Music Shortcut

Your kid asks for the shark song — you unlock the phone, open the app, type in the search box, pick from a list, and only then does the sound start. Five taps. Several times a day.

This app makes it one. A button on your home screen is that music.

■ How to make one
Share from your music app, or copy the link, and paste it here. The moment you paste, the screen tells you what it read — “Spotify, Album”. Give it a name and tap Add to home screen.

■ Works with

• Spotify — songs · albums · artists · playlists · podcast episodes
• YouTube Music — songs · albums · playlists
• Apple Music — songs · albums · artists · playlists · radio
• YouTube — videos · playlists · Shorts · live
• MELON — songs · albums · artists · playlists · music videos

Whichever app the link came from is the one that plays it. Nothing to choose — the answer is already in the link. An album plays right through, in order, from the first track. For MELON, use the app’s Share button to get the link. Apple Music asks for one permission — the only way Android lets us say “play this” to another app.

■ Several on one panel
Press and hold a button to select several. Put them side by side in one widget, or delete them all at once. Stretch the widget and the tiles grow — we work out the rows and columns for you.

■ Moving to another device
Export your buttons as a single file and import them on another device — they come back exactly as they were. Put the same set on your tablet, or on a new phone. When you switch phones, Android backup brings them along too.

■ Price
Six buttons are free. From the seventh, one payment and you keep making them. A one-time purchase, not a subscription. Nothing leaves your account each month. Buttons you already made are never locked later.

■ What it doesn’t have
· No ads
· No account, no sign-in
· No subscription
· No settings screen

■ Worth knowing
· The music app makes the sound. That app has to be installed.
· Podcasts are not supported.
· Apple Music needs one permission (the only way Android lets us say “play this” to another app). We never read a single notification.

“Built for myself” is a set of apps made because they were needed, and used every day by the person who made them. No settings screen, nothing to sell you, nothing to ask.