Secret Notepad with Password vs ZZZ Let's Read!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Secret Notepad with Password
Securely store your private thoughts and images with a password-protected vault. Features biometric unlock, screen blurring, and the ability to attach photos directly to notes without saving them to your camera roll.
- Password and biometric authentication
- Screen blurring for privacy
- Attach photos directly to notes
- Photos not saved to camera roll
- Undo/redo support
- Search functionality
- Dark mode
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Got notes you'd rather keep to yourself? This app is a private notes app that keeps your secrets safe with a password and biometric authentication. While you're writing, the screen is blurred so no one nearby can read what you're typing. Set a simple numeric PIN or a complex alphanumeric password — whichever you prefer — and unlock it in an instant with Face ID or Touch ID. You can also attach photos directly to your notes. Pick from your photo library or take a shot right there on the spot. Photos taken inside the app are never saved to your camera roll, so even the most sensitive images stay locked away inside your notes. Photos and notes, all in one place ・Attach photos from your photo library ・Take a photo on the spot and insert it instantly ・Photos taken in the app are not saved to your camera roll ・Blur is applied to attached photos too, keeping them private ・Tap a photo to view it full screen Privacy and protection you can count on ・Face ID, Touch ID, and iOS passcode support ・Set anything from a simple numeric PIN to a complex alphanumeric password — change it anytime ・Password entry is hidden from view so no one can peek ・Blur the screen while writing; adjust the intensity with a simple slider Write with ease, find in a flash ・Undo and redo support — fix mistakes in a tap ・No limit on the number of notes ・Wide range of fonts and text sizes; Dynamic Type supported for comfortable reading ・Sort by last edited, created date, or title; manual ordering available ・Search to find any note quickly ・Dark mode supported ・Optimized for the larger iPad display
ZZZ Let's Read!
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ZZZ Let's Read! — On-device OCR for Japanese (vertical, horizontal, classical, kuzushiji) and English Point your camera at a book or a receipt, and get text in an instant. Every byte of OCR runs locally on your device — captured images and recognized text never leave your phone. Ideal for privacy-conscious users and offline environments. ◆ SUPPORTED OCR LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS ◆ This App recognizes only the following: • Japanese — vertical (tategaki) and horizontal (yokogaki) writing, modern Japanese, classical/pre-modern kanji, and kuzushiji (cursive handwriting). 7,141 characters of the NDLmoji charset. • English — basic Latin alphabet (A–Z / a–z), digits, and common punctuation. Other writing systems are NOT recognized: Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean (Hangul), Cyrillic, Arabic, etc. Accented Latin characters (é, ñ, ü, ç, ã, …) are also not in the OCR charset. The app interface is available in 6 languages, but the OCR engine itself supports only Japanese and English. ◆ FEATURES ◆ Document Mode — Books, Manuscripts, Classical Japanese • Powered by the National Diet Library's NDLOCR-Lite • 7,141-character NDLmoji charset including pre-modern Japanese kanji • "Detect" outlines all text regions — tap to OCR only what you need • "Read all" runs OCR on the entire page in one go • Copy or share recognized text • Pinch-to-zoom on the captured snapshot Receipt Mode — Automated Bookkeeping • Auto-extract amount and date from any receipt • Multi-currency: JPY, USD, GBP, EUR, and more • Date formats: Gregorian, Reiwa/Heisei, abbreviated wareki, English month names (e.g. 16AUG2015) • Auto-detects DD/MM vs MM/DD by device locale • Handles European decimal comma (15,65 €) correctly • Bill splitter — divides the amount by N people • Share CSV via Mail / Drive / messenger, or clear with one tap ◆ SIX INTERFACE LANGUAGES ◆ Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese. Unsupported locales fall back to English automatically. ◆ PRIVACY BY DESIGN ◆ • Fully offline OCR — no network required for recognition • Captured photos are discarded after OCR; nothing is sent to a server • Only the camera and one CSV file on internal storage are accessed • Network is used solely for ad delivery (Google AdMob) ◆ WHO IT'S FOR ◆ • Students and researchers studying classical Japanese • Writers and editors quoting from physical books • Freelancers, sole proprietors, and households tracking receipts • Travelers logging expenses across multiple countries • Anyone handling confidential documents or working offline ◆ REQUIREMENTS ◆ • iOS 13.0 or higher • ~200 MB free storage • Rear-facing camera • Internet not required for OCR (used only for ads) ◆ OPEN-SOURCE CREDITS ◆ The OCR engine in this App is built on these open-source assets, redistributed under their respective licenses. • National Diet Library NDLOCR-Lite — CC BY 4.0 • PARSeq scene-text recognition model — Apache License 2.0 • PaddlePaddle PP-OCRv4 detection model — Apache License 2.0 The native iOS port (Swift + ONNX Runtime) is the work of this App's developer. ◆ MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION (REMOVE ADS) ◆ • The "Remove Ads" monthly plan hides all ads in the app • Payment is charged to your Apple ID account • The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period • You can manage or cancel anytime in iOS Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions ◆ TERMS OF USE (EULA) ◆ This App is provided under the following End User License Agreement (EULA). Terms of Use: https://smolt-stage.com/home/privacy/zzz-ocr-terms.html ◆ PRIVACY POLICY ◆ This App handles information in accordance with its privacy policy. For details, see "About" inside the App or the link in this store listing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: ZZZ Let's Read! at none against Secret Notepad with Password's shown. ZZZ Let's Read! also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Secret Notepad with Password sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ZZZ Let's Read! sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Secret Notepad with Password ships an update monthly, ZZZ Let's Read! fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Secret Notepad with Password | ZZZ Let's Read! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 125 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | manabu ueda | SMOLT STAGE, K.K. |
In-app purchases
Secret Notepad with Password
- Ad-Free Plan(Lifetime)$2.99
ZZZ Let's Read!
- ZZZ Let's Read! Premium$0.991 Month
Questions
Is Secret Notepad with Password free?
Is ZZZ Let's Read! free?
Do Secret Notepad with Password or ZZZ Let's Read! have ads?
Which is updated more often, Secret Notepad with Password or ZZZ Let's Read!?
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