Comparison

Tangle vs Wave

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

Head to head
About

Tangle

This app offers a real-time, text-based communication experience that mimics the immediacy of a phone call without the need for voice. It provides guaranteed focus, disappearing messages, and an AI assistant for quick answers within conversations.

Highlights
  • Real-time text chat
  • Disappearing messages
  • Guaranteed focus
  • AI assistant for quick answers
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Burner tags for privacy
  • Group chat invites
Features
Read full description

Tired of phone calls? Tangle replaces them by turning texting into a focused, real-time chat that starts and ends just like a call. Send a time-limited invite, chat with guaranteed focus, and hang up to erase the chat for everyone. End-to-end encryption and privacy by design keep conversations private even from us. WHY TANGLE Unlike regular texting that leaves you guessing if someone's there, or calls that demand immediate voice attention, Tangle gives you guaranteed focus without the pressure. You get real presence confirmation and immediate attention like a call, but with text-only communication that is perfect for loud places or when voice isn't ideal. Need a quick answer during a chat? Ask Tangle is your privacy-first AI assistant built right into conversations. Send your question and get instant, intelligent responses with optional live search for real-time information. Your question goes to the AI, but zero chat history or personal data goes with it. Answers arrive encrypted in the chat like every message, and everyone sees the response together. Built for real-life moments: making dinner plans in 2 minutes instead of 20, working alongside someone without constant interruption, having real conversations without wondering if they're multitasking, or checking that your partner got home. Sometimes you just want to connect and know someone is really there. Zero digital clutter. When you hang up, messages vanish everywhere, no endless histories cluttering your phone or living on servers. You control who joins with unanimous consent for changes. Privacy that actually works: burner tags you can change anytime, plus end-to-end encryption where even we can't read your messages. HOW IT WORKS Send a time-limited invite to up to 3 people. They answer to join, and presence indicators show who's actively in the chat as you talk. If everyone is away for over a minute, the chat wraps up naturally. There's also a Focus mode for time-sensitive chats where everyone needs to stay locked in. Need to add someone or take a break? Propose it and everyone votes. Any single "no" cancels the change. Hang up to end the session and messages disappear for everyone. Only a lightweight record remains in your History, where you can long-press any entry to block or report. Manage blocked contacts in Profile, Privacy and Support. Create scheduled chats (one time or recurring) from Action Center, Schedule. Start group conversations from Action Center, Group. Switch to burner mode or update your temporary tag from Action Center, Burner. Everything is designed for quick access when you need it. CONSENT AND SAFETY Nothing changes unless everyone agrees, including adding people or pausing. Any single no stops it. You can block or report by long pressing any conversation in your History page. Blocks apply to the account permanently, so changing their main tag or burner tag will not help someone evade a block. Change or delete your burner tag anytime to instantly cut off contact. Choose who can invite you: Anyone, Contacts Only, or Nobody in your privacy settings. We collect minimal data. Only lightweight chat history records showing who connected and when, never message content. Tangle is privacy first with end to end encryption and zero knowledge of your conversations. NOTES FOR iOS Live Activity invites can appear on the Lock Screen for quick join. To auto-dismiss the Live Activity if you miss it, allow Live Activities on the lock screen. Notifications are required to receive invites on time. Certain technologies and processes used in Tangle are patent pending. Web: https://tangle-app.com/ Contact Support: https://tangle-app.com/support/ Terms of Service: https://tangle-app.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://tangle-app.com/privacy/

About

Wave

A privacy-focused messaging app offering end-to-end encrypted chats without requiring sign-ups or personal information. It utilizes a decentralized network for enhanced user control and supports both one-to-one and group conversations.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • No sign-up required
  • Decentralized network
  • One-to-one and group chats
  • Optional Bluesky integration
  • Ad-free and tracker-free
Features
Read full description

Wave: Secure Messaging Wave is a privacy-first messaging app built for people who value security, simplicity, and control. Chat freely without signing up, sharing personal details, or trusting centralized servers. You can start messaging instantly. Wave uses end-to-end encryption, ensuring only you and the people you’re chatting with can read messages. Conversations are encrypted on your device and decrypted only by recipients. Powered by XMTP, Wave is built on a decentralized messaging network reducing reliance on central servers and giving users more control over their conversations. Wave supports fast one-to-one messaging and secure group conversations in a clean, minimal interface with no clutter or distractions. You can optionally connect your Bluesky account to message people you already know, or simply use Wave on its own without linking any account. Wave is designed with privacy at its core, with end-to-end encrypted messages, a privacy-first architecture, and no ads or trackers.

Screenshots

Tangle4 screens
Wave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tangle at every 4 days against Wave's every 4 weeks. Tangle also leads on ratings volume (19 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Tangle against 5.0 for Wave. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tangle has 19 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tangle ships an update every 4 days, Wave every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tangle versus Wave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTangleWave
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (19 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings19 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.216.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB149 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperTangle, LLCSimhadri Bogula

Customer experience

Tangle

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Wave

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Tangle

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Occasional crashes or freezes

Requested features

2 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved offline functionality

Wave

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Tangle

No in-app purchases

None

Wave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tangle free?
Tangle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wave free?
Wave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tangle or Wave?
Tangle and Wave are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 19 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Tangle or Wave have ads?
Neither Tangle nor Wave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tangle or Wave?
Tangle ships an update every 4 days, and Wave every 4 weeks. Most recently, Tangle was updated on October 22, 2026 and Wave on October 7, 2026.

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