Comparison

Photon Library vs Stego

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

Head to head
About

Photon Library

Organize and enjoy your photos and videos with a sleek, intuitive media management app. It offers a streamlined approach to browsing, viewing, and organizing your collections with a clean interface and smart features.

Highlights
  • Clean, modern interface
  • Smart album organization
  • Calendar view
  • Favorites section
  • Smooth, responsive performance
Features
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Rediscover your memories with Photon Library, a sleek, intuitive photo and video manager for iPhone and iPad. Browse, search, organize, and clean up your library in a thoughtfully designed interface built around the moments that matter. BROWSE AND RELIVE - Enjoy a clean, modern layout that keeps your photos front and center - Open any photo with a smooth zoom transition from its thumbnail - Start a slideshow from an album or a custom selection of photos - Swipe up on a photo to see details, including where it was taken on a map - Browse by date with Calendar view - Revisit your favorites anytime FIND ANYTHING, FAST - Search by place. Type β€œMadrid” to quickly find photos taken there - Refine results by date range, media type, screenshots, or favorites - Search album names and combine filters to narrow down exactly what you want - Keep your location data private. Place searches run entirely on your device ORGANIZE WITH EASE - Pin your most important albums to keep them close at hand - Collapse and expand album groups to reduce clutter - Filter albums by name to jump straight to what you need - Select multiple photos quickly by dragging across the grid - Add photos to albums, share them, or mark favorites with a long press RECLAIM STORAGE - Find photos and videos you may no longer need using date range and media type filters - Protect what matters by excluding favorites and items already stored in albums - Preview everything before you delete it - Review your selection and deselect anything you want to keep Photon Library is a refreshing alternative to complicated photo-management apps. Declutter your library or enjoy your memories with less friction and more control. Simplify your photo library. Download Photon Library and rediscover your memories with ease. Requires iOS 26 or later.

About

Stego

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Stego-Lab labels AI images under the EU AI Act (Art. 50) and adds steganography, EXIF editing, watermarking and batch processing for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is made for people who want to handle sensitive material locally on their own device, without relying on external servers or cloud services. On the iPhone while travelling, at the desk on the Mac, or flexibly on the iPad β€” Stego-Lab offers the same capabilities on every platform. Steganography β€” embed content invisibly With Stego-Lab you can hide text, images or files inside photos and decode them again later. Embedded content can optionally be encrypted with a password. That makes the app suitable for private archiving, protected notes, hidden image information, documented evidence or the controlled handover of content β€” discreet, secure and entirely offline. Watermarking β€” visible and invisible Beyond invisible steganography, Stego-Lab also does visible and invisible watermarks. Single images or whole series can be marked with text or image watermarks. In batch mode, many photos are processed in one run β€” ideal for applying visible, invisible or combined watermarks to entire collections. On the Mac you additionally get comfortable drag-and-drop support and a larger working area. EXIF and metadata editing A second focus is thorough EXIF and metadata editing. Stego-Lab reads, displays and selectively edits image metadata β€” description, creator, copyright, software, camera make and model, lens data, capture date and GPS information. Metadata can be adjusted and exported under the same or a changed file name. This makes Stego-Lab useful for photographers, archivists, content creators and privacy-minded users who want to stay in full control of their image data. Supported formats Stego-Lab handles the common image formats PNG, TIFF, JPG/JPEG and HEIC, plus many RAW formats. For invisible content and lossless further processing, PNG and TIFF are the formats of choice. On iOS and iPadOS, files come from the photo library or the Files app; on the Mac, the familiar Finder access is available as well. Exported results can be shared, saved directly or fed into existing workflows. Local processing β€” no cloud, no compromises Stego-Lab works exclusively on your device. Content is never transmitted to external servers. That makes the app particularly attractive wherever privacy, control over your data and offline availability matter. A clear interface for every level of experience The app is organised into Encode, Decode, EXIF, Batch and Info. Newcomers and advanced users alike can run complex image workflows straight on iPhone, iPad or Mac β€” no extra desktop software required. Free and Pro Included for free: β€’ Visible text or logo watermark for a single image β€’ Label AI images under the EU AI Act (Art. 50): visible label and metadata β€’ Delete all metadata with one click β€’ Simple text decoding β€’ Read EXIF and edit the core fields β€’ Import from Photos and Files Stego-Lab Pro – a one-time in-app purchase, no subscription – unlocks: β€’ Invisible embedding of text, images and files, optionally password-protected (AES-256-GCM) β€’ Image and file decoding and password-protected content β€’ Batch processing of multiple images, including metadata deletion β€’ Robust invisible AI labelling and batch labelling β€’ Visible and invisible watermarks combined β€’ The full EXIF editor including camera and GPS fields β€’ Direct camera capture Stego-Lab brings privacy, creative image editing and technical image analysis together in a single app β€” across the whole Apple ecosystem. Whether you protect content, control metadata, mark series of images or manage hidden information: Stego-Lab gives you a focused, capable toolbox β€” right on your device.

Screenshots

Photon Library4 screens
Stego4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Stego at Free against Photon Library's $6.99. Stego also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Photon Library's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Stego is free to download; Photon Library costs $6.99 up front. Stego sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Photon Library asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photon Library ships an update every 3 weeks, Stego every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 4 level
Photon Library versus Stego: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoton LibraryStego
Price$6.99Free β€” better
Positive reviews41.2% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks β€” betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
MonetizationPaidβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS26.017.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size6 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLateNiteSoft S.L.Christian Raith

In-app purchases

None

Photon Library

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Stego

One-time1
  • Stego-Lab Pro$12.99

Questions

Is Photon Library free?
Photon Library costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stego free?
Stego is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Photon Library or Stego have ads?
Neither Photon Library nor Stego shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photon Library or Stego?
Photon Library ships an update every 3 weeks, and Stego every 6 months. Most recently, Photon Library was updated on October 20, 2026 and Stego on October 16, 2026.

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