Comparison

DNS Sinkhole vs ArcanAI

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

Head to head
About

DNS Sinkhole

Features
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Choose encrypted DNS without replacing your VPN. Sinkhole helps you understand, select, and configure a trusted DNS-over-HTTPS provider on iPhone and iPad. It adds an encrypted DNS configuration for the provider you choose, using the system API iOS provides for this. SIMPLE GUIDED SETUP Choose your goal โ€” privacy and security, family protection, or advanced custom DNS โ€” then follow clear installation steps designed for everyone. CURATED PROVIDERS Compare privacy and security-focused options from established public DNS providers. Depending on your selection, provider-side filtering may cover known malware, phishing, trackers, ads, or adult content. ADVANCED MODE Use a trusted custom HTTPS DNS endpoint from a service you control or configure, including compatible self-hosted resolvers. HONEST STATUS Sinkhole reads its own state from iOS: whether a configuration exists, and whether iOS has it active. It also sends a single DNS test request to confirm the selected endpoint is reachable, and keeps that separate from activation. PRIVACY BY DESIGN โ€ข No Sinkhole account โ€ข No LorisLabs DNS server โ€ข No VPN tunnel and no VPN configuration โ€ข No advertising or analytics SDK โ€ข No DNS query or browsing history received by Sinkhole Once active, DNS requests go directly from your device to the provider you selected. That provider's privacy policy and filtering behavior apply. Sinkhole cannot see or fabricate per-domain statistics. IMPORTANT iOS asks for your approval before Sinkhole can add a DNS configuration, and only you can select it in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management > DNS. You can switch away or remove it there at any time, without the app. A VPN may choose to override system DNS settings; behavior depends on that VPN.

About

ArcanAI

Features
Read full description

ArcanAI is a private, on-device AI chat app that runs open-source language models entirely on your iPhone or iPad. No accounts. No subscriptions. No cloud. No internet required. Import any GGUF model from Hugging Face and start chatting โ€” every conversation happens locally, powered by hardware-accelerated inference using Apple's Metal framework. Your messages never leave your device. KEY FEATURES - Run AI models 100% offline โ€” on a plane, off the grid, anywhere - Import any GGUF model from Hugging Face โ€” choose the size and capability that fits your device - Store and switch between up to 5 models at once - Analyze documents โ€” upload PDFs, spreadsheets, text files, CSVs, and more - GPU-accelerated inference for fast, streaming responses - Full conversation history with multiple independent chats - Edit messages and regenerate responses - Customize temperature, max tokens, and system prompts - Beautiful dark UI with markdown-rendered responses - Text-to-speech support SUPPORTED MODEL FAMILIES Llama, Gemma, Mistral, Phi, Qwen, and any ChatML-compatible model. RECOMMENDED STARTER MODELS - Llama 3.2 1B (~570 MB) โ€” great for older devices - Gemma 2 2B (~1.0 GB) โ€” balanced performance - Qwen 2.5 3B (~1.5 GB) โ€” multilingual and code capabilities PRIVACY FIRST Zero data collection. Zero telemetry. Zero crash reporting. Zero cloud sync. Your conversations and model files stay on your device โ€” always.

Screenshots

DNS Sinkhole4 screens
ArcanAI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: ArcanAI at 15.1 against DNS Sinkhole's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 4 level
DNS Sinkhole versus ArcanAI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDNS SinkholeArcanAI
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.1 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size4 MB37 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperChristine MartinJackson Giordano

In-app purchases

None

DNS Sinkhole

No in-app purchases

None

ArcanAI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DNS Sinkhole free?
DNS Sinkhole is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcanAI free?
ArcanAI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do DNS Sinkhole or ArcanAI have ads?
Neither DNS Sinkhole nor ArcanAI shows ads.

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