Off Remote vs deviceOwl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Off Remote
Control your PC or Mac remotely from your iPhone or iPad. Turn off, lock, sleep, log off, or restart your computer with ease. Schedule future shutdowns or check if computers are off from anywhere.
- Turn off, lock, sleep, restart, log off
- Schedule future shutdowns
- Check computer power status
- Control multiple computers
- Send messages before shutdown
- Automatic computer discovery
- Password protection
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Off Remote lets you turn off, lock, sleep, log off and restart a PC or Mac directly from your iDevice. Forgot to turn off the office computer? No need to get up. Want to stop the kid's marathon computer sessions? Do it remotely. The timer function lets you set Off to trigger up to 24 hours in the future so you can set a computer to automatically turn off after a task such as completing a download or upload or to automatically lock at a certain time to limit a child's screen time. If you want to know whether the computers in your house are turned off - you can check from your iDevice. If you use a computer to stream videos or audio to your living room, then you can turn it off when you are finished without getting out of the sofa. If you forget to turn things off at night then you can turn them off from wherever you are in the house. It's simple to use. It's very handy. It saves you the effort of walking to your computer! • Features • - Turn Off, Lock, Restart, Log off, Sleep and Hibernate (not all computers can hibernate). - Easily turn off your computer from anywhere in your house. - Send a message before you turn the computer off 'Go to bed - it's past your bedtime!' - Control any number of computers on your home network. - Simple set up - Off Remote uses the same technology as the iTunes remote to connect over your local network to the helper on your computer. - Automatically discovers your computers in your local network. - Password protection makes sure that only you can turn off your computers! - Supports Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OS 10.5 Intel or higher. - Universal app is compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. • Reviews • “Off is a brilliant yet simple app that allows me to easily control the power state of all the PCs in my house. It also lets me check to make sure that when my daughter assures me she turned her computer off, that she really did.” “Very simple and easy to setup. When I say simple I didn't have to set anything up. Just install the server and the app picked up my laptop straight away. All the buttons worked, it's amazing. No more having to get out if bed to turn the laptop off for the night.” '..it's the least you can do for the environment.' App Of My Eye. “such a simple program yet it's so handy at work and home I use It every day! and it's cool to be able to turn ur pc/mac off from your iPhone or iPod :D” “We often end up PC's being left on overnight and this app has helped us manage this ... ” • System Requirements • - Supports Windows 7 to 10 - Supports Mac OS 10.7 and above • Languages • Off Remote is currently translated to 8 languages. If you are willing to translate it to your language, or would like to improve the translations, please head over to hobbyistsoftware.com and follow the links • Subscription Information • Off Remote is supported through an auto-renewing subscription which you can choose to purchase within the app. • The subscription is called 'Full Control - Annual' • It is an annual subscription. It lets you use all features and removes adverts. • It helps to support ongoing development and updating of the app • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Terms of use are available at https://HobbyistSoftware.com/terms • Privacy policy is available at https://HobbyistSoftware.com/privacy
deviceOwl
This app uses AI to identify household and covert spy devices by simply pointing your smartphone at them. It reveals device capabilities, privacy implications, and manufacturer details to help you protect your privacy.
- AI device identification
- Privacy implications revealed
- Device capabilities details
- Manufacturer information
- Offline device checking
- Basic and Advanced Editions
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Discover Device Potential deviceOwl is an AI point-and-shoot hardware device checker that helps you identify the make and model of devices, and reveal their privacy implications. Covert spy devices are cameras and microphones that are either miniaturized, or disguised as other trusted household objects. They have serious implications, because they can be well disguised, highly reliable, and are widely available for purchase. Household smart devices can enhance the convenience and peace of mind we have at home, but sometimes at a cost of privacy and security. With an eye towards privacy, deviceOwl helps you quickly identify these devices, providing both simple, and in-depth details about their capabilities. Simply point your smartphone at a device, and let deviceOwl intelligently check it, based on its knowledge of thousands of devices. If a device is recognized, deviceOwl provides details about the device's capabilities, helping you to make the right decisions about how to protect your privacy, and the privacy of the people you care about. Information includes make, model, privacy and safety considerations, sensors, network, storage, power, remote control, AI capabilities, and manufacturer information, including origin, parent companies, privacy policy, and the current government blacklist status of the manufacturer. FEATURES —————-- - Basic Edition helps identify popular consumer household smart devices. - Advanced Edition helps identify covert consumer spy devices, and provides in-depth device capabilities with a focus on privacy. - Regular device knowledge updates keep deviceOwl aware of new devices. - Heads up display and interactive guidance to make it easier to check devices. - Designed for traveling. Once installed and updated, check devices without a cloud or network connection. IMPORTANT NOTES & LIMITATIONS —————————————————---- - Checks visible devices that are roughly up to the size of a shoebox. - Please follow the guidance provided on safely and correctly checking devices. - Some devices may look similar to each other, especially under different lighting conditions, and from different angles. Please confirm all device detections using the reported make and model. - DeviceOwl is not a network device scanner, or camera lens reflection checker. Instead, it uses AI to visually recognize devices by their shape and form. - Does not identify individual components of dismantled devices, such as their circuit boards and other components. - Does not identify certain device types whose surface is dominated by an LCD screen, including TV's, tablets, and smartphones. Refer to the device type selection screen for the most current list of supported device types. - Due to the volume of sample submissions, Entropic Labs responses to device sample submissions may be limited. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ———————————- deviceOwl “Basic Edition” - Check popular consumer household smart devices using AI computer vision. - Reveal basic information, and in-depth device capabilities with a focus on privacy. deviceOwl “Advanced Edition” (Subscription) - Boosts deviceOwl with knowledge of covert consumer spy devices. - Reveal important privacy and safety considerations for select devices. - Cognition Boost feature helps to help identify partially damaged or marked devices. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Manage your subscriptions, and turn off automatic renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: deviceOwl at freemium against Off Remote's subscription. deviceOwl also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (521 vs 56). Off Remote's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Off Remote sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and deviceOwl sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
deviceOwl holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: deviceOwl has 521 ratings behind it against 56, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Off Remote's written reviews are positive against 49% of deviceOwl's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Off Remote ships an update every 2 weeks, deviceOwl every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Off Remote | deviceOwl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (56 ratings) | 4.3 (521 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.4% of reviews — better | 49.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 56 | 521 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hobbyist Software Limited | Entropic, LLC |
Customer experience
Off Remote
deviceOwl
User reviews
Off Remote
From 56 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works as intended
- 👍 Convenient and easy to use
- 💡 Useful for controlling kids' screen time
- 👍 Simple and straightforward
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connectivity issues
- 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data sharing
- 💰 Expensive paid version
- 🔒 Aggressive monetization with ads
deviceOwl
From 521 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Accurate detection
- 👍 Useful for travel and public places
- 🔒 Helps protect privacy
- 💡 Innovative concept
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🤔 Limited device recognition
- 📱 Compatibility issues
Bugs and requests
Off Remote
Reported bugs
3 issues- Doesn't work with certain Windows versions
- Crashes or freezes on some devices
- Unreliable connection to computers
Requested features
3 requests- Wake on LAN functionality
- Remote desktop control
- Ability to turn on computers remotely
deviceOwl
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Unreliable device detection
- Subscription management problems
- Unresponsive customer support
Requested features
4 requests- Free trial period for premium features
- Expanded device database
- Improved user interface
- Seamless integration with other security apps
In-app purchases
Off Remote
- Full Control - Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Full Control - Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Full Control - Annual7 Days trial$2.991 Year
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- Full Control - Annual7 Days trial$4.991 Year
deviceOwl
- Annual Advanced Subscription$9.991 Year









