Comparison

Compass vs Netglow

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

Head to head
About

Compass

This AI assistant processes all your questions and attached screenshots locally on your device. Enjoy private, real-time answers without data collection or cloud transmission.

Highlights
  • On-device AI processing
  • Screenshot and photo analysis
  • Notes-style chat interface
  • Private by design
  • No data collection
  • Streaming answers
Features
Read full description

Compass is a professional, privacy‑first on‑device assistant. Ask questions, attach screenshots, and get clear answers with everything processed locally on your iPhone, no data collection, no analytics, and no cloud transmission. What you can do with Compass • Ask quick questions in a clean, Notes‑style chat interface • Attach screenshots or photos and let Compass read them with on‑device OCR • Get focused, streaming answers that feel like a real conversation • Reopen or delete recent chats from a simple home screen Private by design • Your questions and answers stay on your device • Images and extracted text are processed using Apple’s on‑device frameworks • No analytics SDKs, no tracking, no external servers Compass is built for people who want the comfort of AI help without giving up control of their data.

About

Netglow

Read full description

You met someone interesting. Three months later you remember the conversation but not the name. NetGlow is a private notebook for the people you meet. Write whatever you remember, however messily. It saves instantly, then reads your note and pulls out the details worth keeping — where they work, what they're into, who they mentioned. FIND PEOPLE THE WAY YOU REMEMBER THEM You rarely remember the keyword. You remember the gist. So search by description: "the woman doing something with proteins" "who did I meet that runs really long races" "someone who left a big company to start their own thing" It searches meaning, not text — so a note written in German is found by a question asked in English, and the other way round. EVERYTHING STAYS ON YOUR PHONE There is no account, no sign-up, and no server. Your notes are stored on your device and sync through your own private iCloud, which nobody else can read. Reading your notes uses Apple's on-device Foundation Models framework. Search uses a model built into the app. Dictation uses Apple's on-device speech model. None of them needs a connection, and none of them sends your writing anywhere. WHAT IT DOES • Write a note. It saves the moment you tap save, and fills in who it was about while you watch • Or speak it — dictation runs on your iPhone, one tap from a widget on your Home Screen or Lock Screen, Control Centre, or the Action Button • Search by loose description, in English or German — and get a one-sentence answer above the results, written on your iPhone from your own notes • See the words that matched, so you can check the answer against what you wrote • Find the people you know from the iPhone's own search, without opening the app • Open someone and read your own notes back: what you last wrote, in your own words, with how to reach them a tap away • Call, message or email straight from their card, and open their LinkedIn or Instagram • Bring people in from your contacts — only the ones you pick, and without giving the app access to the rest • Add and edit everything by hand — nothing is locked behind the automatic parts BUILT TO BE HONEST Every detail NetGlow reads from your notes has to quote your actual words, and you approve each one before it's kept. When search isn't confident, it says so rather than guessing. Requires iOS 26. Automatic note reading needs Apple Intelligence; everything else works without it.

Screenshots

Compass4 screens
Netglow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Compass at fortnightly against Netglow's every 6 weeks. 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compass ships an update fortnightly, Netglow every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Compass versus Netglow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompassNetglow
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShryas BhuratValentin Elia Neher

In-app purchases

None

Compass

No in-app purchases

None

Netglow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Compass free?
Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Netglow free?
Netglow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Compass or Netglow have ads?
Neither Compass nor Netglow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compass or Netglow?
Compass ships an update fortnightly, and Netglow every 6 weeks. Most recently, Compass was updated on October 14, 2026 and Netglow on October 18, 2026.

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