Comparison

Time Capsule vs Arkive

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

Head to head
About

Time Capsule

Securely store photos, videos, voice memos, and notes in an encrypted vault. Set a future unlock date for your memories, from days to decades away. Protect your private moments with biometric security.

Highlights
  • Encrypted memory vault
  • Future unlock dates
  • Store photos, videos, voice memos, notes, files
  • Biometric security (Face ID/Touch ID)
  • Countdown timer to unlock
  • Share encrypted files
Features
Read full description

Time Capsule Pro requires a separate in-app purchase to access the vault and capsule features described below. Downloading the app and completing onboarding are free. Purchase options and prices are shown in the app before payment. Time Capsule lets you lock your most meaningful photos, videos, voice memos, notes, and files inside an encrypted capsule — then open them on a date you choose. Pick an unlock date. Add what matters. Press and hold to seal it. When the time comes, your capsule unlocks and everything is waiting for you, exactly as you left it. HOW IT WORKS 1. Name your capsule and choose an unlock date — one month, one year, or decades from now. 2. Add photos, videos, voice memos, written notes, or files. 3. Hold to lock. Your capsule is sealed until the date arrives. BUILT FOR PRIVACY Your memories stay on your device. Optional accounts do not upload or synchronize your vault. Usage analytics and session recordings with masking configured help improve the app; you can turn analytics off in Profile. Analytics use a random installation identifier and technical device information. Advertising attribution SDKs are not included in this version. See the Privacy Policy for account and analytics processing. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Lock photos and videos from your camera or library - Record voice memos directly inside a capsule - Write letters to your future self - Attach any file type - Set unlock dates from one day to decades away - Watch a live countdown to each capsule's unlock moment - Protect your vault with Face ID or Touch ID - Share capsules with friends and family as encrypted .ltc files - View your full capsule history WHO IT'S FOR - Write a letter to yourself on New Year's and open it next December - Save your child's first words and photos for their 18th birthday - Preserve a friendship group's memories from a trip - Capture a personal goal and revisit your progress in a year - Create a graduation, wedding, or anniversary capsule Time Capsule is not a social feed, a cloud diary, or a photo album. It is a private vault that keeps your memories sealed until you are ready to revisit them. NOTE: Time Capsule does not provide legal, financial, or mental health advice. Always back up important capsules by exporting encrypted .ltc files. Questions or ideas? Email austinhfrankel@gmail.com - we read everything. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://gettimecapsule.com/privacy-policy.html Opening dates rely on the app and device clock. Exported files do not guarantee a tamper-proof future release.

About

Arkive

Features
Read full description

Some things deserve more than a camera roll. The letter you mean to write your child. The voice you never want to forget. The photographs, the documents, the words that hold a life together — scattered today across phones, drawers, and chats. Arkive is a private place to preserve what matters, and to deliver it to the people who matter — on your terms, in your time. Time Capsules Gather photos, video, voice notes, and letters into a capsule, then seal it for a date you choose — a birthday, a graduation, the morning it's needed most. The sealing is a moment of its own: deliberate, quiet, yours. With Contributor Capsules, invite the people you love to add their memories and make something together. The Vault A private home for the things that define a life — important letters and documents, the details your family would need if you weren't there to explain them. The Vault is zero-knowledge and encrypted on your device. Only you hold the key: we can't see it, and we can't reset it. With Shared Vaults, entrust what matters most to the people closest to you. Your Arkive Every moment you keep lives in your Arkive, organized around the people in your life — the photos, favorites, faces, and voices you never want to lose, gathered in one considered place. Relics — Coming Soon Soon, the memories you hold in Arkive will become something you can hold in your hands: printed photographs and a handwritten letter, sealed by hand and made to keep. Private by design. No ads — you are never the product. Built by a small team, for the moments you never want to lose. Preserve what matters.

Screenshots

Time Capsule4 screens
Arkive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Arkive at every 8 days against Time Capsule's every 8 months. Time Capsule's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). 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. Time Capsule sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year and Arkive sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Time Capsule ships an update every 8 months, Arkive every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Time Capsule versus Arkive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTime CapsuleArkive
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB37 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAustin FrankelBrivio Advisory OÜ

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Time Capsule

Subscriptions1
  • Time Capsule Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time2
  • Time Capsule Lifetime$9.99
  • Time Capsule Pro (Lifetime)$19.99
3 purchases

Arkive

Subscriptions2
  • Arkive Premium$14.991 Month
  • Arkive Premium$119.991 Year
One-time1
  • Arkive Lifetime$599.99

Questions

Is Time Capsule free?
Time Capsule is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arkive free?
Arkive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Time Capsule or Arkive have ads?
Neither Time Capsule nor Arkive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Time Capsule or Arkive?
Time Capsule ships an update every 8 months, and Arkive every 8 days. Most recently, Time Capsule was updated on November 5, 2026 and Arkive on October 28, 2026.

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