Most couples need four long distance relationship apps: one for video calls, one for watching or listening together, one for sharing photos through the day, and a shared calendar for visits. At Love Answers, we write guides for long-distance couples, and the starter set below uses apps that already exist on most phones or take a minute to install.
More apps do not mean more closeness. Each app on the list below does a different job, and if two apps do the same job, keep the one you both open without being reminded.
The Long-Distance Relationship Apps Starter Set
The long-distance relationship apps starter set covers four jobs: talking face to face, sharing time, staying in each other’s ordinary day and planning visits. Pick one app per job and stop there.
| Job | Apps that do it | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Talk face to face | FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom | Lets you see each other’s faces, which carries tone that text loses |
| Share time | Teleparty, Rave, Spotify Jam, Discord | Syncs a film, a show or a playlist so you react at the same moment |
| Stay in each other’s day | Locket, Between, Paired | Puts your partner’s photos or questions on your phone between calls |
| Plan visits | Google Calendar shared calendars, your phone’s world clock | Keeps the next visit and both time zones in front of you |
If you already video call on one app, keep it. Switching apps you both know costs more than any new feature gives you.
Video Call Apps for Long-Distance Couples
The best video call app for a long-distance couple is the one you both already have and trust on your connection. FaceTime works between Apple devices, and Android or Windows users can join a FaceTime call from a link. WhatsApp handles video calls across iPhone and Android and works over Wi-Fi, which helps when one of you is abroad.
Google Meet and Zoom are useful for longer dates, since they run well on a laptop and let you share a screen. Use screen sharing to plan a trip together, shop for a gift or play a browser game.
Two small habits make video calls feel less like meetings:
- Prop the phone up and do something together, such as cooking or folding laundry, instead of staring at the screen.
- Leave a call open while you both study or work. Silence on a call can feel close.
Apps for Watching and Listening Together
Watch-together apps sync playback so you laugh at the same scene instead of counting down “3, 2, 1, play”. They turn a call into a shared evening.
- Teleparty runs in a desktop browser and syncs several streaming services, with a chat sidebar.
- Rave syncs streaming services and YouTube on phones and computers, with chat built in.
- SharePlay on FaceTime syncs supported apps between Apple devices during a call.
- Spotify Jam lets you listen to the same queue and add songs together. Spotify’s Jam help page lists which accounts can start one.
- Discord lets you stream your screen on a voice call, which works for films, games and photo albums.
In most cases, each of you needs your own account for the streaming service you watch. Settle that before date night so the first twenty minutes are not spent logging in.
Apps That Keep You in Each Other’s Day
Daily-moment apps help long-distance couples share the small, boring parts of life that never make it into a scheduled call. In a diary study by Jiang and Hancock, published by the Stanford Social Media Lab, couples apart reported more intimacy, partly because they disclosed more about themselves.
- Locket puts the photos your partner sends straight onto your home screen as a widget. You see their lunch or their commute without opening an app.
- Between is a private space for two, with messaging, shared photos and a calendar for anniversaries.
- Paired sends daily questions and short quizzes you both answer, then shows each other’s answers. It helps when calls fall into “how was your day, fine”.
- Lasting is a self-guided relationship app with structured lessons. It is not live therapy, so if you want a counselor, see our guide to online couples therapy.
If you want questions without installing anything, the free couples question generator gives you a prompt by mood and depth.
Apps for Games and Shared Activities
Game apps give long-distance couples something to do besides talk, which takes pressure off quiet nights. Turn-based games work best across time zones, since each of you moves when you are awake.
- Chess.com lets you play a slow game over days, one move at a time.
- Jackbox Games party games run on one screen shared over a video call, with each player using their phone as a controller.
- Co-op video games on Discord voice let you play side by side while you talk.
Our guide to couples games has question games and card games that need no app at all.
Planning Apps for Visits and Time Zones
Planning tools keep the next visit visible, which matters more than any daily feature. A 2007 study by Stafford and Merolla suggests couples with longer gaps between visits were less stable after reuniting.
- Make a shared calendar in Google Calendar, using Google’s calendar sharing steps, and add every visit, call date and birthday.
- Add your partner’s city to your phone’s world clock so you stop calling at 2 a.m.
- Keep a shared note for trip ideas, flight prices you have seen and the next date-night plan.
Share Locations Only When You Both Choose To
Location sharing between long-distance partners is safe only when both people choose it freely and either can turn it off without a fight. It can help on travel days, when you want to know your partner landed. Google Maps location sharing and Apple’s Find My both let you share for an hour or until you stop.
It stops being a convenience when one partner demands it, checks it constantly or treats a pause as proof of cheating. That is controlling behavior. If that describes your relationship, talk to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
Who Needs Fewer Apps
Some long-distance couples are better off with fewer apps. If one of you finds constant notifications draining, cut back to one call app and one shared calendar, and put the energy into a weekly date. Military couples on deployment often have limited or no app access, so the deployment relationship guide covers letters and planned calls instead.
Our recommendation would change if a single app did all four jobs well on both iPhone and Android. Until then, these long distance relationship apps support the habits in how to make a long-distance relationship work. Tonight, install one app per job, starting with a shared calendar that holds your next visit.