Amigo Crowds vs Ekko Chat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Amigo Crowds
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Amigo Crowds — Scan. Chat. Disappear. Amigo Crowds is a QR-based chat app for temporary communities and real-world gatherings. Create a Crowd, share its QR code, and let people join and start chatting instantly without creating an account or sharing a phone number. Whether you're at a conference, festival, wedding, classroom, meetup or traveling with a group, Amigo Crowds gives your gathering a simple temporary chat space. Scan the QR code and start talking. Key Features Ghost Mode — Join temporary Crowds and chat using a temporary identity without creating an account. QR-Based Crowds — Create or join a Crowd by scanning a QR code. Temporary Communities — Crowds automatically expire after their selected duration. Real-Time Messaging — Chat with people in your Crowd in real time. Media Sharing — Share photos, videos and other supported media. Message Reporting — Report inappropriate messages within a Crowd. Block & Leave — Block users or leave a Crowd whenever you choose. Admin Controls — Crowd administrators can manage their communities and conversations. Perfect For • Conferences and networking events • Classrooms and campus discussions • Weddings, reunions and parties • Trips and travel groups • Festivals and meetups • Audience discussions and Q&A • Temporary communities and gatherings No account required. No phone number required. Just scan, join and chat. Community Guidelines & Safety Amigo Crowds is designed with community safety and moderation in mind. Report — Users can report inappropriate messages within a Crowd. Block — Users can block people they do not want to interact with. Moderation — Crowd administrators have tools to manage their communities. Enforcement — Users who violate our community rules may be restricted or permanently banned.
Ekko Chat
A secure messaging app that uses multiple independent transport paths to ensure message delivery. It offers end-to-end encryption, offline messaging via Bluetooth, and no account or personal information required for use.
- Multi-transport message delivery
- End-to-end encryption
- Offline messaging via Bluetooth
- No account or personal info required
- Disappearing messages
- Encrypted group chats
- Transparent networking dashboard
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Ekko is a chat messenger that delivers your messages through six independent transport paths. If one is blocked, your message finds another way. No phone number. No email. No account. Your identity is a cryptographic key pair generated on your device and never shared with anyone — not even us. Add contacts by scanning QR codes when you meet in person. This is how trust should work. ENCRYPTED BY DEFAULT Every message is end-to-end encrypted before it leaves your device. Text, photos, documents, GIFs, and files are all protected. Not even Ekko can read your conversations. WORKS WITHOUT INTERNET Ekko uses Bluetooth Low Energy to exchange messages with nearby contacts automatically. Walk past someone at a coffee shop and pending messages deliver silently — no cell tower, no Wi-Fi required. When contacts aren't nearby, messages route through the internet via five other transport methods. SIX TRANSPORT PATHS - Bluetooth: Nearby offline delivery within 100 meters - Mesh Gossip: Messages forwarded by nearby peers - Distributed Hash Table: Decentralized serverless routing - Tor Onion: High-privacy delivery - Peer Link: Fast QUIC-based direct connections - Private Relay: Always-on encrypted push delivery Each message automatically finds the best available path. The transport dashboard shows you exactly how every message traveled. GROUP CONVERSATIONS Create encrypted group chats, invite contacts, share files, and set disappearing message timers for the entire group. Member management lets you add or remove participants at any time. DISAPPEARING MESSAGES Set messages to self-destruct after 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, or 1 week. Once gone, they cannot be recovered. SHARE MEDIA SECURELY Send photos from your camera or gallery, browse and send animated GIFs, attach documents and files of any type — all encrypted end-to-end. An inline attachment menu gives you quick access to Files, Photos, Camera, and GIF search without leaving the conversation. PRIVATE RELAY SERVER Subscribe to a dedicated relay server for instant push delivery when you and your contacts aren't nearby. Messages are stored encrypted on the relay — it cannot read them. Invite contacts to share your relay for mutual always-on delivery. VERIFY CONTACTS Compare cryptographic fingerprints in person or through a trusted channel to verify that your contact is who they claim to be. No certificate authorities, no central trust — just mathematics. TRANSPARENT NETWORKING The transport dashboard gives you full visibility into how your messages travel. See which transports are active, how many network peers you're connected to, and which path delivered each individual message. An in-chat legend explains every transport and status icon. YOUR DATA, YOUR DEVICE All data stays on your device. There is no cloud sync, no analytics, no tracking, and no telemetry. Export an encrypted backup anytime for device transfers. Delete everything with a single tap. BIOMETRIC UNLOCK Secure the app with Face ID or fingerprint authentication on supported devices for fast, convenient access. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED PRIVACY Ekko is designed for journalists, activists, travelers, and anyone who believes private communication is a fundamental right. Whether you're in a restrictive environment where traditional messengers are monitored, or you simply want conversations that stay between you and your contacts, Ekko ensures your messages always find a way. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Amigo Crowds at none against Ekko Chat's 4. Ekko Chat's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads 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. Ekko Chat sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Amigo Crowds asks for nothing beyond the download.
Amigo Crowds ships an update every 2 months, Ekko Chat every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Amigo Crowds | Ekko Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Cryptogram Info Tech Private Limited | Chris Ross |
In-app purchases
Amigo Crowds
No in-app purchases
Ekko Chat
- Standard Relay Monthly Subscription$6.991 Month
- Premium Relay Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
- Annual Relay Standard Subscription$69.991 Year
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- Annual Relay Premium Subscription$99.991 Year









