation games you can find on your phone. Our Softonic Solutions team has put together its own list for you to check out as well. You can even leave your own reviews and input on these games yourself!

6 best sites to find royalty-free audio

Need some free music for your project? Here it is!

Receiving a copyright claim can be terrifying, especially for small independent creators who have worked hard on a project, only to have it taken away from them due to using audio they didn’t own. It can be incredibly confusing to figure out what music you can actually use for your projects, since it may seem like all songs are available to you if you paid for them. While you may be able to listen to any song without copyright repercussion, you’ll have to double check the royalties of a song if you want to use it in a YouTube video or a work project. Thankfully, there are dozens of sites that provide royalty-free audio that anyone can use without ever fearing a copyright claim against them. While some royalty-free music does come with a stipulation (the creator of the song you’re using may require you to credit them somewhere in your work), you won’t have to pay a dime to anyone. Here are some great sites to check out in order to find music and audio clips that are royalty-free.

Best places to find free music, sounds, and other audio

YouTube Audio Library

YouTube has really gotten serious about removing videos that feature copyright audio in them over the past few years. As a way to discourage the use of copyrighted music, they’ve created their own catalog of royalty-free audio clips and music. While some require attribution, they are all completely free, and you can easily see which ones require you to credit the artist. You’ll also be happy to know that all of these clips can be downloaded for offline use in addition to their original purpose for being used in YouTube content.

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PremiumBeat

PremiumBeat is a subsidiary to one of the largest stock images sites on the web (Shutterstock), so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the most popular sites for finding stock audio. Some of their prices are a little high, but their selection of royalty-free music is probably the largest you’ll ever find. They also have curated most of the music themselves, so you can find the highest quality music easily through their editor’s pick playlist.

They also have an interesting YouTube channel dedicated to helping you find the right audio for your video projects. It can be very helpful when getting started with using audio clips.

Epidemic Sound

While many sites, like Amazon, require you to purchase the rights to their music individually, Epidemic Sound gives you their music on a subscription basis. This means you have access to all music in their library, so long as your subscription is active. Even if your subscription is canceled, you’re only barred from making future content with their music. You’re still able to keep any content you’ve already posted online, so you don’t have to worry if you end up not wanting to continue with the service. This is the ideal site for content creators, such as YouTubers and Instagram influencers, since it gives you such an expansive library, instead of just individual songs.

Purple Planet

Purple Planet is all about discovering the right sound to fit your project. Instead of sorting their music by genre, they sort by mood and emotion. Some examples are “gentle”, “playful”, and “creepy”. They provide royalty-free music for a price, and also their own, Purple Planet, free music for you to try. Most of their music is specifically created to be placed into YouTube videos. This means that you don’t have to worry about whether the audio will match your content as long as it fits the mood you’re going for.

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Filmstro

This site may require you to understand music theory a little bit in order to fully utilize it, but if you understand concepts like “depth” and “power” then you’ll be able to create incredible videos using music that fits your exact concepts. Like Purple Planet, Filmstro lets you search by more “feeling-based” genres than actual genre titles. This lets you look for something that fits the exact mood of the videos you’re trying to create.

Storyblocks Audio

It may be strange to think about, but it’s sometimes harder to find simple audio clips over the plethora of royalty-free music there is. However, these clips do exist, and can be found at an impressively cheap subscription over at Storyblocks Audio. They also have royalty-free music, but their expansive collection of audio clips is the main benefit of using it.

We’ve also detailed some more intricate details about Storyblocks Video, if you’re looking for stock videos as well as audio.

Depending on what you need the audio for, it may be worth looking into a few of these options for putting a video together. However, for the most part, you’ll only ever have to go through one or two of these sites to get everything you need. So find the one that works best for you!