There’s a special kind of calm that comes from putting things where they belong, even when those things live entirely online. You might not realize how scattered your favorite movies, books, and saved links are until you try to collect them in one place. That’s usually when it hits you: screenshots buried in your gallery, notes hiding in old chats, bookmarks you’ll probably never open again.
I’ve tried several organization apps over the years, but most fall into one of two camps. They’re either overly basic to-do lists that can’t handle the variety of stuff I keep track of, or heavy-duty project managers that make everything feel like another job. Listy manages to land right in the middle. It’s built purely for cataloging what you love—movies, books, games, and even wines—wrapped in a clean, visually rich interface that’s actually enjoyable to use.
- OS
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Android & iOS
- Price model
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Free (in-app purchases available)
- Platform
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Android & iOS
Listy is a privacy-focused app that lets you neatly organize and track movies, books, games, and more in one beautiful, customizable space.
Listy turns everything you love into a beautifully organized home
A home for your obsessions, minus the clutter
Getting started with Listy is simple. Tap the blue plus button, then pick the categories you want to add. You’ll see a wide range of built-in options, including Movies, Books, TV Shows, Video Games, Recipes, Podcasts, Wines, Mangas, Albums, Animes, Songs, Board Games, Apps, and Artists, with new ones appearing from time to time. There are also flexible options, like Bookmarks for saving web links or a simple To-Do list for plain text notes.
You can add a title by pasting a link or typing a title under any category. If you go the route of the latter, Listy searches its built-in databases (themoviedb) and instantly pulls up matches complete with cover art and key details. For instance, adding a movie automatically brings in the poster, release year, ratings, director, and plot summary. It works much like other apps that help you track the movies and shows you’ve watched, except Listy does it across multiple media types in one place. Books pull data from Goodreads, showing the cover, author, and rating before you even confirm. Podcasts come with show artwork and host details neatly included. Once added, you can track your progress using status buttons like “Mark as watched” or “Mark as read,” depending on the category, keeping your wishlist separate from the stuff you’ve already enjoyed.
Each entry includes a three-dot menu for more control. You can share it, edit notes, adjust metadata, download details for offline use, or delete it entirely. You’re never locked into the autofilled information if something looks off. On the main collection screen, everything appears in a clean grid layout that gives the cover art room to shine. The toolbar above lets you sort by title or date added, or switch to a compact list view if you prefer a simpler look.
Once everything is in, the next time you open the app, you’re greeted by a clean home screen showing your different collection categories, each labeled with the number of items inside.
Every list you make is personal
It’s like journaling, but for everything you love
I like Listy’s privacy-first philosophy. All your lists are, by default, stored locally on your device, so your data stays entirely in your hands. It fits neatly among other privacy-focused productivity apps that keep your information offline and secure. And because everything is stored locally, you can start using Listy right away without creating an account. If you ever want to sync across multiple devices, signing in enables secure cloud backup. The settings page also opens up a few extra tools, including data import and export options, detailed guides, and even a way to schedule a call with the developers if you need help.
Upgrading to Listy+ adds a few thoughtful perks. You can write detailed notes for your items, lock specific lists for extra privacy, customize your categories with icons, use advanced filters to find exactly what you’re looking for, and pin your most important items so they always stay on top. You can pay monthly or yearly at a significant discount, or buy it once and keep it forever. Still, for most people, the free version already nails the essentials without ever feeling limited.
The app isn’t perfect. You can’t collaborate on a list with others, and the database integration, while impressive, occasionally lacks obscure or region-specific titles. However, as I mentioned earlier, you can manually edit entries to work around this.
You don’t need more apps
If you’re the type who’s always stumbling upon new movies, books, games, or restaurants but never remembers them later, Listy feels like the perfect fix. It’s completely changed how I keep track of things I want to explore. Instead of juggling half-finished notes or losing recommendations in group chats, I now have one clean, visual space that makes the process enjoyable. The real measure of an app like this is whether you’ll still be using it months down the line. With Listy, I keep coming back not out of obligation, but because it’s genuinely satisfying to use. That’s the difference between a useful app and one that truly sticks.