Remember Myspace? Or that time when Candy Crush was but a twinkle in the Angry Birds eye? The social media effect means trends in websites and apps are as fleeting as Rihanna's hair colour, but to save you wasting memory space on your phone, here are the five apps you really should be using, and exactly why

1. Snapchat

Lots of us haven't touched it since launch in 2011, when each post self distructed after 15 seconds meaning it was so fleeting and anonymous it attracted only, well, exhibitionists shall we say. Nowadays those issues have successfully been addressed to create a more gorwn up, socially acceptable platform that you'll notice  more and more people using - advertising their Snapchat handles on their very respectable Instagram profiles no less. Now each post lasts for 24 hours, they can be downloaded and saved, and there is no comment facility which means no cyber bullying. It's lighthearted because it's so temporary, so you'll find yourself watching Kylie Jenner singing along to her car radio, say, or Rihanna generally getting up to mischief.

Who to Follow:

Rihanna "Rihanna", Kylie Jenner "KylizzleMyNizzl" and Jared Leto "JaredLeto"

2. Bebo

Forget everything you knew about 'old' Bebo. The original Myspace-esque app essentialy got obliterated by the popularity of Twitter and Facebook, so 'new' Bebo is a totally different concept, and yes, it appeals to adults too. Basically a kooky messaging app, you can create your own avatar and chat with friends using animations and illustrations that are generated from your hashtag.  So you can 'chat with attitude'. If you like emojis (come on, who doesn't?) you will become obsessed. Try it.

Who to follow:

Whichever of your friends you can convince to download Bebo and chat with too

3. Whisper

First there was 'Secret', a hugely popular anonymous messaging app worth a reported £70m, but that got shut down by the founder who feld it "does not represent the vision I had when starting the company." He wanted it to promote free speech, but instead it promoted leaked information, rumours of product releases or company mergers to be posted. He conceded that creative expression and anonymity was a double edged sword but left a challenge "I look forward to seeing what others in this space do over time."

Step up Whisper. Almost the exact same thing, you type out your 'secret', assign it a picture and post it anonymously to the Whisper community. Why? It is somewhat cathartic and very addictive, like the anti-Facebook. Approach with caution - there will always be cyber bullies, on Twitter, Periscope, Instagram, everywhere. It's up to you whether you want to interact with them or not, but Whisper is fun, and funny enough for us to say try it out and see.

Who to follow:

Well that would be telling...

4. Persiscope

The live streaming app from Twitter is steadily gaining popularity. The popularity concept here is not based on how many followers you have, but how many 'hearts' you generate with each live post. We stream live #askELLEbeauty from the ELLE beauty cupboard where you can trype in your questions and hear us reply in real time, for example. Equally just scroll through the feed and tap into any any live stream to see the world through someone elses eyes. Popular for 'ask me anything' posts,  #showusyourfridge (an unexpected crowd pleasing trend), and yes, strange anonymous people making innappropriate remarks. But come on, we were virtually at a BBQ in Rio yesterday. Long live Periscope.

Who to follow:

ELLE Beauty Team @ELLEbeauty,  Aaron Paul @AaronPaul_8 and Sky News reporter Kay Burley @KayBurley

5. Ditty

Whatever utter genius thought of this frankly hilarious messaging app deserves recognition from the Queen at least. The concept is simple - pick a song (anything from Fur Elise to Chandelier), type your message, produce a graphic mini music video to download and send to your friends. Honestly, if you try it now you will get no more work done for the rest of the day. Do it, do it!

preview for Ditty app

6. PHHHOTO

At last. The most simple, hilarious and enslaving GIFmaker has arrived. Yes, enslaving. Once you do one you will be stuck GIFfing everything you can point your phone at. The trick is to do gentle movements, don't restrict it to selfies (resist the temptation), and keep checking back for who from your contacts and celebrity lists has joined, so you can follow and like.  It's realtively new, there aren't loads of people on there yet, but it's an Instagram-esque platform at heart. Also great for saving and sharing GIFs on your other social platforms, which is why you keep seeing them on your Instagram feed.

Who to follow:

Henry Holland "HENRYHOLLAND", Katy Perry "KATYPERRY" and Lily Allen "LILYALLEN"

Headshot of Sophie Beresiner
Sophie Beresiner
Beauty Director

Sophie Beresiner is the Beauty Director for ELLE UK. Having cut her teeth on teen titles she spent her career working up to the ELLE mothership, the brand she loves above all else. Except perhaps her Cornish Rex cats and extensive shoe and lipstick collections. Sophie is also a brand founder of luxury ceramic candle brand No.22 (and single-handedly keeps ASOS afloat)