Comparison

Cipher vs Dark Message Crypto Chat

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

Head to head
About

Cipher

Features
Read full description

Cipher is a voice and text AI assistant for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Ask a question, get a short, direct answer. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Ask by voice or by typing: dictate on your wrist or your phone, or type in the chat. - Get answers that use current information from the web. - Ask about what is around you. If you allow location access, Cipher can answer "closest..." and "near me" questions. - Pick up where you left off. Saved conversations stay on your device. - One plan covers your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch app works on cellular without your phone nearby. YOUR PRIVACY Cipher asks for your permission before anything is sent. Your questions, voice recordings and, only if you allow it, your location are sent to a third-party AI service to produce answers. You can withdraw permission or delete your chat history at any time in AI & Privacy. No account or sign-in is needed. AI answers can be wrong. Cipher declines to give medical advice and points you to a healthcare professional; do not rely on it for medical, legal, financial or emergency decisions. PLANS - Free: 2 requests to try Cipher. - Weekly subscription: auto-renews every week until cancelled; includes up to 300 AI requests per month. - Lifetime: one-time purchase, no renewal; includes up to 300 AI requests per month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.aurorapps.com/privacy/c0dex

About

Dark Message Crypto Chat

Securely encrypt messages, photos, and documents offline using military-grade encryption. Share encrypted content through any app, and recipients can decrypt it with a shared passphrase. Protect your private conversations and confidential documents without needing an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Offline encryption for messages, photos, and documents
  • AES-256-GCM military-grade encryption
  • PBKDF2 brute-force protection
  • No internet permissions
  • Secure passphrase storage in iOS Keychain
  • Supports various document types
Features
Read full description

Dark Message — encrypt messages and files without the internet Write the way you always do: in any messenger, in mail, in social networks. Dark Message turns text, photos and documents into an encrypted message that only the holder of the same key can read. Anyone who intercepts it sees a string of characters. WHY DARK MESSAGE • Fully offline. The app has no internet access at all: no servers, no accounts, no sign-up, no analytics. Keys and messages never leave your phone. • Strong encryption: AES-256-GCM, with the key derived from your passphrase by PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 (600,000 iterations). • Works over any channel: copy the encrypted text and paste it anywhere. .darkm files travel as ordinary attachments. • Encrypts more than text: photos and documents (PDF, Word, Excel, any file), keeping the file name. A KEY IN SECONDS • Show a QR code and read out a six-digit PIN. The key inside the code is encrypted with that PIN, so a photo of the screen is useless to anyone else. • A key fingerprint next to every chat: the same on two phones means the same key. EASY TO USE • A separate key for every contact or group. • One-tap decryption: paste the text or open the file. • Dark and light themes, English and Russian. • Passphrases live in the system keychain. WHO IT IS FOR Private conversations, business documents, contracts, medical and financial records, family passwords — anything nobody but the recipient should read. Open source: you can check for yourself how it works. Updates keep all your chats and keys.

Screenshots

Cipher4 screens
Dark Message Crypto Chat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dark Message Crypto Chat at none against Cipher's 2. Dark Message Crypto Chat also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 14 months). On price, ads, 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. Cipher sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Dark Message Crypto Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cipher ships an update every 14 months, Dark Message Crypto Chat every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cipher versus Dark Message Crypto Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCipherDark Message Crypto Chat
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel Steelaleksandr bronnikov

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cipher

Subscriptions1
  • Cipher Full Access$0.997 Days
One-time1
  • Cipher Full Access (Lifetime)$29.99
None

Dark Message Crypto Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cipher free?
Cipher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dark Message Crypto Chat free?
Dark Message Crypto Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cipher or Dark Message Crypto Chat have ads?
Neither Cipher nor Dark Message Crypto Chat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cipher or Dark Message Crypto Chat?
Cipher ships an update every 14 months, and Dark Message Crypto Chat every 6 months. Most recently, Cipher was updated on October 24, 2026 and Dark Message Crypto Chat on October 20, 2026.

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