# Safe APU vs RedShelf

The clearest difference is rating: Safe APU at 5.0 against RedShelf's 4.5. Safe APU also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). RedShelf's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (7.1K vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Safe APU holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RedShelf has 7.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Safe APU ships an update every 9 months, RedShelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Safe APU | RedShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/safe-apu/id1509046498/reviews)** | [4.5 (7.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **7.1K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 3.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 46 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Azusa Pacific University](https://appshunter.io/developer/355720452) | [RedShelf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511013606) |

## What reviewers say

### Safe APU

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/safe-apu/id1509046498)

This official university safety app provides students, faculty, and staff with enhanced security on campus. It delivers critical safety alerts, offers direct access to campus safety resources, and includes tools for emergency contact and location sharing.

**Highlights:** Emergency Contacts, Mobile Bluelight with real-time location, Friend Walk location sharing, Tip Reporting to campus security, Safety Toolbox with location sharing and 'I'm OK!', Campus and Crime Maps, Offline Emergency Plans

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### RedShelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608)

Access and read your digital textbooks on any device. Highlight text, take notes, create flashcards, and have content read aloud. Your notes and highlights sync across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Access textbooks on any device, Highlight text and take notes, Create flashcards from content, Define unfamiliar words, Text-to-speech functionality, Sync notes and highlights across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Convenient to access textbooks in one place
- 🚀 Decent overall performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 💤 Slow loading and page turning
- 👎 Unreliable highlighting and note-taking features
- 🤖 Poor text-to-speech functionality
- 📵 Inability to access books offline

**Reported bugs**

- Books not loading or showing blank screens
- Highlighting issues (selecting wrong text, unable to edit)
- Sync issues between devices and web version

**Requested features**

- Improve highlighting and annotation tools
- Add support for split-screen mode
- Enhance text-to-speech capabilities
- Allow offline access to downloaded books


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Safe APU free?

Safe APU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is RedShelf free?

RedShelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Safe APU or RedShelf?

Safe APU is rated higher. Safe APU averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while RedShelf averages 4.5 from 7.1K ratings.

### Do Safe APU or RedShelf have ads?

Neither Safe APU nor RedShelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Safe APU or RedShelf?

Safe APU ships an update every 9 months, and RedShelf every 5 weeks. Most recently, Safe APU was updated on October 1, 2026 and RedShelf on October 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*