Comparison

CipherX vs AgePony

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

Head to head
About

CipherX

Securely encrypt and decrypt messages to ensure only the intended recipient can read them. Share protected messages through any communication channel, then allow the recipient to decrypt them within the app. Built for strong privacy without complexity.

Highlights
  • Message encryption and decryption
  • Shareable secure codes
  • Modern encryption standards
  • Secure key generation
  • Saved contacts
  • Secure data wiping
Features
Read full description

CipherX is a simple app for securely encrypting and decrypting messages—so only the intended person can read them. It doesn’t lock you into a chat platform. Instead, CipherX lets you protect a message and share it however you want: text message, email, handwritten note, or even read aloud over a phone call. How it works: • Add a contact and encrypt your message • CipherX turns it into a secure code • Send that code any way you like • The recipient pastes it into CipherX to read the original message Key features: • Modern, industry-standard encryption (P-384 ECC + HPKE) • Secure key generation • Saved contacts for easy reuse • Secure data wiping • Apple Keychain protection CipherX is built for people who want strong privacy without complicated tools.

About

AgePony

Securely encrypt, sign, and manage files using advanced post-quantum cryptography. Protect your data with robust encryption methods, verify file authenticity, and keep sensitive information private on your device without relying on servers or accounts.

Highlights
  • Post-quantum encryption (ML-KEM-768)
  • File signing and verification
  • Encrypt to various recipients
  • Support for any file size
  • Passphrase-locked notes
  • Biometric and PIN app lock
  • Local-first, zero-backend design
Features
Read full description

Modern file encryption and signing for iPhone, built on the age protocol. Encrypt anything to anyone, sign files so others can verify they came from you, and keep every byte on your device. No accounts, no servers, no key-management headaches. POST-QUANTUM Hybrid ML-KEM-768 + X25519 recipients, so a file captured today stays private even if X25519 falls to a quantum computer years from now. Interoperable with the age CLI 1.3 and newer. Files already on a classical key? The re-encrypt tool moves them across. ANY SIZE Encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files of any size. Nothing is held in memory, so a 1 GB video behaves like a text file. ENCRYPT TO ANYONE A GitHub username. AgePony fetches their published SSH keys Any age public key, classical (X25519) or post-quantum A YubiKey, through age-plugin-yubikey recipients (age1yubikey1...) Any SSH public key (ed25519 or RSA) A passphrase, when you don't need recipient keys at all Exchange keys in person without typing: show yours as a QR code, or scan theirs. SIGN FILES Prove a file came from you and hasn't been altered. Sign on its own for a detached signature anyone can check without AgePony, or sign and encrypt in one step so the signature is sealed inside the ciphertext. Signatures verify automatically as a file decrypts. An in-app SSH key (ed25519 or RSA) A Secure Enclave key, generated in hardware and never exportable An external security key over NFC: tap a YubiKey or Token2, including keys behind a FIDO PIN Standard SSHSIG (ssh-keygen -Y sign), verifiable anywhere OpenSSH runs BUILT ON AGE A clean-room implementation of the age v1 format, the modern alternative to PGP: X25519 key agreement, ChaCha20-Poly1305, scrypt for passphrases. Bit-perfect with the reference age CLI. Encrypt on your phone, decrypt on your laptop, and back again. ENCRYPTED NOTES Passphrase-locked notes for secrets that never leave your device: recovery phrases, API keys, credentials. Each note has its own passphrase, stretched through scrypt. Forget it and the body is gone for good. That is the point. LOCK IT DOWN Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID, or set an app password or PIN, with or without biometrics. Choose how long AgePony waits before it locks. An optional duress password looks exactly like a normal unlock but silently wipes the vault, for the moment you are made to open the app. Delete an identity by mistake and Recently Deleted holds it for 30 days. EVERY KIND OF DATA Files: encrypt anything from the Files app Several at once: one archive, or one file each Text: armored age blocks for paste-into-email use Keys: share yours as a QR code, or scan someone else's Inspect: see what any age file is encrypted to, without decrypting it LOCAL-FIRST, ZERO BACKEND No accounts. No cloud. No telemetry. No analytics. No ads. No third-party SDKs. Your vault stays on your device, encrypted at rest with a master key in the iOS Keychain, unlocked by Face ID, Touch ID, or an app password you set. The only network request AgePony ever makes is fetching a GitHub user's public keys, when you ask, and you can route even that through an HTTP proxy. OPEN SOURCE Apache 2.0. Every line at github.com/norsehorse-dev/AgePonyiOS. COMPATIBILITY Any age v1 implementation (FiloSottile/age, str4d/rage, and more) Post-quantum recipients need age CLI 1.3 or newer YubiKey recipients through age-plugin-yubikey SSH-ed25519 and SSH-RSA public keys Binary and PEM-armored age files Detached signatures verify with ssh-keygen -Y verify Requires iPhone with iOS 18.6 or later PRIVACY AgePony collects nothing and there is no server. Your data never leaves your device unless you export it. Policy: agepony.com/privacy. SUPPORT Docs, FAQ, and contact: agepony.com/support. Email: NorseHorse@norsehor.se Built quietly in Alabama by NorseHorse. Sibling to PGPony, the same idea for OpenPGP keys.

Screenshots

CipherX4 screens
AgePony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CipherX at 100% against AgePony's 0%. CipherX also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3). AgePony's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CipherX holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of CipherX's written reviews are positive against 0% of AgePony's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CipherX ships an update every 2 months, AgePony every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CipherX versus AgePony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCipherXAgePony
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicolas DeleasaKevin Stewart

Customer experience

CipherX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AgePony

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

CipherX

No in-app purchases

None

AgePony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CipherX free?
CipherX is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AgePony free?
AgePony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CipherX or AgePony?
CipherX is rated higher. CipherX averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while AgePony averages 3.3 from 3 ratings.
Do CipherX or AgePony have ads?
Neither CipherX nor AgePony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CipherX or AgePony?
CipherX ships an update every 2 months, and AgePony every 3 weeks. Most recently, CipherX was updated on October 8, 2026 and AgePony on September 27, 2026.

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