Comparison

NousPDF vs SecureFile

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

Head to head
About

NousPDF

Features
Read full description

Chat with any PDF offline. The AI runs entirely on your iPhone. NousPDF is an offline AI PDF reader and PDF summarizer a compact language model runs directly on your device after a one-time download. Your documents, chats and AI replies stay on your iPhone. Ask questions, summarise papers, search by meaning once the model is installed, the AI chat works fully offline, anywhere. CORE AI ON YOUR DEVICE Chat PDF: ask anything, receive grounded answers with citations PDF summarizer: summarise long reports in a single tap Semantic Search: find ideas, not just keywords, using local embeddings After a one-time model download, works fully offline no account, no third-party AI subscription, no API key OCR & SCANNING Handwriting OCR: turn lecture notes and revision cards into searchable text PDF scanner app: auto-crop, de-skew and enhance contrast Multi-language text recognition PDF TOOLS PDF annotator: highlight, add text and signatures PDF merger: combine documents with drag-and-drop PDF split: extract or rearrange pages instantly PDF compressor: reduce file size without losing quality PDF converter: convert to and from PDF Word, images and more Organise a PDF from photos in seconds PRIVACY FIRST BY DESIGN GDPR compliant. Your PDFs, chats and AI outputs stay on your device. The AI runs locally on your iPhone's GPU prompts never leave the device for an AI server. One-time model file is fetched after that, no document, chat or embedding is ever uploaded. No built-in analytics, no crash reporting SDK. App is ad supported with transparent consent. WHO IS IT FOR? Students working on revision, coursework and dissertations Researchers analysing long scientific papers Solicitors, consultants and professionals handling confidential contracts Anyone who prefers not to upload private documents to a cloud AI WHY NOUSPDF? Most AI PDF apps stream your files to a remote server on every question. NousPDF takes the opposite approach the intelligence comes to your document. You get the benefits of AI without sending your content to a third-party AI provider, and after setup it keeps working with no signal at all. Download NousPDF and read your PDFs intelligently, on your device.

About

SecureFile

Features
Read full description

SecureFile lets you encrypt and decrypt any file directly on your device. Photos, documents, PDFs, videos โ€” if it's a file, SecureFile can lock it behind a password so only you can open it. HOW IT WORKS SecureFile uses AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 key derivation. That means your password is never stored โ€” instead it's used to derive a strong encryption key. If someone gets your encrypted file without the password, they get nothing readable. TWO ENCRYPTION MODES Simple Mode Protect a file with just a password. Pick a file, set a password, tap Encrypt. To decrypt later: the encrypted file plus the same password is all you need. Advanced Mode Add a second layer with a recovery key. Decryption requires the encrypted file, your password, AND the recovery key file. Even if someone learns your password, they still can't open the file without the key. COMPLETELY PRIVATE โ€ข No internet connection required โ€” ever โ€ข No account or sign-up needed โ€ข No data sent to any server โ€ข Everything happens on your device, offline HISTORY Every encryption and decryption is logged locally in the History tab so you always know which files you've protected and when. HONEST SECURITY We don't hide what we use. AES-256-GCM is the same cipher used by banks, governments, and security professionals worldwide. PBKDF2 with 300,000 iterations makes brute-forcing your password computationally impractical. You can verify every detail in the Settings screen. IMPORTANT NOTE SecureFile uses standard encryption as defined under U.S. export regulations (EAR). It qualifies for the encryption exemption (ENC) and does not require an Encryption Registration Number (ERN) โ€” it implements only publicly available, standard cryptographic algorithms and is not designed for confidentiality of communications. If you lose your password (and your recovery key in Advanced Mode), your files cannot be recovered. There is no "forgot password." Store your credentials safely. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: http://codstars.com/policy.html

Screenshots

NousPDF4 screens
SecureFile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NousPDF at none against SecureFile's 3. SecureFile's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price 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. SecureFile sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. NousPDF asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
NousPDF versus SecureFile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNousPDFSecureFile
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksโ€”
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS16.413.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size72 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuong TheCode Stars

In-app purchases

None

NousPDF

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

SecureFile

Subscriptions3
  • Secure Pro: Weekly Ad-Free$2.997 Days
  • Secure Pro: Monthly Ad-Free$7.991 Month
  • Secure Pro: Yearly Ad-Free$49.991 Year

Questions

Is NousPDF free?
NousPDF is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SecureFile free?
SecureFile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NousPDF or SecureFile have ads?
NousPDF shows ads; SecureFile does not.

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