Apps for best friends who live far apart

When your best friend moves away — for uni, a job, a partner — the friendship doesn’t disappear, but the casual contact does. No more bumping into each other, no more “come over, I’m bored.” Group chats fill up, one-on-one messages get rarer, and catching up starts to feel like a project.

The trick is to replace “we should call properly sometime” with small, low-pressure points of contact. Here’s what works.

Something you look after together

A shared virtual pet sounds silly until you try it. Taking turns caring for the same pet gives you a reason to open an app that has nothing to do with “so, how are you?” — and it shows the other person you were there.

Lovegotchi isn’t only for couples. Best friends, siblings, and roommates who moved apart pair up the same way: one invite code, one shared Mochi. You can compete over who keeps the streak alive, argue about which skin she should wear, and pick a room that matches your friendship — a neon Cyber Room for chaotic duos, maybe, or a cozy Autumn Attic.

Status widgets

Widget apps put a friend’s photo, mood, or status on your home screen. They’re great for passive closeness — seeing what your friend is up to without needing to start a conversation. Widgetable is a popular example with lots of widget types, including a shared pet.

Turn-based games

A long-running game of chess, a word game, or a puzzle duel creates a steady trickle of “your move” moments. Turn-based games are ideal when your schedules never line up. We’ve got a whole list of games you can play on separate phones.

A place for inside jokes

Friendship history lives scattered across camera rolls and years-old chats. A shared memory space — a shared album, a notes doc, or Lovegotchi’s Memory Vault — gives you one place to keep the screenshots and stories you’ll want to laugh at in five years.

Creative challenges

Send each other a weekly prompt: a photo of something yellow, a one-line poem, the worst thing in your fridge. It costs nothing, needs no special app, and becomes a running joke.

Match the app to the friendship

• Competitive friends: turn-based games and streaks.
• Sentimental friends: a memory space or shared journal.
• Chaotic friends: a shared pet with the strangest outfit you can find.
• Busy friends: widgets, which ask nothing of you.

Pick one thing and keep it light. The aim isn’t to schedule your friendship — it’s to make sure the easy, everyday contact doesn’t disappear.