4 lifestyle mobile apps created by BIPOC developers

Tech expert Lisa Chang has the cultural tech game guide with apps created by ‘people of colour’.

Celebrating diversity in the world of technology today is utterly important. There are plenty of talented diverse tech founders who are creating amazing products. Tech expert Lisa Chang has the cultural tech game guide with apps created by ‘people of colour’.

 Shine (wellness) 4.5* rated, ages 4+
The award winning Shine app is considered the ultimate wellness, health and life coach and was created by WOC – Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi. Featured as Best of 2018 by the App Store & 2019 Webby Award Winner for Best Lifestyle App. The Shine app is your support system for daily stress and anxiety, and with the world being on fire right now for a number of reasons, this may be exactly what the doctor is recommending. Learn a new self-care strategy every day, get support from a diverse community, and explore an audio library of over 500+ original meditations, bedtime stories, and ambient music to help you shift your mindset or mood. Join millions of people who experience lower stress and anxiety after using Shine.

iShallBe (wellness) – ages 4+
iShallBe is your daily motivational Boost! It provides a platform that looks like an Instagram strictly for affirmations. Created by Shelby Tinsley, the app is designed to uplift users by providing daily affirmations, delivered to your phone daily – in the form of quotes, music and videos. The app also features a goal tracker to help users stay accountable to long and short-term goals. iShallBe strives to create a platform for everyone to speak nothing but positive things into existence.

Liberate (wellness) 5* Rated, ages 9+
Liberate is the #1 meditation app designed for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour community. Founded by Julio Rivera says “this was created by us, for us!”. This app is a way to incorporate mediation and inspirational sessions into your day. Listen to dozens of guided meditations. The content is carefully curated by leading meditation teachers of colour that represent a broad range of experiences and lineages in the practice. Liberate is a perfect place for beginners, and also includes intermediate and advanced levels too. Meditations are available from 5-25 minutes in length so you can adjust your practice to whatever your heart calls for.

We Read Too (education) 4.5* Rated (hundreds of ratings), ages 3+ (17+ for Safari users)

We Read Too by Kaya Thomas is a directory that lets you easily find books by writers of colour that feature main characters of colour. The directory includes hundreds of picture books, chapter books, middle-grade books, and young adult books. To support literacy and embolden young people and adults alike to read, Kaya Thomas created a free mobile application to encourage people to read Black authors’ work. We Read Too is a cultural literacy application that showcases a directory of over 600 Children’s and Young Adult fiction books written by authors of colour for people of colour, meaning that by downloading this, you’re not only are you supporting Black authors by reading their material but you’d also be empowering a young, Black entrepreneur in the process. The app allows you to browse different genres, search by author or title, view the details of every book, share the book, suggest any books to be added, as well as view the book on the web through Safari for your ease. Whether you are a parent, librarian, teacher or student, We Read Too is the best resource for you to find diverse books for youth readers.