NCIS Tips vs Smart Card Utility
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NCIS Tips
This app offers a secure and anonymous channel for citizens to report criminal activity. It supports the investigative and protective mission of the federal law enforcement agency for the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Anonymous tip submission
- Secure reporting channel
- Supports law enforcement investigations
- Protects Navy and Marine Corps interests
- Investigates felony crime and terrorism
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NCIS Tips provides citizens with a safe and anonymous way to report a crime. NCIS is the civilian federal law enforcement agency uniquely responsible for investigating felony crime, preventing terrorism and protecting secrets for the Navy and Marine Corps. NCIS will defeat threats across the foreign intelligence, terrorist and criminal spectrum by conducting operations and investigations ashore, afloat, and in cyberspace, in order to protect and preserve the superiority of the Navy and Marine Corps warfighters.
Smart Card Utility
Access secure government and military websites on your iPhone or iPad using your PIV-enabled smart card. Log in quickly to Office 365, Webmail, Teams, and more, eliminating the need for a laptop.
- Smart card authentication for O365, Webmail, Teams
- Access CAC protected websites via Safari
- Fast login on iPhone and iPad
- Supports PIV, CACv2/ECA, and PKCS15 cards
- Compatible with various smart card readers
- Access military and civilian web sites
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CAC Smart Card Access to O365, Webmail, Teams, and Much More Smart Card Utility enables smart card authentication to Office 365, Webmail, Teams, and most other CAC protected websites via Safari. Just plug in your existing PIV-enabled smart card and log in. Smart Card Utility is used by members of Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army, Coast Guard, and other military/government employees to access CAC protected websites on their iPhone or iPad. Login and Get to Work Fast! Forget about waiting for 20 minute for your laptop to boot up, log in and launch apps. Using your iPhone and iPad and Smart Card Utility, it takes seconds to turn on and access websites, Teams, Office 365 and more using your CAC smart card. Login fast with your CAC card and Smart Card Utility Readers for iOS and iPhone. Smart Card Authentication Wherever You Are Forget about waiting to get back to your laptop to check your email, verify your paycheck, take a course, or respond to a message on Teams. Smart Card Utility makes it simple to use the device you have with you to keep you connected. Simply insert your CAC into the reader and you are ready to access the resources where ever you are. Check Your Email and So Much More Leave your laptop behind and stop waiting in line to check your email on a shared PC. Use your smart card right on your iPhone or iPad to access your web mail using your CAC or PIV card. Smart Card Utility has been tested and is compatible with the most common military and civilian web sites, including: mypay.dfas.mil (myPay) www.defensetravel.osd.mil (Defense Travel System/DTS) jkodirect.jten.mil (JKO Learning Management) Office 365 (o365) owa.us.af.mil (webmail) www.tricare.mil (Tricare Health Care) www.dau.edu (DAU Defense Acquisition University) owa.us.af.mil (webmail) Microsoft Teams (web) MAX.gov Okta PIV Microsoft Azure Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Amazon Web Services (AWS) Supported Readers: All Smart Card readers from Twocanoes Software. Feitian br301 Bluetooth Reader Feitian iR301 Lightning Reader Feitian iR301 USB-C Reader Certgate AirID 2 Bluetooth Contact Smart Card Reader USB-C wired readers supported by iOS 16 or later. Supported Card: PIV CACv2/ECA (see https://public.cyber.mil/eca/ for more infomation) PKCS15 (Country-specific cards, healthcare cards and national ID cards) EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NCIS Tips at 5.0 against Smart Card Utility's 2.9. NCIS Tips also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Smart Card Utility's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 103 months) and ratings volume (63 vs 6). On price, ads and device support 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. Smart Card Utility sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. NCIS Tips asks for nothing beyond the download.
NCIS Tips holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Card Utility has 63 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
NCIS Tips ships an update every 103 months, Smart Card Utility every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NCIS Tips | Smart Card Utility |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better | 2.9 (63 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 38.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 63 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 103 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Naval Criminal Investigative Service | Twocanoes Software, Inc. |
Customer experience
NCIS Tips
Smart Card Utility
Bugs and requests
NCIS Tips
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Smart Card Utility
Reported bugs
17 issues- Device will not connect to newer iPhones
- PIN suddenly won't work
- Does not see SCR 3310 card reader
- Bluetooth reader bug on macOS
- New update broke BT read on iOS
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- Reproducible bug with Bluetooth reader and macOS Sonoma
- Reader not showing up in app
- Limited trial is very limited
- iOS 16 with SCR3310 Non-functional
- App sees reader, but cannot detect smart card
- Reader could not be verified
- App detects reader, but reader does not detect card
- Broken in Big Sur
- App opens but closes or prompts for purchase on Big Sur
- BigSur Doesnt Work
- Big Sur Bricked it
- Doesn't work in Big Sur
Requested features
3 requests- Support for more CAC enabled sites
- Show cert chain graphically
- Support alphanumeric+symbols PINs
In-app purchases
NCIS Tips
No in-app purchases
Smart Card Utility
- 3rd Party Readers Support$2.991 Month
- Smart Card Utility$49.99
- Smart Card Utility Mobile$49.99
- Third Party Readers$49.99
Questions
Is NCIS Tips free?
Is Smart Card Utility free?
Which has better reviews, NCIS Tips or Smart Card Utility?
Do NCIS Tips or Smart Card Utility have ads?
Which is updated more often, NCIS Tips or Smart Card Utility?
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