iPGMail vs PGPony
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 • Post-quantum encryption (RFC 9980): import, encrypt to, and verify signatures from hybrid ML-KEM + ML-DSA keys, which pair NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms with proven elliptic-curve cryptography • Optional post-quantum key generation: create v6 ML-DSA-65 + ML-KEM-768 or ML-DSA-87 + ML-KEM-1024 keys (turn on in Settings › Advanced) • Public-key algorithms: RSA, DSA, ECDSA, EdDSA (Ed25519, Ed448), ECDH (Curve25519, X448), ML-KEM, ML-DSA • 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, mixing classic and post-quantum keys 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.
PGPony
This app simplifies PGP encryption for users on their iPhone. It allows for key generation, secure message and file encryption/decryption, digital signing, and hardware security key integration. All features are available for free.
- Generate PGP keys
- Encrypt/decrypt messages and files
- Sign and verify digital documents
- Hardware security key integration (YubiKey, Token2)
- Password-only encryption
- Key management and revocation
- Share sheet extension for app integration
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PGPony makes PGP encryption easy, private, and powerful, and every feature is free. Generate keys, encrypt to people or to a password, sign and verify, back up your whole keyring, and revoke compromised keys, all from your iPhone and iPad, in eight languages. New in 8.3.0: post-quantum signatures, NIST P-256, P-384 and P-521 keys, messages to several post-quantum recipients, and a reorganized Key Detail screen. POST-QUANTUM Encrypt with ML-KEM-768 or ML-KEM-1024 paired with X25519, and sign with ML-DSA-65 paired with Ed25519 (RFC 9980), on RFC 9580 (v6) keys or the v4 shape GnuPG 2.5 reads. Add post-quantum subkeys to a key you already have. HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Generate a key pair on the card over NFC, or add an existing card with a tap. Sign, decrypt, and encrypt-and-sign in one step, with RSA and ECC (Ed25519/Curve25519) keys, on YubiKey, Token2, and others, over NFC or USB-C. Full card admin: PINs, factory reset, and Card Details. ENCRYPT, DECRYPT & SIGN Encrypt messages and files of any size to one or many public keys, or to a password with no keys at all, readable by gpg -c and back. Pick which subkey to encrypt to when a key has more than one. Decrypt with a private key, a hardware key, or a passphrase, and see which of your keys opened the message. Sign without encrypting, including detached signatures, and verify a file against its signature. GENERATE & MANAGE KEYS Create keys on a card or in-app: post-quantum, v6 Ed25519, classic Ed25519 + Cv25519, or RSA 2048/4096, with or without an email address. Add, revoke, or remove subkeys (including authentication subkeys) and User IDs. Full OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580), interoperable with Sequoia PGP and GnuPG. Import from files, clipboard, QR codes, or keyservers. Make revocation certificates and export private keys (GnuPG-compatible). BACK UP & RESTORE Save your whole keyring, secret keys included, as one encrypted file. A single backup code opens it, and the same file restores onto another device. The file stays with you, never on anyone's server. KEYSERVERS Look up a recipient by email through Web Key Directory, then key servers. Add your own servers, publish to several at once, and upload an updated key straight from Key Detail. Route lookups through Tor or a SOCKS proxy, or turn on offline mode to stop every network request. PASSWORD STORE Open a pass (password-store) folder, decrypt an entry with a software or hardware key, and copy it through an auto-clearing clipboard. SHARE SHEET EXTENSION Encrypt or decrypt text, encrypt a file, or sign a file in any app: Safari, Files, Notes, Mail. SECURITY FIRST Face ID / Touch ID lock with auto-lock. Software keys live in the iOS Keychain. Keys and messages from outside are checked strictly before they are used. No analytics, tracking, accounts, or sign-up. Your private keys never leave your device, and with a hardware key they never leave the card. EIGHT LANGUAGES English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese. Built by an indie developer who cares about your privacy. Your keys, your messages, your data, always yours. Terms of Use (EULA): https://pgpony.app/eula.html Privacy Policy: https://pgpony.app/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PGPony at Free against iPGMail's $3.99. PGPony also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3). iPGMail's advantage is ratings volume (235 vs 14). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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
PGPony is free to download; iPGMail costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PGPony holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iPGMail has 235 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 67% and 67% positive.
iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, PGPony weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iPGMail | PGPony |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (235 ratings) | 4.7 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 235 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wyllys Ingersoll | Kevin Stewart |
Customer experience
iPGMail
PGPony
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
PGPony
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iPGMail
No in-app purchases
PGPony
No in-app purchases





