Paranoia Text Encryption Lite vs The Cipher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
Securely encrypt and decrypt sensitive text data, including notes, messages, and cryptocurrency keys. Offers robust security with multiple strong encryption algorithms and advanced steganography features to hide data within images. Also supports secure password exchange using post-quantum cryptography.
- Text encryption and decryption
- Steganography (hide text in JPEG)
- Post-quantum key encapsulation
- Multiple strong encryption algorithms
- Copy/paste and file saving
- Session-based password management
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• Paranoia Text Encryption is a comprehensive text encryption application for iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod) and macOS, developed by Paranoia Works. • Paranoia Text Encryption safeguards your notes, SMS messages, emails, social networking posts, cryptocurrency keys (seeds, mnemonics), and any other text from unwanted readers. • Simply copy and paste text to and from your favorite applications, or save it to a file for future use. • This app does not function as a "vault application." Instead, a password is set for the current encryption/decryption session, not to enter the app itself. You may use an unlimited number of passwords for any purpose—different files, tasks, people, etc. • The app guarantees robust security by encrypting data using strong encryption algorithms: Blowfish (448-bit), AES (256-bit), RC6 (256-bit), Serpent (256-bit), and Twofish (256-bit) ciphers. • Steganography: The application includes steganographic features, allowing you to conceal text or files within a JPEG image. Two algorithms are available: J-UNIWARD (content-adaptive, minimizes visual distortion, harder to detect) and F5 (matrix encoding, efficient embedding). The selected algorithm works with the chosen symmetric cipher to produce the final steganogram. • Key Encapsulation (KEM): Securely exchange encryption passwords using the post-quantum ML-KEM mechanism (NIST FIPS 203). Two parties can establish a shared password without ever transmitting it directly, with protection against future quantum computer attacks. ◆ Differences between Free and PRO versions: The PRO version offers additional encryption algorithms, specifically Threefish (1024-bit), SHACAL-2 (512-bit), and Paranoia C4 (2048-bit), which is a cascade of Threefish–Serpent–AES–SHACAL-2. While the free version can decrypt data encrypted by these advanced algorithms, the ability to encrypt data using these algorithms is exclusive to the PRO version. The PRO version also provides a key to activate the PRO versions of desktop applications: Paranoia File & Text Encryption for PC, Paranoia Text Encryption for PC, and S.S.E. File Encryptor for PC. • The application is natively compatible with macOS (10.15 and later). Versions for other systems and platforms can be downloaded from the application homepage: https://paranoiaworks.mobi/download/. • An online (web-based) version, utilizing AES and client-side JavaScript, and other utilities are available at https://pteo.paranoiaworks.mobi
The Cipher
This app allows users to encrypt and decrypt messages using a variety of classic ciphers. It also includes tools for cryptoanalysis to help understand encrypted text and a mod calculator.
- Multiple classic ciphers (Rail Fence, Caesar, Vigenere, Enigma, etc.)
- Cryptoanalysis tools (Letter Frequency, N-Gram Frequency)
- Mod Calculator
- Random Generator
- Encrypt and decrypt messages
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Encrypt and decrypt messages using famous ciphers. *** Ciphers *** * Rail Fence * Scytale * Caesar Shift * Substitution * Vigenere * Enigma *** Crypto-anaylis *** * Letter Frequency * N-Gram Frequency * Word Frequency * Repeated Letters + Factors * Index of Coincidence * Fitness Measure *** Tools *** * Mod Calculator * Random Generator
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Paranoia Text Encryption Lite at 74% against The Cipher's 29%. Paranoia Text Encryption Lite also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.8) and ratings volume (84 vs 6). The Cipher's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 14.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paranoia Text Encryption Lite has 84 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Paranoia Text Encryption Lite's written reviews are positive against 29% of The Cipher's.
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite ships an update every 2 months, The Cipher fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paranoia Text Encryption Lite | The Cipher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (84 ratings) — better | 2.8 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews — better | 28.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 84 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.5 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Frantisek Dvorak | Logan Richards |
Customer experience
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
The Cipher
In-app purchases
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
No in-app purchases
The Cipher
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Paranoia Text Encryption Lite free?
Is The Cipher free?
Which has better reviews, Paranoia Text Encryption Lite or The Cipher?
Do Paranoia Text Encryption Lite or The Cipher have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paranoia Text Encryption Lite or The Cipher?
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