iPGMail vs Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iPGMail
This app simplifies PGP encryption for iOS users, allowing easy sending and receiving of encrypted emails and files. It supports the OpenPGP standard, key management, and various import methods for keys and messages.
- PGP encryption and decryption
- Send and receive encrypted emails
- Encrypt and decrypt files
- Create and manage PGP keys
- Import keys from various sources
- Supports OpenPGP standard
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iPGMail is a complete OpenPGP client for iPhone and iPad. Encrypt, decrypt, and digitally sign email and files using the same RFC 9580 / RFC 4880 standard you already use with GnuPG, Mailvelope, Thunderbird, ProtonMail's PGP exports, and any other OpenPGP-compatible tool. Bring your existing PGP identity to iOS or generate a new one in the app. Your private keys are stored in a private local database with the highest data-protection class and are unlocked only by Touch ID or Face ID. All cryptography runs locally — your keys and message content never leave your device. CRYPTO & INTEROPERABILITY • OpenPGP v4 and v6 (RFC 9580 / RFC 4880, RFC 6637) — fully interoperable with GnuPG, Mailvelope, Thunderbird, ProtonMail PGP exports, and any other compliant tool • Public-key algorithms: RSA, DSA, ECDSA, EdDSA (Ed25519, Ed448), ECDH (Curve25519, X448) • Symmetric ciphers including AES-256, with modern AEAD encryption on PGP v6 (SEIPDv2) messages • PGP/MIME for encrypted email; standard ASCII-armored output for any plain-text channel • Detached and inline signatures; sign-only mode for authenticated but readable messages • Symmetric (password-based) file encryption • Encrypt to multiple recipients in a single message EMAIL • Send encrypted email directly from the app via SMTP — works with iCloud, Gmail, Outlook / Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Fastmail, GMX, Yandex, mail.ru, QQ, Comcast, and any custom SMTP server • Google OAuth2 for password-free Gmail authentication • Reply with quoted plaintext ("> " prefix) so encrypted threads read like normal email • Or hand off to your default mail app via the standard iOS share sheet KEY MANAGEMENT • Generate new keypairs in-app with strong defaults (ECC or RSA) • Import existing public and private keys (ASCII-armored or binary) • Search SKS / hkps key servers and Keybase to find recipient keys • Attach your public key to outgoing messages so recipients can import it directly • Inspect key flags, expiration, signatures, and user IDs FILES • Encrypt and decrypt files up to 100 MB per file (200 MB total per message), with on-screen progress • Quick Look preview of decrypted content in-place • Receive encrypted attachments directly from iOS Mail.app — no copy/paste required • Read .pgp, .gpg, .asc, and .sig files from anywhere via the Files app, AirDrop, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or the system clipboard • Open URL handler for the x-ipgmail:// scheme so other apps can hand work to iPGMail iPAD-OPTIMIZED • Sidebar navigation and full keyboard shortcut support • Optimized layouts for Split View and Stage Manager PRIVACY POSTURE • Private keys are stored locally in a secured private database and unlocked only by Touch ID / Face ID • All encryption, decryption, signing, and verification happens on-device • No account creation, no cloud middleman, no third-party access to your message content • Open standard — your keys and messages stay portable to any other OpenPGP tool, on any platform WHO IT'S FOR Built for journalists, activists, security professionals, lawyers, developers, and anyone who already uses PGP on the desktop and wants the same workflow on iOS. Bring your existing key, decrypt your inbox, sign and send — without surrendering custody of your keys to anyone.
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
Securely encrypt and decrypt sensitive text data, including notes, messages, and cryptocurrency keys. Offers robust security with multiple strong encryption algorithms and advanced steganography features to hide data within images. Also supports secure password exchange using post-quantum cryptography.
- Text encryption and decryption
- Steganography (hide text in JPEG)
- Post-quantum key encapsulation
- Multiple strong encryption algorithms
- Copy/paste and file saving
- Session-based password management
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• Paranoia Text Encryption is a comprehensive text encryption application for iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod) and macOS, developed by Paranoia Works. • Paranoia Text Encryption safeguards your notes, SMS messages, emails, social networking posts, cryptocurrency keys (seeds, mnemonics), and any other text from unwanted readers. • Simply copy and paste text to and from your favorite applications, or save it to a file for future use. • This app does not function as a "vault application." Instead, a password is set for the current encryption/decryption session, not to enter the app itself. You may use an unlimited number of passwords for any purpose—different files, tasks, people, etc. • The app guarantees robust security by encrypting data using strong encryption algorithms: Blowfish (448-bit), AES (256-bit), RC6 (256-bit), Serpent (256-bit), and Twofish (256-bit) ciphers. • Steganography: The application includes steganographic features, allowing you to conceal text or files within a JPEG image. Two algorithms are available: J-UNIWARD (content-adaptive, minimizes visual distortion, harder to detect) and F5 (matrix encoding, efficient embedding). The selected algorithm works with the chosen symmetric cipher to produce the final steganogram. • Key Encapsulation (KEM): Securely exchange encryption passwords using the post-quantum ML-KEM mechanism (NIST FIPS 203). Two parties can establish a shared password without ever transmitting it directly, with protection against future quantum computer attacks. ◆ Differences between Free and PRO versions: The PRO version offers additional encryption algorithms, specifically Threefish (1024-bit), SHACAL-2 (512-bit), and Paranoia C4 (2048-bit), which is a cascade of Threefish–Serpent–AES–SHACAL-2. While the free version can decrypt data encrypted by these advanced algorithms, the ability to encrypt data using these algorithms is exclusive to the PRO version. The PRO version also provides a key to activate the PRO versions of desktop applications: Paranoia File & Text Encryption for PC, Paranoia Text Encryption for PC, and S.S.E. File Encryptor for PC. • The application is natively compatible with macOS (10.15 and later). Versions for other systems and platforms can be downloaded from the application homepage: https://paranoiaworks.mobi/download/. • An online (web-based) version, utilizing AES and client-side JavaScript, and other utilities are available at https://pteo.paranoiaworks.mobi
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Paranoia Text Encryption Lite at Free against iPGMail's $3.99. Paranoia Text Encryption Lite also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3) and device support (4 vs 2). iPGMail's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite is free to download; iPGMail costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 235 and 84 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of iPGMail's written reviews are positive against 74% of Paranoia Text Encryption Lite's.
iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, Paranoia Text Encryption Lite every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iPGMail | Paranoia Text Encryption Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (235 ratings) | 4.5 (84 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.3% of reviews | 74.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 235 — better | 84 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #88 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wyllys Ingersoll | Frantisek Dvorak |
Customer experience
iPGMail
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
Bugs and requests
iPGMail
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when importing certain private keys
- Issues with sending/receiving encrypted attachments
- Problems with key server integration and key management
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to save password/passphrase
- Automatic deletion of local decrypted files
- Better integration with iOS Mail app
- Support for more encryption algorithms beyond RSA
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iPGMail
No in-app purchases
Paranoia Text Encryption Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iPGMail free?
Is Paranoia Text Encryption Lite free?
Which has better reviews, iPGMail or Paranoia Text Encryption Lite?
Do iPGMail or Paranoia Text Encryption Lite have ads?
Which is updated more often, iPGMail or Paranoia Text Encryption Lite?
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