the roll vs Backspace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
the roll
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Some nights deserve more than a camera roll full of posed selfies and carefully curated stories. The Roll is a shared disposable camera for you and your crew. Everyone shoots blind. Nobody sees anything - not even their own photos - until the timer hits zero. Then it all comes out at once. >> How it works Start a roll, name it, and invite your crew. Everyone shoots into a shared pool of photos - no previews, no filters, no second chances. When the time comes, the roll locks. Then, at exactly the right moment, every photo from every person is revealed simultaneously. The good, the bad, the completely unhinged. That's the whole thing. And it's better than you'd expect. >> Why it feels different Most photo apps are about curation. The Roll is about capture. There's no pressure to look good, no checking what you shot, no deleting the blurry ones. You just point and shoot - and trust that the moment is worth keeping. The simultaneous reveal is where the magic happens. Opening a roll with your friends and seeing what everyone caught - angles you missed, moments you forgot, faces mid-laugh - feels like developing film from a disposable camera. Except everyone's camera, all at once. >> Built for real nights Whether it's a house party, a weekend trip, a birthday, or just a random Tuesday that turned into something - The Roll captures it the way it actually felt. Not the version you'd post. The real one. - Shared photo pool: everyone's shots, one roll - Blind shooting: no previews, no filters, no do-overs - Simultaneous reveal: everyone sees everything at the same time - Disposable camera aesthetic: warm, grainy, honest - Reactions: relive the night together, shot by shot - Party & Event rolls: bigger crews, more shots, custom reveal times - Add shots mid-roll: when 30 just isn't enough The Roll. Your night, unfiltered. Privacy policy: https://www.notion.so/the-roll-privacy-policy-3273d8355035801eacecd9e0b4b7d9ca?source=copy_link Contact us: https://www.notion.so/the-roll-contact-us-3273d83550358081b5f3fcbd9e70c06f?source=copy_link
Backspace
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Your photos and videos are quietly filling up your phone. Backspace helps you take that space back, one swipe at a time. Backspace sorts your camera roll by file size, so the biggest space wasters show up first. Swipe left to clear, swipe right to keep. A few swipes can free gigabytes in seconds, without digging through thousands of photos by hand. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything happens on your device. No account, no sign up, no uploads, no ads, no tracking. Your photos never leave your phone, and nothing is ever collected. Just a clean, fast tool that respects your privacy. HOW IT WORKS - See exactly how much storage your photos and videos are using - Start with the largest files, where the quick wins are - Swipe to sort: left to delete, right to keep - Review everything before it is removed, with the standard delete confirmation - Watch the gigabytes add up as you go KEEP IT CLEAN Once the big files are cleared, the chronological view helps you stay on top of it. Sweep through your library by month, week, quarter, or year, so a few swipes now and then keep things lean. Small effort, big impact. Reclaim your storage with Backspace.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Backspace at none against the roll's 3. Backspace also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. the roll sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Backspace asks for nothing beyond the download.
the roll ships an update every 2 weeks, Backspace every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | the roll | Backspace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad โ better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 โ better | 18.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Van der Velden BV | Stefan Das |
In-app purchases
the roll
- 15 Shot Booster$1.49
- Party Roll$2.99
- Event Roll$7.99
Backspace
No in-app purchases









