Comparison

PenPal Messenger vs OffNet Chat

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PenPal Messenger

This social networking app facilitates anonymous conversations between matched participants for four weeks. It's designed to foster meaningful connections through a unique dating experience, culminating in a voice call and a formal date.

Highlights
  • Anonymous messaging
  • Participant matching
  • Scheduled voice calls
  • Formal date arrangements
  • Unique dating experience
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Manny P Media's Pen Pal Messenger, the exclusive messenger application for The Good The Bad The Ugly Podcast's Pen Pal Project. This innovative project pairs participants through a thoughtful process of questions and ratings, ensuring they find their best match possible. Once paired, participants gain access to the Pen Pal Messenger app, where they can engage in anonymous conversations with their match for four weeks. The anticipation builds until the 3rd week when a call is arranged, allowing the pairs to hear each other's voices for the first time. Finally, in the last week, they meet formally for a date at a location provided by Manny and Rico, the creators, and hosts of TGTBTU Podcast and Pen'pal project. Be ready to embark on a unique dating experience where all senses are momentarily taken away, leaving room for imagination to flourish. And remember, Pen Pal is watching, so no cheating! Enjoy the journey and welcome to Pen Pal Messenger, where meaningful connections await!

About

OffNet Chat

Features
Read full description

OffNet Chat is a private messenger that works in places other messengers can't — and collects nothing, anywhere. NO SIGNAL? NO PROBLEM. At a festival, on a flight, hiking off-grid, or when the network is down: OffNet Chat sends messages directly between iPhones over Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi. Phones running OffNet Chat can quietly pass messages along for each other, so your words can hop through the crowd to reach a friend across it — and every hop only ever carries scrambled data. FAR APART? STILL PRIVATE. Turn on the internet bridge and message friends anywhere in the world. Messages travel as anonymous, end-to-end encrypted parcels through rotating mailboxes that can't be linked to you — no servers of ours, no accounts, no metadata trail. NO ACCOUNTS. NOTHING COLLECTED. There is no sign-up. Your identity is a cryptographic key created on your phone, and it never leaves your phone. We have no servers, no analytics, no ads, no tracking — we couldn't read your messages or sell your data even if we wanted to, because we never have either. EVERYTHING YOU EXPECT FROM A MESSENGER • Text, photos, and voice notes — all end-to-end encrypted • Photos send instantly as previews, then upgrade to high quality over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the bridge • Delivery ticks and icons showing which path each message took • Background notifications that decrypt privately on your device • Profile photos that sync to your friends automatically ADDING FRIENDS IS EFFORTLESS • Nearby: one of you scans the other's QR code — the other phone gets a simple accept prompt • Far away: share a one-time invite link over any app you already trust • Verify any friendship in person later with safety codes, like the pros do YOU'RE IN CONTROL • Three transport switches — Bluetooth mesh, Wi-Fi, internet — each one yours to flip • Block anyone, with a choice: notify them, or block quietly so they learn nothing • See exactly how much you've sent today • Delete your identity and every trace of your data, irreversibly, any time HONEST ENCRYPTION Modern, audited primitives from Apple's CryptoKit: Curve25519 key agreement and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption, end to end. Relay phones and the optional cloud mailboxes only ever see ciphertext. OffNet Chat does not yet implement forward secrecy (it's on the roadmap) — we'd rather tell you that than overpromise. OffNet Chat asks only for the permissions it visibly uses: Bluetooth and local network to reach nearby phones, camera to scan QR codes, microphone for voice notes you record, and notifications. Your words, your phone, your business.

Screenshots

PenPal Messenger3 screens
OffNet Chat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OffNet Chat at 5.0 against PenPal Messenger's 3.0. PenPal Messenger's advantage is iOS requirement (12.4 vs 17.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OffNet Chat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
PenPal Messenger versus OffNet Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenPal MessengerOffNet Chat
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings4 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB3 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperManny P Media LLCpadma lochan singh

In-app purchases

None

PenPal Messenger

No in-app purchases

None

OffNet Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PenPal Messenger free?
PenPal Messenger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OffNet Chat free?
OffNet Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PenPal Messenger or OffNet Chat?
OffNet Chat is rated higher. PenPal Messenger averages 3.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while OffNet Chat averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do PenPal Messenger or OffNet Chat have ads?
Neither PenPal Messenger nor OffNet Chat shows ads.

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