Comparison

Clean Links vs Flow

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

Head to head
About

Clean Links

This utility app removes tracking parameters from URLs, reveals the true destination of QR codes before opening, and allows you to send cleaned links between your devices. It prioritizes user privacy with no accounts, subscriptions, or ads.

Highlights
  • Strips tracking parameters from URLs
  • Reveals QR code destinations before opening
  • Sends cleaned links between Apple devices
  • Unshortens shortened URLs
  • Generates QR codes
  • Safari extension for one-tap cleaning
  • Shortcuts and widget integration
Features
Read full description

That link a friend just sent you probably has a dozen tracking parameters glued to the end of it. Clean Links strips them off. It also opens up QR codes so you can read where they actually go before you commit to tapping. The app does a handful of things, and does them without an account, a subscription, or an ad: QR reader that shows you the destination URL first. Quishing scams work because nobody can read a QR code with their eyes, so you scan and hope. This one puts the real address on screen and waits. Link cleaner. Paste anything, get back the same link minus the utm tags, click IDs, and referral junk. Works on links from hundreds of shopping sites, social networks and search engines. Send to Device. Push a cleaned link from your iPhone into your Mac's browser, or over to another iPhone or iPad. If the device is asleep or offline the link waits for it. Unshorten. Feed it a bit.ly or t.co address and it follows the chain to whatever sits at the end. Useful when a shortened link turns up from someone you don't know, which is how most phishing starts. Tracker blocker covering 71+ services, running as a parameter remover across everything you paste. QR generator for making your own codes out of links you trust. Safari extension that cleans every link on a page in one tap. Shortcuts, a Control Center widget, and a share sheet action, if you want the whole thing automated. Nothing leaves your device. There's no analytics SDK in here, no crash reporter phoning home, no account to create. Privacy isn't a feature we bolted on; there was never any data to collect. ■ Send Links Between Your Devices Share a cleaned link from any iPhone, iPad or Mac and it opens where you send it: in your Mac's browser, or from a notification on iPhone and iPad. Links queue up if the device is offline. You can run Shortcuts on your other devices this way too. You'll need Clean Links on each device, iCloud turned on, and the same Apple account. ■ Coming from Hyperduck? Clean Links does the same handoff, adds tracker stripping on the way out, handles more than one Mac, and costs nothing. ■ Link Sharing FAQ ‣ Why not AirDrop? AirDrop needs both devices awake and nearby. This doesn't, and it drops the link straight into a background tab. ‣ Why not iCloud Tabs? Because iCloud Tabs only works in Safari, and the tabs are easy to lose. These open in whatever browser you actually use. ‣ Why not Reading List? Reading List is where links go to be forgotten. Yours open immediately. ‣ Why not Handoff? Handoff wants the devices in the same room. Clean Links supports Handoff anyway, for when they are. ‣ More than one device? Send to several at once. Any iPhone, iPad or Mac signed into the same Apple account with the app installed can receive. ‣ Want to leave a device out? Turn off receiving in that device's settings. ■ Spotted a tracker we don't catch yet? There's a link in Settings to tell us. We'll add them.

About

Flow

Take control of your internet connection system-wide. This app replaces your carrier's default DNS with a faster, smarter one, blocking ads, trackers, and malware without needing a VPN. Choose from multiple DNS providers for enhanced privacy and speed.

Highlights
  • System-wide DNS filtering
  • Block ads, trackers, and malware
  • Choose from 8 DNS providers
  • No VPN required
  • Privacy-focused, no logs
  • Custom DNS with subscription
Read full description

Flow is a DNS privacy app for iPhone and iPad. It encrypts every DNS query your device makes — preventing your carrier, ISP, and anyone on your network from seeing which websites and services you use. WHAT DNS IS AND WHY IT MATTERS Every time you open an app or visit a website, your device first asks a DNS server to translate the address into an IP. By default, this request is sent unencrypted — visible to your carrier, ISP, and anyone monitoring your connection. Flow replaces this with DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT), encrypting every query so only the provider you choose can read it. HOW IT WORKS Flow installs a secure DNS profile directly on your device. Once active, every DNS request — every app, every website, every service — is encrypted before it leaves your iPhone or iPad. No VPN. No app that needs to stay open. No extra battery drain. 16+ PROVIDERS TO CHOOSE FROM • Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 — fastest public DNS, strict no-logging policy • Quad9 — blocks malware and phishing domains automatically • AdGuard — removes ads and trackers at the DNS level • NextDNS — fully customisable filtering rules • Mullvad — privacy-first, no logs, Tor-compatible • Google, OpenDNS, CleanBrowsing, Control D, and more Switch providers in seconds. Or add your own custom DoH or DoT server. FLOW+ — PAY ONCE, OWN IT FOREVER Flow+ unlocks the full experience with a single payment. No subscription. No renewal. No catch. Flow+ includes: • All privacy and ad-blocking providers • Custom DNS profiles — save up to 3 configurations • Auto-switch by network — different DNS per Wi-Fi • DNS Benchmark — find the fastest provider for your connection • DNS Health Check — resolution, latency, leaks, DNSSEC • Disconnect alerts — get notified if your profile goes offline • Siri & Shortcuts — pause, resume, switch providers by voice • Themes and accent colours • iCloud sync — settings follow you across all your devices • Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets YOUR PRIVACY Flow has no servers and no analytics. It does not log, collect, or sell any information about your DNS activity or browsing. The provider you choose handles your queries according to their own privacy policy — check it before you pick. Requires iOS 16 or later. Compatible with iPhone and iPad. ______________________________ IMPORTANT Privacy Policy: flowprivacy.rift.lat Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Clean Links4 screens
Flow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Clean Links at 93% against Flow's 33%. Clean Links also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). Flow's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Flow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Clean Links asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Clean Links holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clean Links has 88 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Clean Links's written reviews are positive against 33% of Flow's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clean Links ships an update every 2 weeks, Flow weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Clean Links versus Flow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClean LinksFlow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (88 ratings) — better4.5 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews92.5% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings88 — better15
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB185 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperNumen Technologies LimitedCHIRAG DASHARATHBHAI PATEL

Customer experience

Clean Links

All ratings85 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive92.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative2.5%

Flow

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral13.3%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Clean Links

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Flow

Subscriptions2
  • Flow+$2.991 Month
  • Flow+ Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Flow Lifetime$6.99

Questions

Is Clean Links free?
Clean Links is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Flow free?
Flow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Clean Links or Flow?
Clean Links is rated higher. Clean Links averages 4.9 out of 5 from 88 ratings, while Flow averages 4.5 from 15 ratings.
Do Clean Links or Flow have ads?
Flow shows ads; Clean Links does not.
Which is updated more often, Clean Links or Flow?
Clean Links ships an update every 2 weeks, and Flow weekly. Most recently, Clean Links was updated on November 5, 2026 and Flow on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons