Most often than not, we’re all online nowadays, but other times the Internet connection is missing, so we’re going to take a look at the 11 best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS.
Many apps nowadays require you to be online all the time, but there are plenty others that can be used offline too, which is perfect for those moments when your data plan may be just about done or when your WiFi connection is poor enough that it really makes no difference between online and offline.
What’s special about these apps? Well, they allow you to continue working or playing even when you’re without an Internet connection, only to back up everything the second you’re back online. This enables you to use the apps at any time, from any device, and have all the data saved in one place – the magic cloud.
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If you’re interested, you can also read up on the 6 best Google apps for Chromebook.
For today’s list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS, we took a look at the Chrome Web Store, checked the most popular offline apps and ranked them by their popularity. We decided to leave out games that can be played offline from our list since those can be found aplenty. We took into account the rating they received, the number of reviews left on the site and the number of installs. For some Google tools, that number isn’t provided, but they automatically received a larger number of installs since that’s the reality of Google’s own tools, on Google’s own laptops.
So, without further ado, here are the 11 best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS.
11. Cookies
Stars – 5
Reviews – 3,762
Installs – 152K+
First off on our list is Cookies, a “powerful and easy-to-use cookies editor,” as the developer puts it. What does it do? Well, it allows users to effectively manage all cookies stored in the browser, even if they are the third party.
The interface is easy to figure out, and there shouldn’t be too many issues with finding everything you need. On the other hand, you need to have a bit of knowledge about the theme at hand since not everyone can just play around with Internet cookies.
So, assuming you’re an advanced user anyway, the app tells you how many cookies are stored on your browser and how many domains they pertain to. There are multiple types of cookies, and each is marked with a different icon – such as a persistent cookie, session cookie, secure cookie and session secure cookie. These can be added to a whitelist, deleted, backed up, removed and so on. Tapping on each of these cookies allows you to see the domain it pertains too, the path to the file, the name and the store ID, the value, when it expires and several other details, such as whether it pertains to a session, whether it’s host-only, read-only or secure.
The tool further enables you to create an encrypted database. You need to set up a password, which will then be used to encrypt or decrypt the cookies, adding a layer of security to the mix. And now, let’s see what else we have in our list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS.
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10. Task Timer
Stars – 4.5
Reviews – 7,849
Installs – 160K+
This is a pretty simple tool and yet it’s so effective in keeping you focused. Why, you ask? Because Task Timer helps you keep track of time spent on tasks you need to complete, such as work, studies, house chores and so on. This should help users better manage their time, know when it’s time to switch to something else so they can still get everything done and so on.
The lists are saved locally, so you certainly won’t need an Internet connection for this app. You have plenty of settings to play with, so there’s loads of customization to be done. For instance, you can have the app ask to confirm when you attempt to reset or delete a task, or you can make the app use 12-hour format for times where applicable or to use icons in place of buttons for the task.
You can take a step further and have the app track task history, so you know how you’ve done in the past, or have it automatically stop a task when it reaches its goal. There are also notifications available, both in pop-up form for the page, or a desktop notification. It also plays a sound when the notification is sent, which you can choose on your own if you want to customize it.
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9. Draw.io Desktop
Stars – 5
Reviews – 3,844
Installs – 195K+
Do you often find yourself needing to create a diagram? Well, then, you’re in luck, because not only does Draw.io Desktop that ranks 9th in our list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS exists, it also works offline. This is a free tool that works as a standalone app where you can create diagrams. This can be useful in many fields of work, including tech.
The diagrams you create can have a wide range of shapes which you can choose from, and there are even some models available. You can choose what paper size to work on, whether you want to have them all arranged in portrait or landscape mode, whether the diagrams come with guides and background, whether there are connection arrows and so on. You can pretty much do anything and everything you want with this app, and it’s pretty great.
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8. Google Sheets
Stars – 4
Reviews – 9,425
Installs – not specified
Working with spreadsheets isn’t particularly enjoyable, but if you have to, you have to. Google Sheets is a great option for Chrome OS users since it’s free, it comes from Google, and it can be used offline, only to be backed up to Drive when an Internet connection is reestablished.
Google Sheets allows you to work with powerful formulas, create tables, format the file and so on. It can be shared with other people with just a tap of a button and you can make sure you specify whether they can edit it or they’re just there to watch.
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7. Gmail Offline
Stars – 4
Reviews – 13,124
Installs – 5.5+ million
Gmail is one of the most used email providers in the world. Thankfully, there’s also an option to run Gmail without the Internet connection. The app is in beta, but it works. Basically, when you’re online it “steals” your list of emails, which you can later access. You’ll be able to read, reply and search through the archive even when you don’t have an Internet connection, but it will only complete these actions once you’re back online.
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6. Webcam Toy
Stars – 4.5
Reviews – 13,920
Installs –1.9+ million
If you often enjoy playing around with your webcam, then Webcam Toy is a great tool. What does it do? Well, it helps you take photos with your webcam while also giving you some 80 fun camera effects and filters to play around with. You’ll have to make sure to open the app first when you’re online so it can download all these extra features, but then you can use it at any time. It loads quite fast, and from there on out it’s extremely easy to use – just go through the filters, choose your own, and take the photo. These can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, or saved to the computer when offline.
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5. Postman
Stars – 6
Reviews – 7,380
Installs – 2.7+ million
We are continuing our list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS with Postman, that isn’t a tool for everyone to use since it was created with developers in mind. In fact, this is a tool that enables users to build, test and document their APIs. Millions of people already use this tool, and it should be something you try too if this is something you want to learn how to do or if it’s something you’re already passionate about.
Postman allows users to check the history of sent requests, to create these quickly, to replay and organize their data and more.
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4. Google Calendar
Stars – 4
Reviews – 16130
Installs – not specified
Google Calendar is a great tool from Google, allowing users to keep their schedules organized. You can create events, keep appointments in order, and so on these can be shared with other people, but you need to return to the Internet world before that happens.
The offline version allows you to read the items in your schedule, so you at the very least you’re not late to your next appointment.
3. Wunderlist
Stars – 4.5
Reviews – 7,580
Installs – not specified
There are two Wunderlist apps on the list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS, but only one allows offline work. This is a tool that allows users to create lists of things they need to do or groceries they need to shop for, create reminders for appointments they need to attend, take notes and so on. The lists can be shared with anyone via email and everything syncs between your phone, tablet and computer once you get online. It’s a great tool that works well and it’s very useful.
2. Google Keep
Stars – 4
Reviews – 19.9K+
Installs – not specified
Google Keep ranks second in our list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS. It is a great tool. It lets you take notes, create lists, add reminders, and so on. These can be filed under various labels, given titles, so they’re easy to search for and more. You can create these at any time, with very little effort, and once you get back online they’re backed up in the cloud, and they can be checked out from all platforms..
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1. Google Drive
Stars – 4.5
Reviews – 51.2K+
Installs – not specified
And we’re finally at the top of our list of best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS and, unsurprisingly, we find another Google tool – Drive. This is Google’s way to allow you to control what you have stored in the cloud. You can access files, share them and so on. When offline you can view and edit files, including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings. In order to be allowed to do this, you’ll have to turn on offline access for the entire Google drive, which can be done when you have a viable Internet connection.
With that being said, these are the 11 best offline apps for Chromebook and Chrome OS.
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