Comparison

BARQ! vs AdHoc DM

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

Head to head
About

BARQ!

Connect with the furry community through a next-generation social app. Discover local furries, join interest-based groups, and find information about meetups, events, and conventions. The platform is continuously evolving with new features and an expanding user base.

Highlights
  • Connect with local furries
  • Join communities
  • Discover meetups and events
  • Attend conventions
  • Growing feature set
Features
Read full description

Join barq, the next generation social app for furries! Find furries around you, join communities and attend meetups, events and conventions. barq is currently in active development and our user base and feature set is growing constantly. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms and Conditions: https://barq.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://barq.app/privacy

About

AdHoc DM

A privacy-focused messaging app offering secure, end-to-end encrypted communication with an ephemeral relay system. It ensures messages are deleted after delivery, leaving no server trace. Connect instantly via QR code scanning without revealing personal information.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption (E2EE)
  • Ephemeral relay system
  • Anonymous peer-to-peer communication
  • Secure media sharing
  • Instant QR code pairing
  • Local-only chat history storage
  • Message deletion on both ends
Read full description

AdHoc DM is a secure, privacy-first messaging application designed to give you total control over your digital conversations. By combining advanced End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) with an ephemeral relay system, AdHoc DM ensures that your messages — and now your voice & video calls (Beta) — stay private, decentralized, and leave no trace on any server. - WHY CHOOSE ADHOC DM? In an age of constant data harvesting, AdHoc DM is built on the principle that your private conversations should remain just that—private. We don’t just promise security; we enforce it through architecture. 1. True End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Every message, photo, and interaction is encrypted locally on your device before it ever hits the network. Using the X25519 Diffie-Hellman protocol for key exchange and 256-bit AES-GCM for content, only you and your recipient can read what is sent. 2. NEW — E2EE Voice & Video Calls (Beta) Call any of your paired DMs with end-to-end encrypted voice and video. Call audio and video are encrypted on your device, frame by frame, and are never recorded or stored — the relay servers that carry them cannot listen to or watch your calls. As a beta feature, calling may occasionally be paused while we tune quality and capacity; messaging is never affected. 3. The Ephemeral Relay - Zero Server Footprint Unlike traditional "secure" messengers that store your encrypted history on their servers indefinitely, AdHoc DM uses an ephemeral relay. Messages are held in a secure, temporary state only until the recipient downloads them. Once delivered, they are instantly and permanently deleted from the relay. No logs, no cloud backups, no digital breadcrumbs. 4. Total Anonymity No phone numbers. No email addresses. No linking to your social media. AdHoc DM uses anonymous peer-to-peer identifiers, allowing you to communicate without revealing your personal identity to the platform or third parties. 5. Secure Media Sharing Send high-fidelity images with confidence. Every photo is encrypted with the same rigorous standards as your text messages and is subject to the same "pull-and-delete" cleanup system, ensuring your media doesn’t live on a server forever. - KEY FEATURES * Instant QR Pairing: Establish a secure, encrypted channel in seconds by simply scanning a friend’s QR code. * Call Do Not Disturb: turn off incoming calls — callers are simply told you’re not taking calls. * Local-Only Storage: Your chat history is stored securely on your device using sqflite. We never upload your history to the cloud. * Background Sync: Receive notifications and fetch messages even when the app isn’t active, so you never miss a beat. * High-Fidelity Media Viewer: Enjoy a premium viewing experience with full-screen support, pinch-to-zoom, and panning for received images. * Modern, Clean Interface: A fast, responsive UI built with Flutter, designed for ease of use without compromising security. * Delete messages or entire DMs on both ends. - UNDER THE HOOD (FOR THE SECURITY CONSCIOUS) AdHoc DM uses industry-standard cryptographic primitives to ensure your data is safe: * Key Exchange: X25519 (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman). * Encryption: 256-bit AES-GCM. * Key Derivation: HKDF (Hash-based Key Derivation Function) to ensure every single message has a unique, non-reusable key. * Calls: WebRTC with frame-level E2EE — each call uses a unique HKDF-derived key from your channel’s X25519 keys; relays carry ciphertext only. * Architecture: Feature-First Layered Architecture for maximum reliability and code integrity. - YOUR PRIVACY, OUR MISSION AdHoc DM is perfect for: * Confidential Business: Discussing sensitive projects or internal strategies. * Journalists & Activists: Communicating with sources securely. * Personal Privacy: Keeping your private life away from big tech data mines. * Minimalists: Those who want a messaging tool that does its job and leaves no mess behind. Reclaim your right to a private conversation. Download AdHoc DM today.

Screenshots

BARQ!4 screens
AdHoc DM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AdHoc DM at 100% against BARQ!'s 33%. AdHoc DM also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.9) and in-app purchases (none vs 6). BARQ!'s advantage is ratings volume (319 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. BARQ! sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. AdHoc DM asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AdHoc DM holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BARQ! has 319 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of BARQ!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of AdHoc DM's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BARQ! ships an update every 4 weeks, AdHoc DM every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
BARQ! versus AdHoc DM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBARQ!AdHoc DM
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (319 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings319 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.815.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size107 MB56 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperBARQ!Tall Oaks Ventures, LLC.

Customer experience

BARQ!

All ratings312 ratings
Positive44.6%
Neutral9.0%
Negative46.5%
Written reviews292 reviews
Positive32.5%
Neutral10.6%
Negative56.8%

AdHoc DM

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

BARQ!

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login/sign-up issues
  • Profiles not loading
  • Inability to change settings
  • Disappearing accounts
  • Broken image uploads

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to delete chats
  • Custom sexuality options
  • Improved moderation and safety features
  • Better notification system

AdHoc DM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

BARQ!

Subscriptions6
  • Silver Supporter$4.991 Month
  • Gold Supporter$9.991 Month
  • Diamond Supporter$24.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Silver Supporter$54.991 Year
  • Gold Supporter$109.991 Year
  • Diamond Supporter$274.991 Year
None

AdHoc DM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BARQ! free?
BARQ! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AdHoc DM free?
AdHoc DM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BARQ! or AdHoc DM?
AdHoc DM is rated higher. BARQ! averages 2.9 out of 5 from 319 ratings, while AdHoc DM averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do BARQ! or AdHoc DM have ads?
Neither BARQ! nor AdHoc DM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BARQ! or AdHoc DM?
BARQ! ships an update every 4 weeks, and AdHoc DM every 3 weeks. Most recently, BARQ! was updated on October 27, 2026 and AdHoc DM on October 19, 2026.

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