There is not shortage of free mobile and desktop applications available on the internet. Unfortunately, most of them are either rubbish or trick you into parting with your cash via in-app purchases. But if you take the time to sort the wheat from the chaff, you'll find plenty of excellent apps that truly are free.

We're thankful every day for all the free apps out there that improve our lives (and the developers that make them!). Here are 50 our favourites.

Giphy, the popular GIF-making and sharing platform, launched a new web tool last month that allows you to make GIFs right from your phone's camera — no app download required.

I love a good inspirational quote, but most of the sappy crap you find posted on people's Instagram accounts is total garbage. Now you can generate your own inspirational garbage with InspiroBot.

My mirror doesn't come to life and tell me about the rest of my day when I walk in bleary-eyed to the bathroom, as much as I wish it did. An always-on dashboard relaying to me my calendar appointments and the weather would both help me start my day with a better understanding of what I need to get done, and keep me from walking through the city in the rain. Fortunately, with a little tinkering you can turn whatever devices you have lying around into your own DIY status board.

In a press release on the company's blog, Pinboard, the world's best social bookmarking site for introverts, announced it has acquired Delicious, the unwanted step-child of bookmarking platforms, from Delicious Media, the company that acquired Delicious from Science in 2016, the company that bought it from AVOS in 2014, the company that bought it from Yahoo in 2011, the company that purchased Delicious in 2005. Which means you're gonna have to move those bookmarks about learning how to bake a pie, shoot a wedding, or whatever you think you'll click on eventually.

Naming things is hard, especially if the name needs to be unique. Over the years I've worked for sites named Urlesque (rhymes with burlesque, it's about memes), Slacktory (it's a factory for slacking) and Valleywag (which came scarily close to being called "Boomshank"). I always loved the evocative site names of the Gizmodo network. Sploid connotes splatter, tabloids and explosions; Deadspin promises ESPN with an unexpected angle; Kotaku puts the slightest spin on the Japanese term for obsessive nerdy interest. More famous names like Instagram, Medium and Upworthy also compactly convey multiple meanings. The same approach is popular for fictional character names: Darth Vader, Voldemort and Ebenezer Scrooge read immediately as bad guys.

If you're looking to go on a craft beer pilgrimage to the US, the home of many of the world's most highly regarded craft beers, this interactive tool lets you explore the US cities with the most breweries and highest rated beverages.

You've spotted an app, site, or service you like the look of, it's completely free to use, and so you're ready to sign up — but how can you tell the service is above-board and legit? That you're not going to be subject to nefarious dark pattern tactics or see you or your teens sensitive data shared with advertisers. Before joining a service that seems to good to be true take the steps below. Common sense and a little digging can usually save you from the shadiest apps.

If you've ever prepared a steak and wished you could see what the meat actually looked like on the inside before you cut into it, Cook My Meat can offer a glimpse.

If you're visiting Europe for a while, it's fun to visit several cities in one trip. Eightydays helps you plan a multi-city trip quickly by picking a route and finding travel for you.

Web: Your Dropbox storage is limited, so you don't want to waste it on files that you won't need in the future. Finesse lets you schedule certain files in Dropbox to be deleted when you're done with them.

Web: There are a ton of apps that can track your progress on a habit, but most only offer personal satisfaction as a reward. RioFolio, on the other hand, lets you earn points for your own reward system.

Web: Lots of music services have playlists based on how you're feeling right now, but Vibesmood tries to make it as simple as possible. Click one of five vibes to match your mood, and pick a playlist that looks good to get something that will lift you up, comfort you or help you get stuff done.

For many people, Google Photos, Flickr, and other cloud-based image hosting services are perfect for backing up photos, sharing them, and organising them into galleries. If you'd rather use a self-hosted solution you control, or maybe use one in addition to those cloud services, Chevereto is worth a look.

Most services you might use to save links for future reference or reading are part social network and part sharing service. They're designed to help you share those links, or make big lists. LinkLocker is none of those — it's completely private, and the only person who can see your bookmarks is you. It's perfect.

A shiny Netflix subscription or Spotify gift card may not be the most fun item on your wish list, but they and other web services you use every day can still make great, useful gifts that keep giving long after the season is over. Here are some of our favourite premium apps and web services worth gifting.

You guys know what I still miss? Springpad. And, to some extent, Google Reader. What old, defunct web services do you miss?

iOS/Android/Web: Airport Wi-Fi isn't always easy. Depending on the airport and the terminal, you might be hard pressed to find a decent spot to access the internet. This interactive map can help — it locates free Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi passwords at airports around the world.

Chrome: Maybe you're working with someone who needs access to your accounts, or maybe you just want to share your Netflix with someone. Whatever the reason, if you want to share your online accounts without giving out your password, AccessURL allows you to do just that.