Stegg vs Phasm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stegg
This app allows you to embed secret messages within any digital image, keeping the photo visually unchanged. Only those with the app can reveal the hidden text. Advanced features offer enhanced privacy and disguise options.
- Hide messages within images
- Visually identical images
- Password protection for messages
- Disguise app as calculator (Pro)
- Hide images within images (Pro)
- Customizable app themes (Pro)
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Stegg hides secret messages and entire photos inside ordinary images. The result looks like a normal picture. Your recipient can reveal what’s hidden in Stegg, and optional password encryption keeps protected secrets unreadable without the password. HOW IT’S DIFFERENT • A photo vault app on your home screen tells anyone holding your phone that you have something to hide. • Your secrets live inside ordinary-looking photos in your normal library. • Calculator Disguise can hide Stegg itself behind a working calculator. • Hiding a photo creates a new carrier image. Your original stays in your library until you delete it. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Every message and image is processed entirely on your device. • Stegg never uploads your images, messages, or passwords. • No account, usage tracking, or third-party ads. • Password protection uses strong encryption; the correct password is required to decrypt the secret. HIDE, SHARE, AND REVEAL • Hide text inside a photo without visibly changing it. • Hide a complete photo inside another with Stegg Pro. • Share compatible Steggs with other Stegg users. • Open images from other apps directly in Reveal. • Share only the stegged image with Discreet Share, or send a short explanation with Invite to Decode. • Core message hiding and revealing stay free so recipients never need Pro to decode what you send. BUILT FOR REAL-WORLD SHARING • Social-Proof mode helps preserve hidden data when a service may recompress an image. • Deep Search looks for hidden data in many cropped, resized, or screenshot images. • For the most reliable results, send or download the original image file. STEGG PRO: ONE PURCHASE Unlock photo-in-photo hiding, Calculator Disguise, five custom themes, and matching app icons. Pay once. No subscription. Your localized price appears before you buy. An app by RUNEWORKS.
Phasm
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Hidden in plain sight. Phasm turns ordinary photos into secret messengers. Your photo looks exactly the same — but it carries encrypted messages and files that only someone with the right passphrase can reveal. TWO MODES FOR TWO NEEDS • Ghost Mode — Maximum stealth. Advanced adaptive algorithms make hidden data virtually undetectable, even by statistical analysis tools. Deep Cover auto-activates for non-JPEG photos with ~43% more capacity. Supports file attachments alongside your message. • Armor Mode — Maximum durability. Your hidden message survives recompression, re-encoding, and mild cropping. Fortress sub-mode auto-activates for short messages and handles aggressive compression from popular messaging apps. SERIOUS ENCRYPTION • AES-256-GCM-SIV authenticated encryption — always on, not optional. • Argon2id key derivation — resistant to brute-force and GPU attacks. • Post-quantum safe — 256-bit symmetric keys remain secure against quantum computers. • No backdoors. No key escrow. You hold the only key. PRIVACY BY DESIGN • All processing happens on your device. Nothing is uploaded. • No account. No sign-up. No tracking. No ads. • Open-source Rust cryptographic engine — auditable by anyone. • Built for journalists, researchers, activists, curious tinkerers — or just for fun. ONE PHOTO. MULTIPLE SECRETS. Shadow Messages let you hide several independent messages in a single photo — each locked with its own passphrase. Send the same picture to five friends; each one discovers a different message using their name as the key. Nobody knows the others exist. Under pressure to reveal your passphrase? Hand over the primary one. Your shadow messages stay invisible — no header, no marker, no proof they were ever there. MAGIC WAND — ONE TAP TO OPTIMIZE Tap the wand and your photo is silently tuned for better steganographic embedding. Imperceptible texture is added to smooth regions like skies, bokeh, and flat backgrounds — boosting capacity by 10–35% with no visible change. The photo looks identical. The math works better. SHARE YOUR WAY • Share via AirDrop, Messages, email, or any app that handles images. • phasm.link — generate a short link so recipients can decode instantly in the browser or via App Clip. No install needed. • For guaranteed delivery through messaging apps, use "send as file." BUILT FOR iPHONE AND iPAD • Native app optimized for iPhone and iPad. • Supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, and HEIC — auto-converted for embedding. • Real-time decode progress with integrity scoring. • 38 languages supported. HONEST ABOUT LIMITATIONS • Platforms that resize or re-encode photos may destroy hidden data. Use direct sharing or "send as file." • Capacity depends on image resolution — larger photos carry more data. • Steganography hides the existence of a message. Encryption protects its content. Phasm gives you both.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phasm at none against Stegg's 1. Stegg's advantage is device support and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price 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. Stegg sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Phasm asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Stegg | Phasm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | — |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RUNEWORKS LLC | Christoph Gaffga |
In-app purchases
Stegg
- Stegg Pro$4.99
Phasm
No in-app purchases






