Comparison

DotBGE vs AgePony

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

Head to head
About

DotBGE

Securely encrypt and decrypt files, photos, and text messages on your iPhone and iPad. Share encrypted content with trusted contacts or password-protect sensitive data. Your files and encryption keys remain private and under your control.

Highlights
  • RSA-4096 and AES-256-GCM encryption
  • Encrypt for specific contacts or with a password
  • Identity cards for secure sharing
  • Encrypt text messages
  • Open .bge files from any app
  • Face ID/Touch ID protected vault
  • Preview decrypted files without saving
Features
Read full description

DotBGE encrypts your files right on your iPhone and iPad. No accounts, no DotBGE servers, no tracking. Your files and keys stay yours. Built on the open .bge format, DotBGE uses RSA-4096 and AES-256-GCM encryption to protect documents, photos, PDFs, media, archives, and folders. Share encrypted files with people you trust using identity cards, or lock files with a password only you know. ENCRYPT FOR A FRIEND Encrypt a file so only a specific person's identity can unlock it. Add trusted contacts, then encrypt in a few taps. No passwords to exchange and no shared secret to leak. ENCRYPT TEXT MESSAGES Type or paste text, encrypt it for yourself, a trusted contact, or a password, then share it as a .bge message file through any chat app. The recipient opens it in DotBGE to read and copy the decrypted message. IDENTITY CARDS, NOT RAW KEYS Share your identity card with a QR code or .bgekey file so others can encrypt files for you. No copy-pasting long public keys. PASSWORD MODE No contact yet? Encrypt with a passphrase instead. Anyone with the password can decrypt, which is useful for one-time sharing. OPEN .bge FILES FROM ANYWHERE Open encrypted files from Files, Mail, or any app that offers document handoff. DotBGE routes .bge files into a private decrypt-and-preview flow. OPEN .bge FORMAT Your encrypted files use a documented, self-describing container. They are portable and not locked to any account or service. FACE ID VAULT Keep encrypted files in a local vault protected by Face ID or Touch ID. Optional iCloud sync keeps your encrypted vault available across your own devices. PREVIEW AFTER DECRYPTING View photos, PDFs, text, audio, and video inside the app after decrypting without writing decrypted copies to disk. ENCRYPT FROM ANYWHERE Encrypt from Photos, Files, or other apps through the share sheet. Single-file encryption, preview, and decryption are always free. FOLDER ENCRYPTION WITH PRO Create one encrypted package or encrypt files separately. Choose where to save and whether to keep originals, and optionally hide file and folder names. Save Quick Tasks for repeated runs. Existing encrypted outputs are skipped, even if the source files have changed. DOTBGE PRO Unlock batch encryption, folder encryption, an unlimited vault, and multiple identities. A monthly option is available for short-term projects. Decryption, preview, and single-file encryption stay free. Perfect for: • Sending sensitive documents to a specific person • Keeping private files encrypted before sharing or storing them • Professionals handling confidential files on the go • People who want their own keys, on their own device Encrypt your files. Keep your keys. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdfla/ Privacy Policy: https://dotbge.app/privacy

About

AgePony

Securely encrypt, sign, and manage files using advanced post-quantum cryptography. Protect your data with robust encryption methods, verify file authenticity, and keep sensitive information private on your device without relying on servers or accounts.

Highlights
  • Post-quantum encryption (ML-KEM-768)
  • File signing and verification
  • Encrypt to various recipients
  • Support for any file size
  • Passphrase-locked notes
  • Biometric and PIN app lock
  • Local-first, zero-backend design
Features
Read full description

Modern file encryption and signing for iPhone, built on the age protocol. Encrypt anything to anyone, sign files so others can verify they came from you, and keep every byte on your device. No accounts, no servers, no key-management headaches. POST-QUANTUM Hybrid ML-KEM-768 + X25519 recipients, so a file captured today stays private even if X25519 falls to a quantum computer years from now. Interoperable with the age CLI 1.3 and newer. Files already on a classical key? The re-encrypt tool moves them across. ANY SIZE Encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify files of any size. Nothing is held in memory, so a 1 GB video behaves like a text file. ENCRYPT TO ANYONE A GitHub username. AgePony fetches their published SSH keys Any age public key, classical (X25519) or post-quantum A YubiKey, through age-plugin-yubikey recipients (age1yubikey1...) Any SSH public key (ed25519 or RSA) A passphrase, when you don't need recipient keys at all Exchange keys in person without typing: show yours as a QR code, or scan theirs. SIGN FILES Prove a file came from you and hasn't been altered. Sign on its own for a detached signature anyone can check without AgePony, or sign and encrypt in one step so the signature is sealed inside the ciphertext. Signatures verify automatically as a file decrypts. An in-app SSH key (ed25519 or RSA) A Secure Enclave key, generated in hardware and never exportable An external security key over NFC: tap a YubiKey or Token2, including keys behind a FIDO PIN Standard SSHSIG (ssh-keygen -Y sign), verifiable anywhere OpenSSH runs BUILT ON AGE A clean-room implementation of the age v1 format, the modern alternative to PGP: X25519 key agreement, ChaCha20-Poly1305, scrypt for passphrases. Bit-perfect with the reference age CLI. Encrypt on your phone, decrypt on your laptop, and back again. ENCRYPTED NOTES Passphrase-locked notes for secrets that never leave your device: recovery phrases, API keys, credentials. Each note has its own passphrase, stretched through scrypt. Forget it and the body is gone for good. That is the point. LOCK IT DOWN Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID, or set an app password or PIN, with or without biometrics. Choose how long AgePony waits before it locks. An optional duress password looks exactly like a normal unlock but silently wipes the vault, for the moment you are made to open the app. Delete an identity by mistake and Recently Deleted holds it for 30 days. EVERY KIND OF DATA Files: encrypt anything from the Files app Several at once: one archive, or one file each Text: armored age blocks for paste-into-email use Keys: share yours as a QR code, or scan someone else's Inspect: see what any age file is encrypted to, without decrypting it LOCAL-FIRST, ZERO BACKEND No accounts. No cloud. No telemetry. No analytics. No ads. No third-party SDKs. Your vault stays on your device, encrypted at rest with a master key in the iOS Keychain, unlocked by Face ID, Touch ID, or an app password you set. The only network request AgePony ever makes is fetching a GitHub user's public keys, when you ask, and you can route even that through an HTTP proxy. OPEN SOURCE Apache 2.0. Every line at github.com/norsehorse-dev/AgePonyiOS. COMPATIBILITY Any age v1 implementation (FiloSottile/age, str4d/rage, and more) Post-quantum recipients need age CLI 1.3 or newer YubiKey recipients through age-plugin-yubikey SSH-ed25519 and SSH-RSA public keys Binary and PEM-armored age files Detached signatures verify with ssh-keygen -Y verify Requires iPhone with iOS 18.6 or later PRIVACY AgePony collects nothing and there is no server. Your data never leaves your device unless you export it. Policy: agepony.com/privacy. SUPPORT Docs, FAQ, and contact: agepony.com/support. Email: NorseHorse@norsehor.se Built quietly in Alabama by NorseHorse. Sibling to PGPony, the same idea for OpenPGP keys.

Screenshots

DotBGE4 screens
AgePony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DotBGE at 5.0 against AgePony's 3.3. AgePony's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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. DotBGE sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. AgePony asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DotBGE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DotBGE ships an update every 11 days, AgePony every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DotBGE versus AgePony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotBGEAgePony
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer刚 熊Kevin Stewart

Customer experience

DotBGE

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AgePony

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DotBGE

Subscriptions1
  • DotBGE Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • DotBGE Pro Lifetime$24.99
None

AgePony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DotBGE free?
DotBGE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AgePony free?
AgePony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DotBGE or AgePony?
DotBGE is rated higher. DotBGE averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while AgePony averages 3.3 from 3 ratings.
Do DotBGE or AgePony have ads?
Neither DotBGE nor AgePony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DotBGE or AgePony?
DotBGE ships an update every 11 days, and AgePony every 3 weeks. Most recently, DotBGE was updated on October 8, 2026 and AgePony on September 27, 2026.

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