Comparison

Paperlock vs DumbLevel

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

Head to head
About

Paperlock

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Paperlock is a locked drawer for the papers that matter. Your iPhone can already scan a page. Paperlock is where the scan goes afterwards, when it is something you would not leave lying around: a passport, a lease, a tax return, a medical record. LOCKED AND ENCRYPTED • Locks as soon as you leave it. Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode opens it again. • Every scan, PDF, name and note is encrypted with AES-256 before it is stored. • The key stays in your iPhone's Keychain, on this device only. YOUR PAPERS • Scan paper with the camera. Several pages become one PDF. • Import PDFs you already have. • Give each document a name and a note, and search through both. • Open a PDF, or share a copy when you choose. BACK UP ON YOUR TERMS • A backup is one encrypted file with its own password. • You decide where it goes. Paperlock does not upload it. • A vault password opens your documents on a new iPhone. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no cloud, no server, no analytics, no ads. • The app makes no network requests at all. GOOD TO KNOW • There is no password reset. Nobody else holds your key, so nobody can recover it for you. • There is no sync. Your documents are on one phone, and a backup file is how you move them. Paperlock was called Secure Document Vault. If you have it, this update keeps your documents and encrypts them the first time you open it.

About

DumbLevel

This utility app provides a precise bubble level for accurate picture and shelf hanging. It also includes a planner to help you lay out multiple items, calculate spacing, and mark positions on your wall.

Highlights
  • Precise bubble level with tenth-degree readings
  • Plumb and two-axis bubble modes
  • Audible level indicators
  • Hanging planner for pictures, shelves, and hooks
  • Calculates spacing and provides wall marks
  • Stores past projects for reference
  • User-calibratable sensors
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It's just a level. DumbLevel is a bubble level for hanging shelves and pictures straight, plus a "What are we doing?" screen that does the layout math and hands you the marks. It's free. That's the whole deal. WHAT YOU ARE NOT GETTING • No subscription. Ever. • No account. No sign-in. • No ads. • No timer. It does not stop working after twenty seconds and ask for money. • No analytics. Nothing leaves your phone. THE LEVEL • Picks the mode by itself. Set the phone on its long edge for a level line, stand it upright for plumb, lay it flat for a two-axis bubble. • Reads to a tenth of a degree, in numbers big enough to read from a ladder. • Green, amber, red. Within two tenths of a degree is green. • Says which end is high, in words: RIGHT END HIGH. TOP LEANS LEFT. LEVEL. • Hold freezes the reading so you can lift the phone off the shelf and read it. • Sonar pings that speed up as you get close, and a coin chime when you hit level, so you can watch the shelf instead of the phone. Pings and chime, chime only, or muted. • Calibration that cancels the phone's own sensor bias. Capture, turn the phone end-for-end on the same spot, capture again. The true tilt cancels out and what is left is the phone's error, which is then subtracted from every reading. It is the same two-capture reversal that precision digital levels use, and it fixes the "my case has a bump on the back" problem. • The readout turns itself so up on screen is up in the room, whichever way you hold the phone. • Compared with the level built into the phone: tenths of a degree instead of whole degrees, plus hold, calibration and the hanging planner. WHAT ARE WE DOING? Pick the job: • One picture (or a mirror, a clock, a sign) • A row of frames • A grid of frames (a gallery wall) • Shelves, one or a stack of them • Hooks • Curtain rod Then a few plain questions, with the usual rule already filled in: pictures centered at 57 inches, eye level; 6 to 10 inches above a couch or a dresser; 2 to 3 inches between frames; a curtain rod 4 to 6 inches above the window and 4 to 6 inches past it on each side; coat hooks at 60 inches. Change any number you like. It does the math and hands you the marks: every one in inches from the end of the wall or the edge of the window, so you can read them straight off a tape. A to-scale drawing shows what you are about to hang. A walkthrough shows one mark at a time in giant numbers so you can make the marks with the phone in one hand and a pencil in the other. Print the sheet or share it as a PDF, tape it to the wall, then tap Level it and the level checks each one. Every job you measure is filed under Past projects, under the six tiles. Open the hallway you did last spring, see the same numbers, and hang the next frame to match. FINE PRINT DumbLevel reads to a tenth of a degree. Like every phone level it is only as good as the sensor inside the phone, so calibrate it before you trust it, and check anything that matters with a real level. It is a phone. iPhone only. Portrait only. Works with the screen off? No. It's a level, not a miracle.

Screenshots

Paperlock4 screens
DumbLevel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: DumbLevel at every 4 days against Paperlock's every 13 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paperlock ships an update every 13 months, DumbLevel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Paperlock versus DumbLevel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperlockDumbLevel
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn Larsonkert shuster

In-app purchases

None

Paperlock

No in-app purchases

None

DumbLevel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Paperlock free?
Paperlock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DumbLevel free?
DumbLevel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Paperlock or DumbLevel have ads?
Neither Paperlock nor DumbLevel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paperlock or DumbLevel?
Paperlock ships an update every 13 months, and DumbLevel every 4 days. Most recently, Paperlock was updated on October 30, 2026 and DumbLevel on October 31, 2026.

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