Comparison

UP Uploader vs Ephemeral Trace

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

Head to head
About

UP Uploader

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Uploader makes it easy to move your memories to your new UP Phone. With encrypted cloud storage, your photos and videos are always safe, private, and under your control. Key Features Encrypted backups – End-to-end encryption ensures only you can access your files. Simple transfers – Choose the albums or folders you want, and back them up with one tap. Seamless restore – Download your photos and videos securely to your new UP Phone. Private by design – No ads, no hidden tracking, no access to your personal files.

About

Ephemeral Trace

Features
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Photos that delete themselves. Ephemeral Trace is a private camera for photos and videos that only need to exist for a while. Choose an expiry before you shoot. Each capture counts down, then deletes itself when time runs out. No cloud. No account. No tracking. FOR PHOTOS THAT HAD ONE JOB A receipt you need until tonight. A whiteboard after the meeting. A parking spot. A document you are sending once. A serial number. The Wi-Fi password at a rental. Take the photo. Use it. Let it go. SET THE TIMER BEFORE YOU SHOOT Choose 30 seconds, 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 24 hours. Pro adds custom timers up to one year and Keep Forever when a photo really should stay. TIME, MADE VISIBLE Every capture has a live countdown and a decay ring that empties as time runs out. Short timers burn hot. Long ones run cool. If a capture expires while you are looking at it, it flares once and dissolves. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No accounts • No analytics or tracking • No advertising identifiers • No cloud storage or servers • No crash reporting • Photo Library access is Add Only. The app can save a photo when you ask, but it cannot read your existing library. Your media stays on your iPhone. ENCRYPTED, THEN GONE Captures live in the app's private storage, protected by iOS Data Protection. When a timer ends, the file and its encryption key are removed together. Captures are excluded from iCloud and iTunes backups, so a capture does not outlive its timer inside a backup. There is no trash, Recently Deleted folder, or undo path. A LIBRARY THAT EMPTIES ITSELF See what is still alive at a glance. Long-press any item to extend its timer, change its expiry, move it, share it, save it to Photos, or delete it early. FOLDERS WITHOUT THE PILE-UP Organize captures into folders with identity colors and custom covers. Choose a default folder and shoot straight into it. The free version includes up to two folders. ONE-TIME PRO Pro unlocks: • Keep Forever • Custom timer presets up to one year • Unlimited folders • Biometric gallery lock with Face ID, Touch ID, or Optic ID • All future Pro features One purchase. No subscription. Ever. Free includes unlimited photo and video capture, all four standard timers, automatic deletion, decay rings and countdowns, long-press actions, up to two folders, gallery filters, statistics, and export to Photos. Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Ukrainian. Your privacy is not a feature. It is the foundation.

Screenshots

UP Uploader3 screens
Ephemeral Trace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: UP Uploader at none against Ephemeral Trace's 1. UP Uploader also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. Ephemeral Trace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. UP Uploader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 21, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
UP Uploader versus Ephemeral Trace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUP UploaderEphemeral Trace
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size137 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUnplugged Technologies LtdEphemeral Trace LDA

In-app purchases

None

UP Uploader

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Ephemeral Trace

One-time1
  • Ephemeral Trace Pro$9.99

Questions

Is UP Uploader free?
UP Uploader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ephemeral Trace free?
Ephemeral Trace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do UP Uploader or Ephemeral Trace have ads?
Neither UP Uploader nor Ephemeral Trace shows ads.
Which is updated more often, UP Uploader or Ephemeral Trace?
UP Uploader ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ephemeral Trace every 2 weeks. Most recently, UP Uploader was updated on August 21, 2026 and Ephemeral Trace on September 18, 2026.

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