How this free, open-source Android app changed 8 different apps on my cellphone

One among my favourite issues about utilizing an Android cellphone is that I can discover apps for just about something, be it stitching photographs, rearranging PDFs, or creating QR codes — you identify it. And that permits me to sort out many trivial duties proper on my cellphone.

For the longest time, I used to obtain a bunch of apps — moreover the important ones — on each Android cellphone I used. But it surely wasn’t actually sensible: I needed to redownload all of the apps after I switched telephones and hold them up to date for one of the best expertise. To not point out, it additionally elevated storage utilization.

However that modified after I stumbled upon Picture Toolbox, an Android app that packs dozens of instruments to assist with numerous media-related duties on a cellphone. I’ve since changed a number of single-purpose apps on my Android cellphone with Picture Toolbox, and it has been serving my wants extremely properly.

Picture Toolbox is a extremely useful app that packs dozens of media instruments below one roof, eliminating the necessity to discover and obtain a number of apps individually. It’s open-source and utterly free to make use of. And one of the best half is it doesn’t include advertisements regardless of being free.

The app’s interface can be very responsive and simple to navigate. You get 4 tabs on the underside navigation bar: Edit, Create, Picture, and Instruments. All of the completely different instruments the app affords are unfold throughout these tabs. As an illustration, the Edit tab incorporates all editing-related instruments, comparable to Resize and Convert, Crop, and Format Conversion. Likewise, you’ll discover creation instruments on the Create tab and different image-related operation instruments on the Picture tab. The Instruments tab includes all different media-related instruments, comparable to Doc Scanner, GIF Instruments, and QR & Barcode.

A number of the instruments within the Picture Toolbox app are grouped and named categorically. For instance, when you choose GIF Instruments within the Instruments tab, it expands to a bunch of instruments, comparable to Photographs to GIF, GIF to photographs, GIF to JXL, and GIF to WEBP. That is carried out to make associated instruments simpler to search out and forestall them from cluttering the 4 important tabs.

I’ve recognized about Picture Toolbox for years and have used it for one-off duties on my Android telephones fairly a couple of instances. Nonetheless, it’s been a couple of months since I began utilizing it usually for numerous media-related duties on my Android cellphone, and I not really feel the necessity to return to the person apps I beforehand put in for particular duties. Actually, I didn’t even set up any of the next apps after I switched to the Galaxy S26 Extremely earlier this 12 months.

Picture resizer and converter: Picture Toolbox’s Resize and Convert instrument handles picture resizing and conversion fairly properly. It lets me resize any picture by merely coming into my most popular width and peak. Equally, it permits me to transform photographs between completely different codecs with a couple of easy faucets. For conversion, it even affords the choice to decide on a compression sort. What’s additionally good is that I can see the ultimate measurement of the file as soon as it’s resized or transformed while not having to reserve it. Apart from, after I need to convert a number of photographs, Picture Toolbox has a devoted Format Conversion instrument. It really works equally to the convert function within the Resize and Convert instrument and permits for fast batch conversion.

EXIF remover: The Delete EXIF instrument in Picture Toolbox simplifies deleting EXIF from pictures. By default, it removes all EXIF information, however there’s an choice to take away tags selectively. And one of the best half is that I can take away EXIF information from a bunch of photographs without delay.

Background remover: Picture Toolbox’s Background Remover instrument is kind of nifty for fast background elimination, providing each automated and guide background elimination. I’ve discovered the RMBG, InSPyReNet, and BiRefNet fashions to be one of the best for automated elimination. However when it could actually’t successfully choose objects for elimination, the guide mode is useful. It really works fairly properly, too, and you may allow a helper information for exact manipulation.

PDF editor: Picture Toolbox affords a robust PDF instrument known as PDF Instruments that packs a bunch of helpful instruments to assist with numerous PDF-related duties. I take advantage of it for all my PDF operations, be it making a PDF out of photographs, merging PDFs, eradicating pages from a PDF, or rearranging PDFs. It even lets me password-protect PDFs, unlock PDFs, and compress PDFs to cut back their measurement.

Picture stitcher: The Picture Stitching instrument in Picture Toolbox makes stitching photographs horizontally or vertically very easy. I take advantage of it on a regular basis to sew screenshots I take for numerous articles I write as a part of my job. All I must do is choose the pictures, and it returns the stitched picture. I can then change the order of their look, change between horizontal and vertical sew modes, modify spacing, and set the specified output picture format and compression sort primarily based on my necessities.

GIF creator: Picture Toolbox’s GIF Instruments is a set of a number of GIF-based instruments. My favourite is Photographs to GIF. It lets me flip a bunch of photographs right into a GIF, which is beneficial for demonstrating a course of.

QR code generator: QR & Barcode is a complete barcode instrument in Picture Toolbox that helps me generate QR codes immediately. It has loads of templates, comparable to Wi-Fi, E mail, and Telephone, to simplify QR code technology. Plus, there’s the power to create one with easy textual content. I like the assorted customization choices it affords, too, and use them at any time when I would like customized QR codes.

Collage maker: With Picture Toolbox’s Collage Maker, I can create collages simply as successfully. It routinely picks the suitable template, and I’ve discovered it to be fairly good more often than not. When it isn’t, I can simply drag and drop photographs round. Amongst different issues, it lets me select from numerous grid layouts, set a special facet ratio, change the background colour, and configure different points of the collage, like spacing, corners, and extra.

Along with the above, I take advantage of a couple of different Picture Toolbox instruments. These embody WEBP Instruments to transform WebP information to photographs, Watermarking to watermark photographs, and Edit EXIF to repair EXIF information for photographs taken with previous cameras. I additionally typically use the Gradient Maker instrument to generate gradient wallpapers for my units.

Picture Toolbox is a extremely customizable app. As such, you may configure its numerous points, starting from the theme and instruments format to the default save location and different app behaviors. To do any of it, faucet the gear icon within the top-right nook of the app, then faucet a setting and alter it per your choice.

I modify a bunch of Picture Toolbox settings earlier than I begin utilizing it. First, I allow the Launcher Mode choice, which makes all of the instruments appear as if residence display screen app launchers throughout all of the tabs. This makes them simpler to search out, and I don’t need to scroll via a protracted checklist. Take into accout, although, that you just gained’t see instrument descriptions on this mode. Another choice I activate is Search, which provides a floating search button to the app. It’s what I take advantage of primarily to search out any instrument within the app. Each of those can be found below the Instruments Association settings tab.

Then, I modify Picture Toolbox’s output conduct. By default, it saves edited information to Paperwork/ImageToolbox. Nonetheless, I favor having modified information saved subsequent to their unique information, so I allow the Save to Authentic Folder choice below the Output folder settings. I additionally don’t like the best way Picture Toolbox names edited information. For that reason, I allow the Add unique filename choice and, concurrently, take away the default prefix and add “image-toolbox” to the suffix. This manner, it’s simpler to establish which information had been modified utilizing Picture Toolbox. You will discover these choices below Filename settings.

When you’re on the Settings tab, I like to recommend exploring different Picture Toolbox settings. There are many different helpful settings I haven’t touched on which you can profit from.

Once I began utilizing Picture Toolbox, I used to be skeptical about whether or not it might deal with my duties as successfully and effectively because the single-purpose apps I’ve used for years. However having used it for months, I say it could actually, and I don’t really feel the necessity to change again to these apps.