Prison Video vs eMates
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Prison Video
Connect with incarcerated loved ones through secure video calls. This service allows approved social contacts to participate in virtual visits, bridging the distance and fostering connections.
- Secure video calls
- Connect with loved ones in prison
- Approved social contacts
- Prison staff approval required
- Available at participating prisons
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From the same team as the award-winning Prison Voicemail service, Prison Video enables approved social contacts to take part in video calls with loved ones in prison. To use the service, it must be available at your contact's prison and you must be approved for video calls by the prison staff.
eMates
Facilitates easy and frequent communication between prisoners and their loved ones. Aims to reduce self-harm by fostering connections and aids in prisoner rehabilitation for release.
- Easy prisoner communication
- Secure messaging
- Reduced self-harm
- Release preparation assistance
- Frequent and varied communication
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eMates (emailaprisoner.com) has the following goals: To help family and friends communicate easily and frequently with Prisoners. To reduce thoughts of self-harm/suicide through increased communication. To assist Prisoners in preparation for release with multiple partner agencies. Communication is a major factor in Prison life and the lack of it can have horrendous consequences. eMates offers a quick, efficient, secure alternative method of communication for Prisoners, their families, friends, legal professionals and related organisations - meaning Prisoners can receive more frequent and varied communication. Documentation continually states Prisoners who are able to maintain family ties are 6 times less likely to re-offend. Please check the locations page to see what features are available at what establishment: https://www.emailaprisoner.com/content/locations
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Prison Video at 48% against eMates's 4%. Prison Video also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (73 vs 1). eMates's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Prison Video holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prison Video has 73 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Prison Video's written reviews are positive against 4% of eMates's.
Prison Video ships an update every 3 weeks, eMates fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Prison Video | eMates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (73 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.7% of reviews — better | 4.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 73 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PHONEHUB IO LTD | Unilink Technology Services |
Customer experience
Prison Video
eMates
User reviews
Prison Video
From 73 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great platform for connection
- 👍 Excellent for keeping in touch
- 👍 Good quality video calls
- 👍 Clear and uninterrupted calls
- 👍 Allows seeing loved ones' faces
Room to improve
- 🐛 Calls frequently don't connect
- 🐛 App is buggy and cuts out
- 🐛 Calls are often cancelled or end early
- 🐛 Poor signal quality at prisons
- 🐛 Timing issues with booked calls
eMates
From 1 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Essential service for communication
- 👍 Better than nothing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Messages not sending or receiving
- 🐛 Login issues and account problems
- 🐛 Payment issues and money lost
- 🐛 Poor customer support
Bugs and requests
Prison Video
Reported bugs
17 issues- App crashes or exits immediately after opening
- Call connection issues
- No sound or video during calls
- Calls cut off unexpectedly
- App not working after updates
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Error messages when trying to accept calls
- No option to join scheduled calls
- App not allowing submission of comments
- Prison selection dropdown not working
- Verification of children not processing
- Calls cancelled with little notice
- Dropped connections due to monitoring station restarts
- Cannot join calls as easily as previous services
- Lost minutes at the beginning of calls
- Accidental screenshots causing call cancellations
- No notification for scheduled calls
- App not loading or crashing on launch
Requested features
9 requests- Allow screenshots during calls
- Allow showing the sun or sky during calls
- Allow bringing other people into the call
- Improve customer service responsiveness
- Make the app available in more regions
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Revert to Purple Visits service
- Allow longer call durations
- Allow smoking during calls
- More flexible booking times for those who work weekdays
eMates
Reported bugs
32 issues- App crashes frequently
- Messages fail to send or are lost
- Messages fail to receive
- Login screen freezes or doesn't respond
- Cannot log in even with correct credentials
Show 27 moreShow fewer
- Account registration errors
- Password reset functionality not working
- Money added to account but not usable
- Apple Pay not accepted despite being advertised
- App freezes for several seconds upon opening
- Contacts disappear or duplicate
- Video calls not working
- Multi-factor authentication codes not received or invalid
- Emails marked as sent but appear as drafts
- No notifications for replies
- App crashes after updates
- Scanned reply pages not appearing
- Scrolling issues within the app
- Identity verification link not working
- Error messages when trying to upload ID or face scan
- App not connecting to the server
- Old messages disappearing or blank screens
- Photos attached multiple times and charged
- Dates on sent/received emails changing
- Support email addresses bounce back
- Neatphone facility connection problems
- App not refreshing and showing old messages
- Video visit requests disappearing
- Email sending process disappears mid-way
- Unable to schedule video visits
- App not user-friendly
- Confusing credit system
Requested features
18 requests- Improve app stability and reliability
- Fix message sending and receiving issues
- Resolve login and account access problems
- Address payment and credit issues
- Enhance customer support responsiveness
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Improve message delivery speed
- Fix video call functionality
- Ensure Apple Pay compatibility
- Streamline registration process
- Fix password reset and account recovery
- Provide clear instructions for account crediting
- Resolve multi-factor authentication issues
- Improve user interface and experience
- Add notifications for replies
- Allow saving contacts
- Make app more robust and less buggy
- Address issues with image uploads
- Provide clear communication on prison staff reliance
In-app purchases
Prison Video
No in-app purchases
eMates
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Prison Video free?
Is eMates free?
Which has better reviews, Prison Video or eMates?
Do Prison Video or eMates have ads?
Which is updated more often, Prison Video or eMates?
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