{"id":573174,"date":"2026-07-07T11:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573174\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:14:17","slug":"5-android-widgets-i-use-every-day-and-none-of-them-are-made-by-google","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573174\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Android widgets I use every day, and none of them are made by Google"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"widgets<\/p>\n

Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

While Google arguably has some of the best widgets out there for Android<\/a>, not everyone is a fan. Some of us are looking for more privacy-focused features, or simply don\u2019t want to stay locked into a single ecosystem. I\u2019m right there with you.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, here are five Android widgets I currently use daily to keep myself better organized and more. None of these widgets are from Google, and most of them are from smaller brands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KWGT Kustom Widget Maker<\/p>\n

\"KWGT<\/p>\n

KWGT Kustom Widget Maker is, without a doubt, one of my favorite customization apps out there, as it makes it extremely easy to create customized widgets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The interface takes a little while to master, but it\u2019s easy to get started and just mess around. Now, some of the custom widgets I\u2019ve played with looked nice by the time I was done, but I will admit that for certain niches like battery management, I still find it better to use a battery-specific app like Ampere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What do I use KWGT for? It changes over time, but I\u2019ve dabbled with it to create a basic on-screen note widget, for displaying core device specs like CPU and RAM usage, to make customized clock widgets, and even linked it to Tasker for household-related automations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a tinkerer, you\u2019ll likely find that you will have just as much value out of messing around with the app and downloading new asset packs as you do from actually using the widgets. If you just want something that\u2019s basic and works? KWGT is probably less your cup of tea.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Battery Widget Reborn<\/p>\n

\"Battery<\/p>\n

My Galaxy S24 is a great device, but it\u2019s always had poor battery life, even relative to others of its own model. With that in mind, I\u2019m very big into tracking my battery stats. There are plenty of other battery widgets out there from Google and others, but I really appreciate this one\u2019s layout and design.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Battery Widget Reborn is highly customizable with multiple themes, colors, and optional settings. It also provides detailed stats, from battery temperature to remaining time, and gives you plenty of power settings and options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The battery history and insights system also provides information on how long your battery lasts on average and much more. If you\u2019re a battery stat nerd, I think you\u2019ll like this one as much as I do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fossify Notes\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"fossify<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a Google Keep fan for a long time, but recently I\u2019ve become concerned with sharing too much information with Google and with web servers in general. With that in mind, I\u2019ve taken many of my experiences offline, including note-taking and quick checklists for things like grocery shopping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried a few different options, but I appreciate that Fossify Notes Beta is open-source and fully offline. Unlike Google, I also don\u2019t have to worry about my notes being used to serve me ads. In fact, the app itself is completely ad-free and geared with privacy in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are some catches here, of course. First, be aware that the app is technically in Beta and has been for a long time, though I\u2019ve found it\u2019s plenty stable. It is also much less feature-packed than some of its competitors and doesn\u2019t have cloud syncing. Also, I like the widget here as it\u2019s a nice basic feature, but I do wish there was a way to check things off directly from it instead of opening the app.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, I just really want a basic list widget that I can put on my homepage and quickly check off things. Fossify Notes does it well as long as you don\u2019t need anything fancy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fossify Calendar<\/p>\n

\"fossify<\/p>\n

Like Fossify Notes, Fossify Calendar doesn\u2019t have syncing or other fancy features. It\u2019s a privacy-focused option with zero tracking and fully offline functionality.<\/p>\n

I appreciate that it offers a no-frills, clutter-free way to track my family\u2019s calendar and other important events. It\u2019s also possible to sync with my Google Calendar events for quick viewing in a single central place. Just be aware you can\u2019t modify these events directly from the Fossify Calendar app, so you\u2019ll still need to set up a local, private main calendar.<\/p>\n

Again, not everyone is looking for privacy and simplicity. Still, if that sounds like your cup of tea, you\u2019ll find it\u2019s a great client with a highly customizable calendar widget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samsung Health<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Pankil Shah \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

While I originally planned to recommend Welltory here, I recently decided I\u2019d had enough paying the premium for that service. While it is still a great choice with a solid widget, I\u2019ve spent the last week with Samsung Health. I\u2019ve found this app is a decent alternative that I still feel fits my needs better than Google Health.<\/p>\n

The widget makes it easy to see steps and other core information at a glance, and a quick tap expands into the full app with plenty of other stats. If you\u2019re like me and have both a Samsung phone and a wearable, this is a no-brainer option.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been especially pleased with the data depth here compared to Google Health. That said, Samsung Health does have a less intuitive user interface that takes a bit to master.<\/p>\n

If you own a Samsung device and have never given it a chance, I highly recommend doing so. Have something else, but wish to avoid Google Health? Welltory costs a bit to get the full experience, but it\u2019s also definitely worth the look.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Megan Ellis \/ Android Authority While Google arguably has some of the best widgets out there for Android,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[257],"tags":[8138,18,19,17,279,82,14618],"class_list":["post-573174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-android-apps","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-technology","tag-widgets"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116878408481969336","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}