Icarus vs TextShift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Icarus
Organize and discover your movies, TV shows, music, and books in a single native app. Access recommendations, manage your library, and play media from connected servers and services. Enjoy a private, ad-free experience with all features included.
- Unified media library browsing
- Media discovery and recommendations
- Library management and request tracking
- In-app media playback
- Push notifications for events
- Direct service connection or Hades server pairing
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Your media. Your rules. Free to use. Every feature included. Icarus brings your movies, TV shows, music, and books together in one native app for Apple devices. Find a familiar favorite, discover your next obsession, and keep your media organized without jumping between apps. Divine by name. Unreasonably useful by nature. • Your library, together Browse media, requests, and activity from your connected servers and services in one place. • Discover more Explore recommendations, browse collections, and search for movies, shows, and people. Meet the cast and get the details behind the poster. • A little divine order See what’s available, upcoming, or requested. Manage supported library details and requests, and keep track of what comes next. • Press play Enjoy movies, music, and audiobooks through compatible connected services. Check playback activity and use supported playback controls from your device. • Stay in the loop Get push notifications for supported events, including media availability, requests, and playback activity. • Your setup, your choice Connect Icarus directly to supported services, or pair it with Hades, our optional self-hosted server. Access your setup away from home when your services are configured for remote access. FREE TO USE No subscriptions. No paid feature tiers. No ads. Every Icarus feature is included. HADES Icarus for iOS includes optional support for 'Hades - Media Server' which includes more robust features and permissions. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your media and server data stay with the devices and systems you control. We do not sell your data or use it for advertising. Essential account, connection, and notification-routing data are handled as described in our Privacy Policy. BRING YOUR OWN MEDIA Icarus is a client for your existing media servers and services. It does not provide or host movies, TV shows, music, books, or other media. You need your own media library and compatible services. Some connected services may require their own accounts or subscriptions. Features vary by platform and integration. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://myicarus.app/privacypolicy.html
TextShift
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TextShift lets you securely encode and decode text in seconds. Share messages with confidence — only people with the correct keyword can read them. Privacy first Protect your text with simple keyword-based encoding. Keep your messages safe from unwanted access. Fast and easy No setup required. Enter your text, choose a keyword, and instantly encode or decode. Face ID & biometric unlock Secure your data with Face ID or biometric authentication. Access your content quickly and safely. App shortcuts Save your favorite keywords and access them directly from your home screen. Start encoding or decoding instantly. Share instantly Send encoded text to your friends with one tap using your favorite apps. Flexible usage • Encode and decode text instantly • Save and reuse your favorite keywords • Upgrade for higher usage limits Designed for simplicity, speed, and privacy. Try TextShift today and take control of your private messages.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Icarus at none against TextShift's 2. TextShift's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). 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. TextShift sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Icarus asks for nothing beyond the download.
Icarus ships an update weekly, TextShift every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Icarus | TextShift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lantea LLC | Thomas Jordan |
In-app purchases
Icarus
No in-app purchases
TextShift
- Light Rate Limit$4.99
- Non Rate Limit$19.99









