Five essential apps to use in Qatar

No doubt, technology has rapidly expanded in Qatar and other Arab countries in the last few years. As everything goes online, apps designed for various purposes have made lives easier and a lot more convenient.

Here is a list of five essential apps to use in Qatar.

#1 – Stay safe: Ehteraz

Since May of this year, Ehteraz has been a mandatory app for all residents in Qatar. The app enables contact tracing to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Ehteraz faced scrutiny when it launched due to security issues, though some of these have been fixed over the past few months. Despite this, there is still more work to do.

The app is available for free on iOS and Android. For those that don’t yet have it installed, you can download it from the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store.

#2 – Order food: Talabat

With life primarily taking place at home these days, we’re eating in at home more often than ever before. While the lockdown has unleashed many skills in the kitchen, others have opted to get clicking.

The Talabat food delivery app makes lazy days more delicious by offering meals from thousands of restaurants and grocery shops directly from your phone. It also features delivery tracking so you don’t need to wonder where your meal is.

While it is likely the most popular delivery app, Talabat has no doubt faced growing competition in recent years, including Rafeeq and Carriage.

Talabat is available for free on iOS and Android.

#3 – Access government services: Metrash2

Daunting tasks that require long visits to ministry buildings are a thing of the past. Metrash2 makes government services accessible directly from your phone. The app lets you renew visas, settle traffic violations, enquire about official documents and access plenty of other services.

With restrictions still in place, the app is now more essential than ever before. Be sure to download it on your iPhone or Android device.

#4 – Get around: Karwa Taxi

As restrictions ease off across the country, it’s important to safely get out and about. Karwa, a local alternative to the leading taxi order service Uber, makes it easy to get a cab at the click of a button.

Karwa offers tracking and upfront fares to ensure a good user experience. Perhaps the best benefit of using Karwa over other ride-hailing services, is its extremely competitive pricing. The app was also recently updated to allow for payments through Apple Pay on iPhone.

It is available for free to download on your iPhone or Android device.

#5 – Buy and sell: Qatar Living Classifieds

Qatar Living Classifieds is a great service offered by Qatar Living and provides a platform for users to buy and sell products within the country. From cars, properties, phones, and even jobs, you can get pretty much anything straight from your phone.

The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.

#Bonus: Track prayers using QatarPrayer

For Muslims living in Qatar, the QatarPrayers app offers the most accurate prayer times of any app in the country. It features everything you would expect from a prayers app, including qibla direction, athan notifications, and even a widget to track upcoming prayers.

QatarPrayer is available for free on iOS. If you have an Android phone you can use the direct website.

These are just six of many essential apps to use on your iPhone or Android phone in Qatar. What are the apps you can’t go without?

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