Comparison

DotBGE vs PassPony

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

PassPony

This app is an open-source password manager that allows you to own your encrypted password files. It syncs with Git and is interoperable with command-line tools, offering features like QuickType autofill and live one-time codes.

Highlights
  • File-based encrypted password storage
  • Git synchronization
  • Interoperable with pass/passage CLI
  • QuickType autofill
  • Live one-time codes (TOTP)
  • Face ID/Touch ID unlock
  • Ephemeral clipboard
Features
Read full description

PassPony is a password manager for people who want to own their passwords. Every entry is one encrypted file in a store you control, in the same format as the pass and passage command line tools. Your Mac, your server, and your phone can all work on the same store. WHY A FILE-BASED STORE One entry, one file: the password on the first line, anything else after it. Encrypted with your keys: age identities for passage stores, OpenPGP keys for pass stores. Synced with git: clone your existing store, publish a new one, and resolve conflicts per entry, never with a silent merge. Interoperable: commits match the pass CLI format, so the store stays fully usable from the desktop tools. EVERYDAY USE QuickType autofill: your passes appear above the keyboard when you sign in. Only entry names are indexed; nothing decrypts until you fill. Live one-time codes: entries with an otpauth line show a TOTP code with a countdown ring. Face ID or Touch ID unlock, with a five-minute grace window shared with autofill. Ephemeral clipboard: copies are local only and clear after 45 seconds. Field-level editing that preserves the exact bytes of lines it does not touch. PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE No account, no signup, no PassPony server. The only network connection is the git remote you configure. No analytics, no ads, no tracking. Open source, Apache-2.0. The full app and its Rust core are published in a public git repository for anyone to audit. FORMATS passage stores encrypt with modern age identities. pass stores encrypt with OpenPGP keys (Cv25519 and X25519/Ed25519 in software). RSA-keyed stores need a smartcard, which is not supported yet. Each format keeps its own store; switching never touches the other. Localized in English, Spanish, French, German, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian. If you already run pass or passage, PassPony is the missing phone half of your setup. If you have never used them, the first-run tour will have you adding your first pass in about a minute.

Screenshots

DotBGE4 screens
PassPony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PassPony at none against DotBGE's 2. PassPony also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 days). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. PassPony asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DotBGE against 5.0 for PassPony. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DotBGE ships an update every 11 days, PassPony every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DotBGE versus PassPony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotBGEPassPony
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer刚 熊Kevin Stewart

Customer experience

DotBGE

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

PassPony

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DotBGE

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

PassPony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DotBGE free?
DotBGE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PassPony free?
PassPony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DotBGE or PassPony?
DotBGE and PassPony are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do DotBGE or PassPony have ads?
Neither DotBGE nor PassPony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DotBGE or PassPony?
DotBGE ships an update every 11 days, and PassPony every 5 days. Most recently, DotBGE was updated on October 8, 2026 and PassPony on September 22, 2026.

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