theSHFT vs Sendant
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
theSHFT
This app offers a secure and private messaging experience disguised as a functional calculator. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and self-destruct after reading, with no data stored on servers. It prioritizes user privacy with advanced encryption protocols.
- Calculator disguise
- End-to-end encryption
- Self-destructing messages
- No server storage
- Advanced encryption protocols
- No phone number required
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theSHFT is a private messaging app built for people who take privacy seriously. Direct messages, group chats, calls, photos, videos and voice memos are encrypted on your device before they are sent. We hold only ciphertext for them. Community posts and Stories are server readable so they can be shown to members and viewers. Private. Secure. Yours. The text of every direct message runs on the Double Ratchet, so each message gets its own key. Photos, videos and voice memos are sealed with a key for the chat they are sent in, not a new key for each file. In one to one chats the message text also gets post quantum protection, in hybrid with classical encryption, whenever the recipient's device has published a post quantum key. Every chat starts with a 10 second timer that both sides share, and a message counts down once it is read. Pick Off or anything from 5 seconds to 30 days, free on every account, and watch a live countdown to the second it is gone. Once a message disappears from a phone, it is deleted there for good. Voice calls are free and video calls come with Pro, for both people on the call. Calls are encrypted end to end with 256 bit AES. Create encrypted group chats with up to 50 members (100 with Pro). When someone leaves or is removed, the group moves to new keys, so they cannot read what is sent after they are gone. Send voice memos with a visual waveform and adjustable playback speed. In a chat they are encrypted like your photos and follow the chat's timer. Dress up your avatar with a SHFT look: free, Pro and seasonal outfits, paired with any pose and color you choose. Two looks unlock by playing, not paying. Collect stars for the things you do in theSHFT, from your first message to a year of use, and see them on your own Stars screen. theSHFT also lives on your Lock Screen and Home Screen as a small companion you can pet and feed. It is built from a few numbers already on your phone, like when you last opened the app, never from who you talk to or what you send. In communities, anyone signed in can vote on a post. How you voted is private; only the totals show to others. Posting, replying and polls are for members. No phone number. No email. No real name. Just a username and a PIN. Your 12 word recovery phrase is the only way to restore your account, and only you have it. Screenshots, screen recordings and AirPlay mirroring of your messages come out blank, on your iPhone and on the phones of the people you message: the app renders them through a protected layer, so the capture saves as a black image. Take a screenshot inside a chat on iPhone and the others in that chat are told at once. Screen recordings are blanked but not reported, and nothing can stop a photo taken with a second camera. We hold only ciphertext for direct messages, group chats and calls. The keys for them are made and kept on your device. We cannot read those messages, even if asked. A duress PIN (Pro) wipes theSHFT from your phone without warning and, when the phone is online, deletes your account too. There is no decoy and nothing left to unlock. theSHFT delivers real time messaging, encrypted voice calls, video calls with Pro, group chats, voice memos with waveform playback, and a live countdown on every timed message once it is read. The free plan includes unlimited messages, photos and contacts, voice calls up to five minutes, up to ten groups of fifty, communities, stories, and every disappearing timer, from 5 seconds to 30 days. Upgrade to Pro, a monthly or yearly subscription, to unlock encrypted video calls when both of you have Pro, unlimited call length when everyone on the call has Pro, voice room hosting, unlimited groups of up to 100 members, and the duress PIN. Terms of Use (EULA): https://theshft.app/eula Privacy Policy: https://theshft.app/privacy-policy
Sendant
A private, encrypted messenger where conversations belong to you. It offers end-to-end encryption by default, requires no personal account information, and minimizes metadata collection. Enjoy features like groups, attachments, and disappearing messages with a focus on user trust and privacy.
- End-to-end encryption by default
- No phone number, email, or account needed
- Store-and-forward message delivery
- Minimized metadata collection
- Contact verification with QR codes/safety numbers
- Plain-language security indicators
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Sendant is a private, encrypted messenger built on a simple promise: your conversations belong to you. Messages are end-to-end encrypted by default, your keys never leave your device, there's no central server quietly logging who you talk to — and no phone number, email, or account required to start. It feels like the messengers you already know — fast chats, groups, attachments, reactions, and disappearing messages — but the trust model underneath is different. WHY SENDANT • End-to-end encrypted by default (X3DH + Double Ratchet). Only you and the people you're talking to can read your messages. • No phone number, email, or account. Your identity lives in cryptographic keys held on your device, not tied to your SIM. • Messages that don't get lost. Your message is sealed on your device and held in a store-and-forward mailbox the servers can't read, so it waits and delivers when your contact reconnects. • Less metadata. We minimize the "who talked to whom, when" trail that centralized apps collect by default. • Verify the people you trust. Confirm a contact with a QR code or safety number, and get a clear, plain-language warning the moment something changes. • No ads, no tracking SDKs. TRUST YOU CAN READ Security here speaks plain English. Sendant shows "Verified," "End-to-end encrypted," and "Safety number changed" — never cryptographic jargon. PRIVACY BY DEFAULT No phone number, email, or account required. Local-first storage on your device. Your keys stay under your control. Private by default. Calm by design.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sendant at none against theSHFT's 3. theSHFT's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. theSHFT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Sendant asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for theSHFT against 5.0 for Sendant. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: theSHFT has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
theSHFT ships an update weekly, Sendant every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | theSHFT | Sendant |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (10 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 176 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | theSHFT LLC | VectraSEO LLC |
Customer experience
theSHFT
Sendant
In-app purchases
theSHFT
- theSHFT Pro Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- theSHFT Pro Yearly3 Days trial$99.991 Year
- theSHFT Pro Lifetime$49.99
Sendant
No in-app purchases









