RealVNC Viewer vs Thanks Bud
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RealVNC Viewer
Access and control your Mac, Windows, or Linux computers remotely from any device. View your desktop, use your keyboard and mouse, and manage files securely with end-to-end encryption. Sync connections across all your devices for seamless access.
- Instant remote access to computers
- Control mouse and keyboard remotely
- End-to-end session encryption
- Cloud service for easy connection
- Backup and sync connections
- Virtual keyboard with advanced keys
- Bluetooth keyboard support
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RealVNC® Viewer from RealVNC® gives you instant remote access to your Mac, Windows and Linux computers from anywhere in the world. You can view your computer's desktop, and control its mouse and keyboard as though you were sitting down in front of it. Download RealVNC Connect to each computer you want to control. Then sign in to RealVNC Viewer on your device using your RealVNC account credentials. You'll see your computers automatically appear; simply tap to connect. RealVNC Connect password-protects each computer out-of-the-box. You may need to enter the same user name and password you use to log in to your computer. All sessions are then encrypted end-to-end. During a session, your device's touch screen serves as a trackpad to give you precise control. Drag your finger to move the remote mouse cursor and tap anywhere to left-click (other gestures such as right-click and scroll are explained in-app). As the original inventors of VNC remote access technology, we're confident you'll love what RealVNC Viewer has to offer. If you're still not convinced, check out our reviews! ===Key features=== - Connect with ease via our cloud service to computers running RealVNC Connect. - Backup and sync your connections between all your devices by signing in to RealVNC Viewer on each one. - A scrolling bar above the virtual keyboard includes advanced keys such as Command/Windows. - Support for Bluetooth keyboards. ===Contact=== We’d love to hear from you: iphone-support@realvnc.com twitter.com/RealVNC facebook.com/realvnc Better still, leave us a review! ===Terms of Use=== https://static.realvnc.com/media/documents/RealVNCServicesTCs.pdf ===Trademarks=== RealVNC and VNC are trademarks of RealVNC Limited and are protected by trademark registrations and/or pending trademark applications in the European Union, United States of America and other jurisdictions. Protected by UK patents 2481870, 2479756; US patent 8760366; EU patent 2652951.
Thanks Bud
Easily remember names and key details about people you know. Quickly search for individuals using partial information and access their details before social events. The app prioritizes privacy and stores data locally on your device.
- Save names and one key detail
- Search with partial names and details
- Organize people for events
- View relationships between people
- Optional phone number and email
- Share people or groups
- Local data storage
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Think back to the last wedding, school event, or neighborhood dinner. You knew their face and plenty about them. But when you needed a name, you had to wing it. Thanks Bud keeps names, relationships, and useful details together. Add a person with a name and one useful line. When you are about to see them, search a few letters, a typo, a saved headline, a connection, or a city. Open Thanks Bud before you say hello. Glance at the name, the people around them, and the line you wrote to bring the person back into focus. HOW IT HELPS - A name and one headline are enough to save someone. - Add or edit a person in one consistent form. Update their notes as you learn more about them. - Search works with partial names, typos, saved headlines, connection names and relationships, and saved cities. - Search Contacts, choose one person, then review before saving. Apple gives Thanks Bud only the contact you choose. - See local times for people’s saved cities together on Home or inside a group. Open a part of the day to see who is there. - See the people around someone, so names and relationships make sense together. - Switch Everyone or a group to Network to explore the connections you saved. A group’s network shows only its members and the saved connections between them. - Sort Everyone or a group by most viewed, recently added, city, or name. - Save an optional phone number and email address, then call, message, or email from the person’s card. Thanks Bud keeps no communication history. - Share one person or several people as a file. For one card, you choose the details and direct connections. When you share several cards, their connection rows stay private. QUIET UNTIL YOU NEED IT Thanks Bud sends no reminders, keeps no score, and never tells you that a relationship is overdue. Open it when you need a name, then carry on. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Thanks Bud stores your data on your iPhone. The app has no account, advertising, analytics, or tracking. The developer collects no data. Apple shows the contact picker and gives Thanks Bud only the person you choose. Thanks Bud does not request ongoing access to your contact list or change Apple Contacts. For Home’s weather and daylight, Thanks Bud sends Apple Weather the published coordinates of the city on Your Card. The request does not include a person’s name or your physical location. Thanks Bud never asks for location permission. When Thanks Bud prepares a recognition photo, it makes a smaller copy and removes private metadata. It does not change the original item in Photos. If you share a file or save a backup, you choose the action and the content. A new iPhone set up from a backup of your old one should bring your people across. You can also save a backup file yourself. FREE TO USE Cards, search, built-in groups, sharing, and backups are free. A one-time $7.99 US purchase unlocks custom groups you can name. There is no subscription. Thanks Bud is made for the people just outside your inner circle: relatives, neighbors, school parents, colleagues, and the familiar faces you want to greet by name.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RealVNC Viewer at none against Thanks Bud's 1. RealVNC Viewer also leads on ratings volume (15K vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). Thanks Bud's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price 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
Both are free to download. Thanks Bud sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RealVNC Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Thanks Bud holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RealVNC Viewer has 15K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of RealVNC Viewer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Thanks Bud's.
RealVNC Viewer ships an update every 2 months, Thanks Bud every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RealVNC Viewer | Thanks Bud |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (15K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RealVNC Limited | Nikhil Daftary |
Customer experience
RealVNC Viewer
Thanks Bud
Bugs and requests
RealVNC Viewer
Reported bugs
4 issues- Cursor and screen synchronization issues
- Incompatibility with certain macOS and iOS versions
- Frequent disconnections and login problems
- Keyboard input not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for audio streaming
- Improve clipboard and file transfer functionality
- Provide better multi-monitor support
- Allow customization of keyboard and mouse controls
- Implement a true touch-based interface
Thanks Bud
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RealVNC Viewer
No in-app purchases
Thanks Bud
- Custom groups$7.99
Questions
Is RealVNC Viewer free?
Is Thanks Bud free?
Which has better reviews, RealVNC Viewer or Thanks Bud?
Do RealVNC Viewer or Thanks Bud have ads?
Which is updated more often, RealVNC Viewer or Thanks Bud?
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