LocalToolbox vs Lighten
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LocalToolbox
A privacy-focused utility app offering over 160 offline tools for daily tasks, work, and study. It provides a comprehensive suite of calculators, converters, text utilities, and specialized professional tools, all functioning locally without internet access or data collection.
- 165+ offline utility tools
- Privacy-first, no data collection
- Measurement, time, and date tools
- Text utilities and developer tools
- Finance and engineering calculators
- Local record and workplace tools
- Fun and everyday helper tools
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Local Toolbox is a privacy-first, fully offline utility app that now includes 193 practical tools for daily life, work, local records, study, image tasks, and professional use. It brings measurement tools, timers, date and unit converters, text utilities, developer tools, finance and record tools, field and workplace helpers, image tools, and fun utilities into one app. Many small tools that would normally require separate downloads are already here and ready to use. Everything runs locally on your device. No login, no internet required, no cloud sync, no content upload, and no ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases getting in the way. It is built for people who want practical tools without privacy trade-offs. V2.2 adds six privacy tools: a local authenticator (TOTP), text redaction, photo metadata viewing and one-tap stripping, screenshot redaction, link tracking cleanup, and a privacy checkup checklist. All of them run on device, so authenticator secrets, the text you redact, and the photos you process never leave it. Key features include: Measurement, timer, date, and unit conversion tools Text utilities, JSON, regex, UUID/ULID, JWT, URL parsing, Text Find and Replace, and Voice to Text Everyday helpers like bill split, unit price compare, work hours, time zone conversion, a general Date Calculator, and Exam Countdown Finance and record tools such as compound growth, fixed deposit, recurring investment, goal planning, mortgage comparison, Simple Ledger, savings records, gift records, and local logs for borrowing, inventory, warranty, recurring payments, receipts, and medication Image tools such as four standalone image tools, favorite colors, and custom color cards Privacy tools such as a local authenticator, text redaction, photo metadata stripping, screenshot redaction, link tracking cleanup, and a privacy checkup checklist Professional tools for engineering, workplace, logistics, renovation, and field use Fun tools like Lucky Spinner, coin toss, reaction speed, color guess, a Yes / No Decider, Paid Slacking Tracker, and more Supports Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, and French. Feature requests and improvement ideas are welcome. All feedback is reviewed regularly and helps guide future updates: Email: 842797413@qq.com Or leave thoughts in an App Store review
Lighten
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Lighten frees up space on your iPhone and iPad without the tricks the rest of this category runs on. No ads. No daily deletion caps. No subscription required. Nothing is ever uploaded. SWIPE TO CLEAN — FREE, FOREVER • Month-by-month deck: swipe to keep, swipe to delete • No ads between photos, no caps, no progress resets • Honest session summary showing how much space you actually freed SMART SCANS — ONE FAIR PRICE • Exact duplicates, matched by content • Similar-photo clusters with a keep-the-best suggestion • Blurry shots, old screenshots, and large videos • Conservative thresholds and on-device face grouping, so “duplicates” never mix up photos of different people • Bulk review and clean flows for the whole library NUMBERS YOU CAN CHECK • Every figure comes from your actual library — never an estimate dressed up as a promise • If iCloud Photos optimization is on, Lighten explains what will and won't free space on the device itself — before you clean, not in a support reply afterwards • Recently Deleted and its 30-day window explained up front NOTHING IS DELETED BEHIND YOUR BACK • You review every batch before anything happens • Deletion always goes through the system Photos confirmation • Everything lands in Recently Deleted, recoverable for 30 days • A recently-cleaned list, so you can find and restore anything you change your mind about BUILT FOR REAL LIBRARIES • Handles libraries of 100,000+ photos without crashing • Scans are resumable, and pause themselves if your device gets warm • Works with limited photo access if you'd rather not grant the whole library HONEST PRICING • The free tier stays useful forever — it is not a trial in disguise • Lifetime unlock is the hero: pay once, yours forever, Family Sharing on • No trial-to-charge surprises, ever PRIVACY • Data Not Collected • No accounts, no ads, no third-party analytics, no networking at all • Your photos never leave your device TERMS AND PRIVACY • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://zebel.ai/lighten/privacy-policy • Lighten sells one non-consumable unlock. There is no subscription and nothing auto-renews.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lighten at Free against LocalToolbox's $2.99. LocalToolbox's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Lighten is free to download; LocalToolbox costs $2.99 up front. Lighten sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LocalToolbox asks for nothing beyond the download.
LocalToolbox ships an update every 3 weeks, Lighten fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LocalToolbox | Lighten |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 鹏 杨 | Zebel OU |
In-app purchases
LocalToolbox
No in-app purchases
Lighten
- Smart Scans (Lifetime)$19.99









