Encrypt.me vs Guardian Firewall + VPN
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Encrypt.me
This app provides a simple and secure way to protect your online data, especially on public Wi-Fi. It automatically secures your connection when you use untrusted networks, offering peace of mind for your on-the-go activities. Enjoy effortless online security with a minimal interface and cloud-synced preferences across your devices.
- Auto-secure on untrusted networks
- Effortless online security management
- Cloud-synced preferences
- Data encryption
- Minimal user interface
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Encrypt.me keeps you safe on public Wi-Fi with no fiddling or fuss. With Encrypt.me's auto-secure feature, you don't even need to remember that you have Encrypt.me -- just connect to that coffee shop, or airport, or hotel, or conference Wi-Fi and trust that Encrypt.me's got your back. Encrypt.me empowers our users to have total security on what matters most to them - their data on-the-go. We create innovative and award-winning apps that are as powerful as the clients we serve. Finally, peace of mind while on-the-go allowing you more time to focus on what matters most. If you're working at your favorite coffee shop, on-the-go at an Airbnb or home we help protect your data. We encrypt our user's data contribute to preventing hackers and ISPs from reading your data. What else is cool about Encrypt.me? So much: - With a beautiful, minimal user interface and quick access to all the important controls, Encrypt.me makes it effortless to manage your online security. - Encrypt.me knows which networks you trust, and which you don't... and Encrypt.me automatically secures your connection when you use an untrusted network. - All of your preferences are cloud synced to all of your devices: iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, and Macs. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback and, yes, even your bug reports. To get in touch, send us an email: hello@encrypt.me -- we are here to help, so please do say hello!
Guardian Firewall + VPN
This app provides robust protection against online trackers and hackers by blocking unauthorized data collection and securing your internet activity with a powerful VPN. It offers advanced features like customized blocklists and push notifications for enhanced privacy control.
- Blocks unauthorized third parties from collecting personal data
- Adds security layer against hackers and insecure websites
- Customizable blocklists for tailored privacy
- Push notifications for connection alerts
- Generates and exports VPN credentials for other devices
- Masks IP address and device identifiers
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Take back control of your personal data with the protection of Guardian Firewall and VPN. We believe people should be able to use apps on their digital devices without their data being sold to unknown third parties. Data that you’re not always aware that you’re sharing, such as confidential information, travel patterns, and lifestyle. Guardian Firewall blocks unauthorized third parties from secretly collecting your personal information while adding an extra layer of security from hackers and insecure websites with our powerful VPN, protecting passwords, search history, and other sensitive data. Our Guardian Pro subscription service is the protection of Guardian with the following additional features: • Customized Blocklists: Add individual hosts or IP addresses to be effectively blocked, as well as try our experimental Guardian-curated firewall rules, for a privacy experience tuned to your needs • Push Notifications: Instant notifications when your device attempts to connect to an unwanted connection to further assist in identifying a culprit app or website. Easily filter notifications by type of Alert • Generate & Export Credentials: Create additional sets of VPN credentials to secure your other devices capable of establishing IKEv2 or WireGuard connections (includes ability to export preset .mobileconfig or .conf files for IKEv2 or WireGuard respectively) • Family Sharing of subscriptions is now available to Pro users. Share your subscription to 5 additional family members (5 different Apple IDs) with no additional cost. Guardian Day Passes are available for $0.99 each in 24 hour increments. Purchase as many Day Passes as you’d like, choose to activate some right away, or share a few with friends and family. Guardian subscription service is available for $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year Guardian Pro subscription service is available for $149.99 per year. Highlights: • Firewall: Block unwanted connections to location trackers, mail trackers, generic data trackers, and other online nuisances. • VPN: All internet activity is sent through a persistent, fast, and secure, IKEv2 or WireGuard based tunnel, keeping internet service providers, hackers, and other unwanted entities from accessing your personal data. • Privacy: Your VPN connection is authenticated with an automatically generated random identity, enabling access only by using the digital In-App Purchase receipt stored on your mobile device after purchase. (No personal information needed) • Best In-Class IKEv2 Encryption: Data sent through the VPN tunnel using IKEv2/IPsec is encrypted using AES-256 to protect against interception by unauthorized parties. • Support For Modern Standards: WireGuard connections are available on every server allowing you to freely choose which transport protocol to use without any compromises. • Mask your IP: Your IP address and other device identifiers will be masked from third-parties in order to help protect your identity. • Region Selection: Control your connection by selecting regions such as the United States, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore and many more, that cover our global network of servers. • Safe Browsing: Aggressive ads and web page hijackers are blocked by the Firewall, giving you an uninterrupted web browsing experience in any browser, without the need for browser extensions with direct access to your web browser. • Alerts and Alert Filtering: Swipe up on the Alert menu to view all blocked, unwanted connections. Easily filter by type, or tap an Alert for more detailed information. • Fast Connection: No impact on speed or performance. • Support up to five iOS devices using the same AppleID • Contact Technical Support available in-app for any questions or issues Privacy Policy & Terms of Service: https://guardianapp.com/privacy-policy/ Please contact support@guardianapp.com with any questions, concerns, or reports of potential security issues.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Guardian Firewall + VPN at none against Encrypt.me's shown. Encrypt.me's advantage is ratings volume (5.8K vs 873). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Encrypt.me sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Guardian Firewall + VPN sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Guardian Firewall + VPN holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Encrypt.me has 5.8K ratings behind it against 873, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of Encrypt.me's written reviews are positive against 46% of Guardian Firewall + VPN's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Encrypt.me | Guardian Firewall + VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (5.8K ratings) | 4.6 (873 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.4% of reviews — better | 45.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.8K — better | 873 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cloak Holdings LLC | Sudo Security Group, Inc |
Customer experience
Encrypt.me
Guardian Firewall + VPN
User reviews
Encrypt.me
From 5.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Provides security on public WiFi
- 👍 Automatic connection on untrusted networks
- 🚀 Fast and reliable
- 👍 Seamless integration across devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent connection issues
- 🐛 Buggy, crashes often
- 🐛 Fails to detect network changes
- 🐛 Unreliable performance
- 💰 Expensive subscription
Guardian Firewall + VPN
From 873 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and stable VPN
- 🔒 Effective at blocking trackers
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🤖 Impressive firewall capabilities
- 💡 Innovative VPN + firewall combo
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Disconnects and stability issues
- 🔌 Impacts network connectivity
- 🤔 Unclear what is being blocked
- 🤷♂️ Compatibility problems with some apps
Bugs and requests
Encrypt.me
Reported bugs
3 issues- Certificate expiration issues
- Inability to connect to home/trusted networks
- Disconnects frequently, requires constant reconnection
Requested features
3 requests- Pause/resume VPN functionality
- Improved compatibility with hotel/public WiFi logins
- Ability to bypass VPN for specific apps or websites
Guardian Firewall + VPN
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login failures on startup
- Randomly disables VPN protection
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
Requested features
5 requests- More granular control over blocking
- Ability to whitelist apps/domains
- Location server selection
- Detailed logging and reporting
- Widget for quick on/off access
In-app purchases
Encrypt.me
- Week Pass$3.99
- Month Pass$9.99
- Year Pass$99.99
Guardian Firewall + VPN
- Guardian Firewall (Monthly)$9.991 Month
- Quarterly$26.993 Months
- Guardian Firewall (Annual)$99.991 Year
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- Guardian Pro (Annual)$149.991 Year
- Guardian Firewall (Day Pass)$0.99
- Guardian Day Pass (Multiple)$0.99
- Introductory Offer$0.99
Questions
Is Encrypt.me free?
Is Guardian Firewall + VPN free?
Which has better reviews, Encrypt.me or Guardian Firewall + VPN?
Do Encrypt.me or Guardian Firewall + VPN have ads?
Which is updated more often, Encrypt.me or Guardian Firewall + VPN?
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