iPGMail vs Instant PGP
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.
Instant PGP
Easily manage your PGP keys for secure communication. Generate, import, and export public and private keys in ASCII format. Encrypt, decrypt, sign, and validate messages with robust PGP functionality.
- Generate PGP keys
- Import PGP keys
- Export PGP keys
- Encrypt messages
- Decrypt messages
- Sign messages
- Validate signatures
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The app allows you to generate, import and export your public and private PGP keys in ASCII format. You can use these keys to encrypt/sign cleartext messages, decrypt PGP MESSAGEs and validate PGP SIGNED MESSAGEs. For questions and suggestions contact me at instantpgp@gmail.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Instant PGP at Free against iPGMail's $3.99. Instant PGP also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). iPGMail's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.6) and review sentiment (67% vs 54%). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Instant PGP is free to download; iPGMail costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iPGMail holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 235 and 49 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of iPGMail's written reviews are positive against 54% of Instant PGP's.
| Parameter | iPGMail | Instant PGP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (235 ratings) — better | 3.6 (49 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 53.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 235 — better | 49 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wyllys Ingersoll | Igor Fedotov |
Customer experience
iPGMail
Instant PGP
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
Instant PGP
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iPGMail
No in-app purchases
Instant PGP
No in-app purchases





