Comparison

ByPlace vs Photo/Message Lock

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ByPlace

This app uses augmented reality to overlay digital information onto your physical surroundings. You can explore your environment, attach various documents like web links and PDFs to real-world objects, and interact with enhanced digital content.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality environment exploration
  • Attach documents to physical objects
  • Overlay digital information
  • Interactive playground
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Your place remembers with ByPlace. Keep track of what matters around your home, property, workshop or office. ByPlace connects each item with the place where it belongs, so you can find it again and keep its useful details close. PIN ITEMS IN AUGMENTED REALITY Create a Space for a room, home, building or garden. Pin items where they are in AR, then return later to see them in context. Walk the boundary to create a top-down Site Plan of your space. KEEP EVERY DETAIL TOGETHER Add photos, videos, voice clips, notes, reminders, documents and web links to an item. Record model and serial numbers, purchase information, warranties, maintenance details and location. Quick Capture lets you take a photo or record a voice note before choosing where it belongs. ORGANIZE PLACES BEYOND HOME Create Areas for shops, services, sights and other places you want to remember. Build Routes for trails or trip itineraries, arrange their stops, and open directions when it is time to go. START WITH A USEFUL TEMPLATE Choose templates for home maintenance, emergency information, gardens, workshops, offices, travel and more. Starter items help you remember what to record, and you can customize everything. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your sites stay on your device and in your private iCloud, never on ByPlace servers. Your other devices signed in to the same iCloud account can receive them too. Share a site with family only when you choose. USE YOUR PREFERRED AI APP Send a photo or place to a compatible AI app, then paste its structured reply into ByPlace to create item details, manual links or a practical guide. The free version supports up to 2 owned sites and 100 items or places. ByPlace Pro is an optional one-time purchase that unlocks unlimited sites and items, Routes, nested Spaces and Areas, Move, and Family Sharing. No subscription. Some features require a compatible device, camera, location access, iCloud account or third-party app.

About

Photo/Message Lock

Securely store private photos, videos, and messages in a personal cloud vault. Protect your sensitive data with multi-factor authentication and biometric unlock options. Easily import chats from popular messaging apps.

Highlights
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Cloud storage for private data
  • Import chats from WhatsApp and Line
  • Biometric unlock (TouchID, FaceID)
  • Optional cloud syncing
  • Password recovery via multi-factor authentication
Features
Read full description

Have messages, photos or videos that are so private you want to keep on a separate safe cloud only you could access? This app is for you! The only app that enables multi-factor authentication to access your cloud stored private data! Easily backup your popular application's messages (including videos, photos etc) in the cloud securely and safely. Currently fully support importing chats from WhatsApp and Line. Other chats, photos & videos could be imported manually. Make any of your conversation, photos or videos private easily and keep those behind a lock only you have access to. You can unlock your saved chats, photos or videos using TouchID, FaceID or a passcode (depend on your device capability) Store all your private conversations, photos and videos on a secure cloud which could be unlocked by you only. Syncing your data with our cloud and login is optional. If you decide to store your data in our cloud and you forget your password you can restore it by multiple factor authentications so you would have access to this private data always. To have access to the cloud data you would need to have access to the email and phone number you have provided. Important: The app doesn't add a lock to the original app, it is used to store your sensitive data and chats in a safe cloud. It is your responsibility to delete those chats from the original device. ----------------------------------- Information about the auto-renewable nature of the subscription - If you want to use our service, we offer you cloud archiving service. With subscribing you will get 10GB cloud disk space. - Subscription period is monthly or yearly. Every month or year your subscription renews. - Prices for subscriptions depends on which package you choose and will be seen in payment screen. - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. - You can cancel your subscription via this url: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 - Privacy policy: http://privacy.safecloudapp.com - Term of use: http://tos.safecloudapp.com - Subscription Information : http://subscription.safecloudapp.com ----------------------------------- DISCLAIMER Unofficial Product. Any product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks or images featured or referred to within this app are the property of their respective trademark holders. Any of these trademark holders are not affiliated with us, our products, or our apps. They do not sponsor or endorse this app or any of our online products. Get updates also on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SafeCloudApp

Screenshots

ByPlace3 screens
Photo/Message Lock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ByPlace at 100% against Photo/Message Lock's 43%. ByPlace also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and monetization model (free vs subscription). Photo/Message Lock's advantage is ratings volume (796 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ByPlace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Photo/Message Lock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ByPlace holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Photo/Message Lock has 796 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of ByPlace's written reviews are positive against 43% of Photo/Message Lock's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ByPlace ships an update every 2 months, Photo/Message Lock monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ByPlace versus Photo/Message Lock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterByPlacePhoto/Message Lock
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.4 (796 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better43.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2796 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size58 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperByPlace LLCShesek LLC

Customer experience

ByPlace

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Photo/Message Lock

All ratings787 ratings
Positive84.5%
Neutral5.5%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive43.2%
Neutral6.8%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

ByPlace

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Photo/Message Lock

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Data loss issues
  • Subscription management problems

Requested features

2 requests
  • Expand chat app support beyond WhatsApp
  • Add password recovery option

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ByPlace

One-time1
  • ByPlace Pro$4.99
2 purchases

Photo/Message Lock

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Premium subscription7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is ByPlace free?
ByPlace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photo/Message Lock free?
Photo/Message Lock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ByPlace or Photo/Message Lock?
ByPlace is rated higher. ByPlace averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Photo/Message Lock averages 4.4 from 796 ratings.
Do ByPlace or Photo/Message Lock have ads?
Neither ByPlace nor Photo/Message Lock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ByPlace or Photo/Message Lock?
ByPlace ships an update every 2 months, and Photo/Message Lock monthly. Most recently, ByPlace was updated on November 3, 2026 and Photo/Message Lock on November 2, 2026.

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