Private Kit vs Auth NFC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Private Kit
This app allows you to log your GPS trails directly on your phone. All data is stored locally and remains private until you choose to export it. It efficiently stores location history with minimal space usage.
- Privacy-first location logging
- Local data storage
- Manual data export
- Efficient data storage
- Location import/export
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PrivateKit MIT is a ‘privacy-first’ app that allows you to log your GPS trails on your own phone. The information is stored locally and never shared with anyone (not even with us or MIT) until you explicitly decide to manually export the data. The location log generated by Private Kit cannot be accessed from outside the user’s device. Location information can be imported and exported by the user and used in other projects and applications. Private Kit’s trail generator logs your device’s location once every five minutes and stores 28 days of data in under 100KB of space – less space than a single picture. But what is truly exciting about Private Kit is its privacy protection. The app needs access to your location and motion tracking sensors to work.
Auth NFC
This app provides a secure way to manage your accounts using NFC technology for an extra layer of protection. It allows for easy import/export of accounts and offers options to store secrets locally or on external NFC tags and YubiKeys.
- NFC-based security
- Import/export accounts
- Store secrets on NFC tags/YubiKeys
- Two-factor authentication
- QR code backups
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Auth NFC is a simple authenticator that uses NFC for an added layer of security. • Easily import/export your accounts. • Store account secrets on your phone or off-device on NFC tags or YubiKeys. • Enable two-factor authentication requiring password + NFC tag. • Generate QR codes of your accounts for storing a photo backup. Auth NFC securely stores your secrets using industry-standard encryption and hashing algorithms. All data is stored locally on your device unless you choose to store individual secrets on NFC tags. You may export your accounts, including secrets, in plaintext or encrypted. Always store exported files securely.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Auth NFC at 5.0 against Private Kit's 3.7. Private Kit's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (121 vs 2). 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.
Auth NFC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Kit has 121 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Private Kit ships an update every 4 days, Auth NFC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Private Kit | Auth NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (121 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 121 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Thomas Wixson |
Customer experience
Private Kit
Auth NFC
Bugs and requests
Private Kit
Reported bugs
29 issues- App crashes when trying to view movements on map
- Map crashes/closes app before loading
- App crashes when trying to open map
- App crashes when trying to view overlaps
- Map shows zoomed out view and crashes
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- App crashes when visualizing data streams
- App doesn't show location
- App doesn't log trips consistently
- Map doesn't update routes
- Import/Export/News icons are hidden or inaccessible
- Three vertical dots (menu) are off-screen
- GUI displays incorrectly on smaller screens
- News button does not work
- Import button shows 'Rolling out soon'
- Export button text is cut off
- Description box covers half the screen
- Latest update broken for some users
- Latest update forgot previous weeks log
- Update from two days ago prevents tapping start logging button
- GPS data not accurate, shows incorrect locations
- Map overlay shows incorrect wandering
- Cannot access three buttons (import, export, news) due to screen size
- The 'for more information' box hides import/export/news buttons
- Location logging clusters locations in one spot
- Location data placed at locations never visited
- Map is zoomed out by default
- Cannot get import/export/news icons
- Cannot access three vertical dots upper right hand corner
- App not optimized for iPhone SE screen size
Requested features
16 requests- Better howto and help information
- More rigorous and robust app development
- Simple notebook feature for user contacts
- Clearer explanation of map features (green targets, red pins)
- Option to add locations when without phone
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- Explanation of what a 'Hit' looks like
- Make data-sharing opt-out instead of opt-in
- Consider implementation on existing platforms like Facebook
- Explanation for the number in the circle on the map
- How to input a positive test result
- Default map view should be zoomed to data limits
- Make GUI elements fully accessible on smaller screens
- Explanation of import/export/news buttons
- More detailed documentation for data import/export
- Option to add manual entries for contacts
- Clearer explanation of data sources and trusted authorities
Auth NFC
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Private Kit
No in-app purchases
Auth NFC
No in-app purchases
