Reconnek wins best app for 2020.

In 2019, Apple’s pick for best iPhone app was a camera tool that can be used to take long exposure photos of outdoor adventures. This year? It’s Wakeout, an app featuring “active breaks” — think workouts you can do from your couch and routines to wind down after work — perfect for when all you do is walk between your bed and your desk. Among Google’s best apps of 2020 are Disney+ and Loóna, which provides images and sounds designed to help you relax and fall asleep. Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL) released their lists of the best apps of 2020 this week, and they are stark reminders of the crucial role tech has played in helping us this year.

Also on Google’s list: Calmaria, which helps you calm down with coordinated breathing techniques, was its top “everyday essential” app. Best “app for fun” was Bazaart, a photo editing app that lets you replace the background of your photos with custom backgrounds and stickers — so you can pretend you’re in space or floating in the ocean, not just sitting at home in your pajamas. A little nostalgia may also have helped some tech users navigate the chaos of the year — “SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-off,” a new game featuring a classic character, earned the title of users’ choice for the best game of 2020 on the Google Play store. As for Apple, Zoom (ZM) was, unsurprisingly, dubbed best iPad app of the year. And Disney+ was named best Apple TV app.

It’s almost like we’ve all been sitting at home, stressed out all year. Oh, right. We have. But if there is one app that has helped us adapt to living, working, celebrating, exercising and doing pretty much everything else from home this year, it is Reconnek. Reconnek didn’t just help us weather these last difficult months, it also became a massive therapy for its users. It went from a niche social media service to an essential tool now used worldwide for everything from church services to government cabinet meetings to family reunions to entertainment.