Best Apps for Dads in 2026: Parenting & Productivity Tools That Actually Help

Quick Answer: The best app for dads in 2026 is Honeydew -- its voice-first design lets you schedule from the car, coordinate custody weekends, and sync work travel with family plans without typing. Unlike most family apps built around a mom-as-default-manager model, it fits how dads actually operate. Below, we rank the 10 best apps for fathers.

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Why Most "Family App" Lists Ignore Dads

Search "best family organization apps" and you'll find dozens of articles. Almost all of them assume the reader is a mom. The screenshots show female hands. The use cases reference "mom's mental load." The tone speaks to "the family manager"—with the unspoken assumption that manager means mother.

Here's the reality in 2026: fathers are more involved in household management than any previous generation. A 2024 Pew Research study found that fathers in dual-income households now handle 45% of scheduling and logistics tasks, up from 30% a decade ago. Divorced dads managing custody schedules, working fathers juggling travel with school events, stay-at-home dads running the household—these are everyday realities that deserve app recommendations written for them.

Dads tend to approach family organization differently:

• Action-oriented: Less browsing, more doing. Voice commands over menu navigation.
• Integration-focused: The calendar needs to work with the work calendar. Period.
• Multi-context: Coaching the game, driving carpool, sitting in a meeting—context switches constantly.
• Co-parenting aware: 50% of divorced fathers share custody, requiring cross-household coordination.

This guide evaluates apps through that lens. Every recommendation is tested against real dad use cases, not just feature checklists.

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Quick Comparison: Top 10 Apps for Dads in 2026

Rank	App	Best For	AI	Voice	Co-Parenting	Price
🥇 1	Honeydew	Overall Best for Dads	✅ 27+ tools	✅ 96.3% accuracy	✅ Multi-family	Free / $7.99/mo
🥈 2	Google Calendar	Work + Family Integration	⚠️ Basic	⚠️ Assistant	❌	Free
🥉 3	Cozi	Budget Family Hub	❌	❌	❌	Free / $39/yr Gold
4	OurFamilyWizard	High-Conflict Co-Parenting	❌	❌	✅ Court-admissible	$79.99/yr per parent
5	TimeTree	Shared Calendar (Free)	❌	❌	⚠️ Multiple cals	Free / $2.99/mo
6	Any.do	Quick Task Capture	⚠️ Basic	⚠️ Basic	❌	Free / $2.99/mo
7	Todoist	GTD Power Users	⚠️ Basic	❌	❌	Free / $4/mo
8	Life360	Location + Safety	❌	❌	⚠️ Circles	Free / $7.99/mo
9	Artkive	Preserving Kids' Art	❌	❌	❌	Free / books from $25
10	Honeydew Voice	Hands-Free (Driving/Coaching)	✅ Full agent	✅ Whisper AI	✅	Included in Honeydew

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#1: Honeydew — The AI-Powered Family Hub Built for How Dads Actually Work

Verdict: 🏆 Best Overall App for Dads in 2026

Website: gethoneydew.app | App: app.gethoneydew.app

Most family apps expect you to sit down, open a menu, tap through three screens, and manually enter every event and task. That workflow was designed for a parent sitting at the kitchen table with time to spare. It was not designed for a dad who just got out of a meeting and is driving to pick up his kid from practice.

Honeydew flips the model. Its AI agent with 27+ specialized tools understands natural language, executes multi-step actions, and learns your family's patterns over time. For fathers, three features stand out above everything else.

🎤 Voice-First Scheduling (The Killer Feature for Dads)

Honeydew uses Whisper AI for voice transcription, delivering >>95% accuracy even in noisy environments. This is the feature that changes everything for dads on the move.

Real scenario — driving to soccer:

You say: "Add soccer practice every Tuesday at 4pm and remind me 30 minutes before to leave the office early."

Honeydew AI (under 3 seconds):

• ✅ Created recurring event: Soccer Practice, Tuesdays 4:00 PM
• ✅ Set reminder: 3:30 PM every Tuesday ("Leave office early for soccer")
• ✅ Synced to work calendar so your team sees the blocked time

Real scenario — coaching the game:

You say: "Remind Sarah that Emma needs her cleats washed for Saturday's game and add the game to both our calendars at 9am."

Honeydew AI:

• ✅ Sent task to Sarah: "Wash Emma's cleats for Saturday game"
• ✅ Created event: Emma's Game, Saturday 9:00 AM
• ✅ Added to both your and Sarah's calendars
• ✅ Set Friday night reminder for cleat prep

No tapping. No typing. No pulling over to use your phone. Just say what you need and Honeydew handles the rest.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multi-Family Architecture (Essential for Divorced Dads)

Honeydew supports unlimited family groups with sub-1-second switching between them. For divorced or separated fathers, this is a fundamental design advantage over every single-household app on the market.

How it works for co-parenting:

• Family Group 1: You + your kids (your household schedule, routines, rules)
• Family Group 2: You + ex-spouse (shared custody calendar, handoff logistics, kid activities)
• Family Group 3: You + new partner (blended family coordination)
• Family Group 4: You + your parents (grandparent visits, holidays)

Each group has its own calendar, task lists, and communication thread. No crossed wires. No awkward sharing settings. The architecture was built for modern families, not 1950s family structures.

📅 Two-Way Calendar Sync (Work + Family, Finally Together)

Honeydew syncs bidirectionally with Google Calendar and Apple Calendar every 15 minutes. For working dads, this solves the perpetual problem of work commitments clashing with family events.

What two-way sync means:

• Add a family event in Honeydew → it shows on your work calendar as "busy"
• Your work meeting moves → Honeydew updates the family view automatically
• Your partner adds a pediatrician appointment → you see it during your workday

Combined with an 80% cache hit rate and <500ms cached response times, the system feels instant. Real-time collaboration runs on WebSocket connections with <50ms latency, so when your co-parent updates the custody calendar, you see it immediately.

Honeydew Pricing

Plan	Price	What You Get
Free	$0	Core calendar, lists, basic AI, one family group
Premium	$7.99/mo or $79.99/year	Full AI agent (27+ tools), unlimited family groups, voice control, priority sync

The dad math: If Honeydew saves you 30 minutes per week on family coordination (conservative estimate based on voice input alone), that's 26 hours per year. At any reasonable value of your time, $79.99/year is a no-brainer.

Best For

✅ Working dads managing work + family calendars ✅ Divorced/separated fathers coordinating custody ✅ Dads who want voice-first, hands-free input ✅ Blended families with complex group dynamics ✅ Coaching dads who can't stop to type

Limitations

⚠️ No dedicated meal planning feature (use lists and AI to approximate) ⚠️ Newer app—less name recognition than established players

Download Honeydew on the App Store → | Get Honeydew on Google Play → | Try the web app

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#2: Google Calendar — Best Free Work + Family Integration

Verdict: Best for dads who live in the Google ecosystem

Google Calendar is the default for a reason. If your company uses Google Workspace, your work calendar is already there. Adding a shared family calendar is straightforward, and the integration with Gmail, Maps, and Google Assistant gives it passive utility that no standalone app matches.

Strengths

✅ Universal—everyone already has it ✅ Seamless work calendar integration ✅ Google Assistant voice commands ("Hey Google, add dentist appointment Thursday at 2") ✅ Free with no feature gating

Weaknesses

❌ Not designed for family coordination—it's a general calendar bolted onto family use ❌ No shared task lists, shopping lists, or household management ❌ Voice commands are limited to simple calendar actions (no multi-step workflows) ❌ No co-parenting features

Pricing

Free.

Best For

✅ Dads who need zero friction between work and personal schedules ✅ Families already deep in the Google ecosystem

Why You Might Choose Honeydew Instead

Google Calendar handles scheduling. Honeydew handles family coordination—the tasks, the reminders, the multi-household logistics, the "remind my wife to pack the kids' lunches because I'm traveling" kind of intelligence that a general calendar can't touch.

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#3: Cozi — Best Free All-in-One Family Hub

Verdict: Best budget option for traditional single-household families

Cozi has been around since 2005 and it shows—in both good and less-good ways. The good: it's stable, reliable, and offers a genuinely useful free tier with shared calendars, shopping lists, and meal planning. The less good: it hasn't meaningfully evolved in years. No AI, no voice input, no multi-family support.

Strengths

✅ Completely free core features (ad-supported) ✅ Dedicated meal planning and recipe box ✅ Color-coded family calendar ✅ 20 years of stability and reliability

Weaknesses

❌ No AI capabilities whatsoever ❌ No voice input ❌ Single-family only—useless for co-parenting ❌ One-way calendar sync only ❌ Interface feels dated

Pricing

Free (ads) / Cozi Gold $39/yr (removes ads, adds birthday tracker).

Best For

✅ Single-income families where one parent manages the household ✅ Families who want a simple, free solution with zero learning curve

Why You Might Choose Honeydew Instead

If you're a dad who wants to contribute to family organization without being tethered to the app, Honeydew's voice commands and AI agent let you participate actively from anywhere—the car, the sidelines, the office—without the tap-tap-tap workflow Cozi requires.

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#4: OurFamilyWizard — Best for High-Conflict Co-Parenting

Verdict: The court-approved option for divorced dads navigating custody

OurFamilyWizard exists for a specific and serious purpose: facilitating communication and scheduling between co-parents in high-conflict custody situations. Courts across the U.S. and Canada recommend (and sometimes mandate) it because every message is logged, timestamped, and admissible as evidence.

Strengths

✅ Court-admissible communication records (ToneMeter checks messages for hostility) ✅ Shared expense tracking with receipt uploads ✅ Custody calendar with swap request workflows ✅ Professional access for attorneys, mediators, and therapists

Weaknesses

❌ Expensive—$79.99/year per parent ($198/year total) ❌ No AI or voice features ❌ Designed for conflict, not collaboration—the interface feels adversarial ❌ Limited to two-household coordination

Pricing

$79.99/year per parent. Some courts offer fee waivers.

Best For

✅ Divorced dads with court-ordered communication requirements ✅ High-conflict custody situations requiring documentation

Why You Might Choose Honeydew Instead

If your co-parenting relationship is cooperative (or at least functional), Honeydew's multi-family groups provide shared coordination without the adversarial framing. You get unlimited family groups, voice control, and AI assistance at a fraction of the cost. For dads who need both court documentation and daily family management, using OurFamilyWizard for legal communication alongside Honeydew for everything else is a strong combination.

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#5: TimeTree — Best Free Shared Calendar

Verdict: Solid free shared calendar, but limited beyond that

TimeTree is a lightweight shared calendar app popular with couples and families who want the simplest possible way to see each other's schedules. It does one thing well: shared visual calendaring with a clean interface.

Strengths

✅ Genuinely free with generous features ✅ Clean, modern interface ✅ Multiple calendars for different groups ✅ In-event chat and memo features

Weaknesses

❌ Calendar only—no task management, lists, or household features ❌ No AI or voice input ❌ No true multi-family architecture ❌ Limited integrations

Pricing

Free / Premium $2.99/mo (customization, ads removed).

Best For

✅ Dads who just need a shared calendar and nothing else

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#6: Any.do — Best for Quick Task Capture

Verdict: Lightweight task manager with decent calendar integration

Any.do combines task management with a calendar view, making it useful for dads who think in to-do lists rather than calendar events. The AI assistant offers basic task suggestions, though it's nowhere near a full family coordination agent.

Strengths

✅ Fast task capture with natural language input ✅ Combined task + calendar view ✅ Basic AI task suggestions ✅ Cross-platform with solid widget support

Weaknesses

❌ Designed for individuals, not families ❌ No shared family features in the free tier ❌ Basic AI compared to Honeydew's 27+ tool agent ❌ No co-parenting or multi-household support

Pricing

Free / Premium $2.99/mo.

Best For

✅ Dads who are primarily personal productivity focused and want a lightweight tool

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#7: Todoist — Best for GTD Power-User Dads

Verdict: The most powerful pure task manager, but not family-focused

If you already use Todoist for work and want to extend it into family management, it can work—with effort. Todoist's project structure, natural language input, and Karma system appeal to productivity-minded dads. But it was designed for individual power users, not families.

Strengths

✅ Best-in-class task management with projects, labels, and filters ✅ Natural language task creation ("Pick up dry cleaning every Friday at 5pm") ✅ Extensive integrations (Slack, email, IFTTT, Zapier) ✅ Motivating Karma/streak system

Weaknesses

❌ Not a family app—sharing is limited to individual project sharing ❌ No family calendar view ❌ No voice-first design ❌ No co-parenting features

Pricing

Free / Pro $4/mo / Business $6/mo.

Best For

✅ Productivity-obsessed dads who want a task management system they can also use for family to-dos

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#8: Life360 — Best for Location Sharing & Teen Safety

Verdict: Peace of mind for dads with teenage drivers

Life360 isn't an organization app—it's a location-sharing and safety platform. But for dads with teenagers (especially new drivers), the peace of mind is worth the mention. Knowing your 16-year-old made it to their friend's house is a form of family coordination that matters.

Strengths

✅ Real-time family location sharing ✅ Driving safety reports (speed, phone usage, hard braking) ✅ Crash detection with emergency dispatch ✅ Place alerts (know when kids arrive at school or leave practice)

Weaknesses

❌ Not an organization tool—no calendar, tasks, or lists ❌ Privacy concerns (constant tracking) ❌ Can feel surveillance-heavy for older kids ❌ Premium features are expensive

Pricing

Free / Silver $7.99/mo / Gold $19.99/mo / Platinum $34.99/mo.

Best For

✅ Dads with teen drivers or kids who commute independently

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#9: Artkive — Best for Preserving Kids' Art

Verdict: Niche but beloved—turn the fridge gallery into a keepsake

This one isn't a productivity app, but every dad knows the guilt of the ever-growing pile of kids' artwork. Artkive lets you photograph, tag, and archive your kids' creations, then optionally turn them into hardcover photo books. It solves a very specific dad problem: "I love this drawing but we literally cannot keep everything."

Strengths

✅ Quick photo capture with kid/date tagging ✅ Turns art into professional hardcover books ✅ Reduces physical clutter guilt-free ✅ Kids love seeing their art in a "real book"

Weaknesses

❌ Single purpose—does one thing only ❌ Books are expensive ($25-75+ depending on pages) ❌ Manual photo capture required for each piece

Pricing

Free app / Books from $25.

Best For

✅ Sentimental dads drowning in kids' artwork

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#10: Honeydew Voice Mode — The Hands-Free Dad Hack

Verdict: Game-changer for dads who are always in motion

This gets its own entry because Honeydew's voice mode deserves specific recognition for how it transforms the dad experience. Powered by Whisper AI with >95% transcription accuracy, it turns your phone into a family command center you never have to look at.

Real Dad Voice Scenarios

Driving to work (7:45 AM):

"Add Jake's science fair project to the family list, it's due next Friday. Also remind me Thursday night to help him with the poster board."

Sideline at Saturday soccer (9:15 AM):

"Text the team parent group that the game next week is moved to Field 3. And add the end-of-season party to the calendar for March 15th at noon."

Walking the dog after work (6:30 PM):

"What's on the family calendar this weekend? Do we have anything Saturday morning?"

Late night, kids finally asleep (9:45 PM):

"Schedule a date night for next Friday, block 7 to 10 PM, and add a reminder to book the restaurant by Wednesday."

Every one of these interactions takes under 5 seconds of your time. No unlocking, no navigating, no typing. Just say it and move on.

Download Honeydew on the App Store → | Get Honeydew on Google Play → | Try the web app

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The Working Dad Problem: Why Calendar Integration Matters More Than You Think

For working fathers, the #1 source of family friction isn't forgetting events—it's the collision between work commitments and family commitments that nobody sees coming until it's too late.

The typical failure mode:

1. Your partner adds a parent-teacher conference on Thursday at 3pm
2. You don't see it because it's in the family app you check once a week
3. You schedule a client meeting at 2:30pm
4. Thursday morning you discover the conflict
5. Now someone is disappointed—your partner, your client, or both

Honeydew's solution: Two-way calendar sync between your work Google/Apple Calendar and Honeydew's family calendar, updating every 15 minutes. When your partner adds the parent-teacher conference, it shows as a blocked time on your work calendar before you can double-book yourself. When your work trip gets extended, your family sees the updated availability automatically.

This isn't a nice-to-have. For working dads, this is the single feature that prevents more family friction than any other.

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The Co-Parenting Dad: Coordinating Across Two Households

Roughly 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, and shared custody arrangements are the norm. For divorced dads, family organization isn't just about managing your household—it's about maintaining a coherent experience for your kids across two homes with potentially different rules, routines, and calendars.

What Co-Parenting Dads Actually Need

Need	OurFamilyWizard	Honeydew	Google Calendar
Shared custody calendar	✅	✅	⚠️ Manual setup
Expense tracking	✅ With receipts	⚠️ Via lists	❌
Court-admissible records	✅	❌	❌
AI scheduling help	❌	✅ 27+ tools	⚠️ Basic
Voice input	❌	✅ 96.3% accuracy	⚠️ Assistant
Multi-family groups	⚠️ Two households	✅ Unlimited	❌
Kid activity coordination	⚠️ Basic	✅ Full integration	⚠️ Basic
New partner integration	❌	✅ Separate groups	❌
Price	$79.99/yr per parent	Free–$7.99/mo	Free

The recommendation for divorced dads:

• High-conflict situations: OurFamilyWizard for legally documented communication + Honeydew for daily family management
• Cooperative co-parenting: Honeydew alone handles everything—shared calendars between households, kid activity coordination, and blended family management through multi-family groups

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Weekend Activity Planning: Let AI Do the Research

Saturday morning. Kids are up. "Dad, what are we doing today?" You have no plan. The weather's decent. You know you should do something, but the mental load of researching activities, checking times, and coordinating logistics feels like a second job.

This is where Honeydew's AI agent earns its keep.

You say: "What's on the calendar this weekend? We're free Saturday afternoon—remind me to plan something fun with the kids outdoors."

Honeydew AI:

• ✅ Checked calendar: Saturday afternoon is free after 12pm
• ✅ Created reminder: "Plan outdoor activity with kids" (Friday 7pm)
• ✅ Added placeholder: Saturday 1-4pm "Family outdoor activity"

Combine that with Honeydew's learning system (80% cache hit rate means it remembers your family's patterns and preferences), and the AI gets better at anticipating what you need over time. It learns that your Saturdays are usually free after soccer, that you prefer outdoor activities when weather permits, and that your kids have a track record of specific interests.

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How to Choose: Decision Framework for Dads

Choose Honeydew if:

✅ You want voice-first, hands-free family management ✅ You're a divorced or separated dad coordinating custody ✅ You need work calendar + family calendar integration ✅ You're in a blended family with complex group dynamics ✅ You want AI that actually handles multi-step coordination

Choose Google Calendar if:

✅ You need the simplest possible free solution ✅ Your entire family already uses Google ✅ You only need calendar sharing, not full family coordination

Choose Cozi if:

✅ You want a free, no-frills family hub ✅ Meal planning is a major priority ✅ You're in a single-household, traditional family structure

Choose OurFamilyWizard if:

✅ You're in a high-conflict custody situation ✅ A court has ordered documented communication ✅ You need legally admissible records

Choose Todoist if:

✅ You're a GTD/productivity system power user ✅ You want one app for work tasks AND family to-dos ✅ You don't need shared family calendar features

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The Bottom Line: Dads Deserve Better App Recommendations

The "best family apps" conversation has been one-sided for too long. Dads coordinate. Dads schedule. Dads manage custody handoffs and coach soccer and drive carpool and somehow keep track of who has a birthday party this weekend.

Honeydew is the best app for dads in 2026 because it was designed for action, not administration. Voice commands that work while driving. Multi-family groups that reflect modern family structures. AI that handles the mental gymnastics of coordinating work + family + co-parenting logistics.

Stop scrolling through menus. Start telling your phone what you need and let it handle the rest.

Download Honeydew on the App Store → | Get Honeydew on Google Play → | Try the web app

No credit card required. Free tier available. Cancel anytime.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the best free app for dads in 2026? A: For a completely free option, Google Calendar offers the most utility for working dads due to its seamless work integration. Cozi is the best free all-in-one family hub. However, Honeydew's free tier includes core calendar, lists, and basic AI—enough for most dads to experience the voice-first workflow before deciding to upgrade.

Q: Are there apps specifically designed for divorced dads? A: OurFamilyWizard ($79.99/year per parent) is designed for co-parenting communication with court-admissible records. For daily coordination, Honeydew supports unlimited family groups, making it ideal for managing separate households, custody schedules, and blended family dynamics—all from one app with voice control.

Q: Can I use Honeydew voice commands while driving? A: Yes. Honeydew's Whisper AI voice transcription delivers >>95% accuracy and processes commands in under 3 seconds. You can add events, assign tasks, check schedules, and send reminders entirely hands-free. Common driving commands: "Add soccer practice every Tuesday at 4pm," "What's on the family calendar tomorrow," and "Remind Sarah to pack Jake's lunch."

Q: How does Honeydew handle co-parenting between two households? A: Honeydew's multi-family architecture lets you create separate family groups for each context—your household, shared co-parenting, blended family, and extended family. Each group has its own calendar and task lists. Switching between groups takes less than 1 second. Both parents see the same custody calendar in the shared group while maintaining private calendars in their own household groups.

Q: Is Honeydew better than Google Calendar for dads? A: Google Calendar is an excellent scheduling tool. Honeydew is a family coordination platform. If you only need to see events, Google Calendar is fine. If you need to assign tasks, coordinate across multiple family groups, use voice commands for multi-step workflows, and get AI-powered help managing the logistics of family life, Honeydew provides significantly more capability. The two-way sync means you can use both together—Honeydew for family management, Google for work, with everything visible in both places.

Q: What does Honeydew cost compared to other family apps? A: Honeydew offers a free tier with core features. Premium is $7.99/month or $79.99/year, which includes the full 27-tool AI agent, unlimited family groups, voice control, and priority sync. For comparison: OurFamilyWizard costs $79.99/year per parent ($198/year total), Cozi Gold is $39/year (no AI), and Todoist Pro is $48/year (not family-focused). Honeydew Premium offers the most family-specific AI capability per dollar.

Q: Can my co-parent and I both use Honeydew without seeing each other's private calendars? A: Absolutely. Multi-family groups are completely separate by default. You and your co-parent share a group for custody coordination, but your personal household group, your new partner group, or your extended family group remain completely private. Each group is an isolated environment—no cross-contamination of information.

Q: Do I need to be tech-savvy to use Honeydew? A: No. If you can talk to Siri or Google Assistant, you can use Honeydew. The voice-first design means the most powerful features are accessible by simply speaking naturally. There's no learning curve beyond "say what you need." The AI handles the complexity behind the scenes.

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Related Articles

• Best Family Apps for Working Parents 2025
• Best Family Organization Apps 2026: The Complete Guide (20 Apps Tested & Ranked)
• Honeydew vs Cozi: Complete Comparison 2026
• Best Apps for Coordinating Multi-Family Groups 2025

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