Comparison

PDF Secure vs Clean Links

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

Head to head
About

PDF Secure

Secure your PDF documents by adding password protection, ensuring they cannot be opened without authorization. You can also easily remove existing password protection from your files. This app offers a straightforward process for safeguarding your sensitive information.

Highlights
  • Password protect PDF documents
  • Remove PDF password protection
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Export to various locations
  • Dark mode support
Read full description

Protect your PDF documents with a password. The PDF won't open without the password. It works on any platform. PDF Secure also allows you to completely remove the password protection of a document. Using PDF Secure is very simple: • Select a PDF document from your files • Choose a password (ideally strong) and do not forget it • Export anywhere (Files app, any cloud drive, E-mail, AirDrop, Messages, ...) → The password will now be requested at any attempt to open the PDF (on all platforms) PDF Secure is compatible with the dark mode. And it's 100% free (no in-app purchases, no ads). NO DATA COLLECTION. Everything happens on device. Your privacy matters. Enjoy!

About

Clean Links

This app scans QR codes and URLs to reveal hidden destinations and remove tracking parameters. It protects users from phishing and advertiser tracking, offering a private and free way to control digital privacy.

Highlights
  • QR code scanning
  • URL link cleaning
  • Phishing protection
  • QR code generation
  • iOS integration
  • Cross-device link sharing
Features
Read full description

That link a friend just sent you probably has a dozen tracking parameters glued to the end of it. Clean Links strips them off. It also opens up QR codes so you can read where they actually go before you commit to tapping. The app does a handful of things, and does them without an account, a subscription, or an ad: QR reader that shows you the destination URL first. Quishing scams work because nobody can read a QR code with their eyes, so you scan and hope. This one puts the real address on screen and waits. Link cleaner. Paste anything, get back the same link minus the utm tags, click IDs, and referral junk. Works on links from hundreds of shopping sites, social networks and search engines. Send to Device. Push a cleaned link from your iPhone into your Mac's browser, or over to another iPhone or iPad. If the device is asleep or offline the link waits for it. Unshorten. Feed it a bit.ly or t.co address and it follows the chain to whatever sits at the end. Useful when a shortened link turns up from someone you don't know, which is how most phishing starts. Tracker blocker covering 71+ services, running as a parameter remover across everything you paste. QR generator for making your own codes out of links you trust. Safari extension that cleans every link on a page in one tap. Shortcuts, a Control Center widget, and a share sheet action, if you want the whole thing automated. Nothing leaves your device. There's no analytics SDK in here, no crash reporter phoning home, no account to create. Privacy isn't a feature we bolted on; there was never any data to collect. ■ Send Links Between Your Devices Share a cleaned link from any iPhone, iPad or Mac and it opens where you send it: in your Mac's browser, or from a notification on iPhone and iPad. Links queue up if the device is offline. You can run Shortcuts on your other devices this way too. You'll need Clean Links on each device, iCloud turned on, and the same Apple account. ■ Coming from Hyperduck? Clean Links does the same handoff, adds tracker stripping on the way out, handles more than one Mac, and costs nothing. ■ Link Sharing FAQ ‣ Why not AirDrop? AirDrop needs both devices awake and nearby. This doesn't, and it drops the link straight into a background tab. ‣ Why not iCloud Tabs? Because iCloud Tabs only works in Safari, and the tabs are easy to lose. These open in whatever browser you actually use. ‣ Why not Reading List? Reading List is where links go to be forgotten. Yours open immediately. ‣ Why not Handoff? Handoff wants the devices in the same room. Clean Links supports Handoff anyway, for when they are. ‣ More than one device? Send to several at once. Any iPhone, iPad or Mac signed into the same Apple account with the app installed can receive. ‣ Want to leave a device out? Turn off receiving in that device's settings. ■ Spotted a tracker we don't catch yet? There's a link in Settings to tell us. We'll add them.

Screenshots

PDF Secure4 screens
Clean Links4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Clean Links at every 2 weeks against PDF Secure's every 9 months. PDF Secure's advantage is ratings volume (383 vs 85) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for PDF Secure against 4.9 for Clean Links. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 383 and 85 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 99% of PDF Secure's written reviews are positive against 93% of Clean Links's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF Secure ships an update every 9 months, Clean Links every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PDF Secure versus Clean Links: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF SecureClean Links
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (383 ratings)4.9 (85 ratings) — better
Positive reviews98.8% of reviews — better92.5% of reviews
Number of ratings383 — better85
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB90 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiSolid appsNumen Technologies Limited

Customer experience

PDF Secure

All ratings376 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews259 reviews
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.4%

Clean Links

All ratings85 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive92.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative2.5%

In-app purchases

None

PDF Secure

No in-app purchases

None

Clean Links

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PDF Secure free?
PDF Secure is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clean Links free?
Clean Links is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PDF Secure or Clean Links?
Clean Links is rated higher. PDF Secure averages 4.8 out of 5 from 383 ratings, while Clean Links averages 4.9 from 85 ratings.
Do PDF Secure or Clean Links have ads?
Neither PDF Secure nor Clean Links shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF Secure or Clean Links?
PDF Secure ships an update every 9 months, and Clean Links every 2 weeks. Most recently, PDF Secure was updated on October 29, 2026 and Clean Links on October 30, 2026.

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