Wave vs LoChat Messenger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- End-to-end encryption
- No sign-up required
- Decentralized network
- One-to-one and group chats
- Optional Bluesky integration
- Ad-free and tracker-free
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Wave is a privacy-first messaging app built for people who value security, simplicity, and control. Chat, call, and send photos and videos 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 see your messages, calls, photos, and videos. Everything is 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. Send voice notes, photos, videos, and albums of up to 10 photos and videos. Reply to messages, react with emoji, and share GIFs and stickers, including ones made from your own photos. Make one-to-one voice and video calls with anyone you chat with. Answer from the Lock Screen, keep chatting while a call floats in a small window, add live filters to your video, and find past and missed calls in call history. Stay in control of every conversation. Set messages to disappear after 30 seconds up to 7 days, unsend any message you've sent, and pin, archive, or mute your chats. Choose how much your notifications show, block anyone, and get alerts about suspicious accounts. Give your groups admins, a description, and a custom photo. Pick your own profile photo and share your profile with a QR code or a link you can reset anytime. Chat Backup saves your chats to iCloud automatically, daily, weekly, or monthly, so you can restore them when you reinstall Wave or get a new iPhone. Your backup is encrypted before it leaves your device. 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 and calls, a privacy-first architecture, and no ads or trackers.
LoChat Messenger
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LoChat is a secure messaging app built for people and teams who take privacy seriously. Every message, call, and file you share is protected by end-to-end encryption (E2EE) - encrypted on your device and decrypted only by your intended recipient. Not even LoChat servers can access your conversations. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT - End-to-end encryption on all messages, calls, and files - Zero-knowledge storage - no readable metadata on our servers - Perfect forward secrecy - rotating session keys per message - No ads. No tracking. No data sold. Ever. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO COMMUNICATE - One-on-one and group chats with full E2EE - Encrypted voice messages - a faster alternative to typing - Secure voice & video calls with peer-to-peer connections - File, photo, video, and audio sharing - all encrypted - Message reactions, replies, forwarding, and editing - Auto-delete messages with configurable timers - Pinned messages and chat folders for organization BUILT FOR SECURITY-CONSCIOUS TEAMS - Local passcode with Face ID / Touch ID support - IP whitelist - restrict access to trusted networks only - Role-based permissions in group rooms - Admin back-office controls for enterprise deployments - Bot integrations that run inside encrypted rooms - Independent third-party security audits AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE LoChat works seamlessly across your devices. Start a conversation on your phone and pick it up on another device — your encrypted history follows you. WHY ORGANIZATIONS CHOOSE LOCHAT LoChat is trusted by teams that cannot afford a data breach. With enterprise-grade access controls, audit-friendly policies, and a zero-tracking commitment, LoChat is the secure communication layer your organization deserves. Download LoChat today and take back your privacy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: LoChat Messenger at weekly against Wave's monthly. 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Wave ships an update monthly, LoChat Messenger weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Wave | LoChat Messenger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 157 MB | 470 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Simhadri Bogula | SwissGuard Solutions AG |
In-app purchases
Wave
No in-app purchases
LoChat Messenger
No in-app purchases









