Secure Chats vs Cipher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Secure Chats
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SecChats is a private, end-to-end encrypted messenger for one-to-one and group conversations. Every text and photo you send is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM under a key derived from an ECDH handshake with the recipient. The server only sees ciphertext. No phone number. No email. No ads. No tracking. Why SecChats โ True end-to-end encryption. Messages are encrypted on your device before they leave it and only decrypted on the recipient's. The SecChats server cannot read them. Neither can we. โ No phone number or email. Sign up with a display name. The server assigns you an opaque user ID; share that with friends to start chatting. โ Private by design. The on-device database is wrapped in an additional AES-256-GCM layer, so a stolen or seized device does not hand over your conversation history. โ Add friends face-to-face by scanning a QR code โ keys never touch a server. โ Photos, text, groups. Send messages and images to friends or groups; create groups and share QR-code invitations; scan a QR code to join a group you were invited to. โ Seven languages. Switch the interface between System default, English, Romanian, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese from Settings. โ Open API and reference client. The protocol is documented and shipped alongside an open-source Java reference client, so you can audit or rebuild the messaging stack yourself. SecChats does not lock you in. What's in the app โ Friends tab โ your contacts, groups, pending requests, and group invitations. New activity is flagged with a small dot. โ Chat tab โ bubble-style conversations with copy/delete on each message, clickable URLs, and full-screen image previews. โ Settings tab โ language picker, message and account wipe, Banned Channels ledger for anyone you have reported and removed. Security details โ Wire format: AES-256-GCM under an ECDH-derived shared secret. โ At-rest format: AES-256-GCM with a per-install key, layered over every text payload and every image payload before SQLite ever sees the bytes. โ Profanity filter on display names and group names, backed by a curated word list. โ Open verification: the protocol and reference client are public. About the company Secure Chats is built by Secchats Ltd. All conversation content is end-to-end encrypted. The company cannot read your messages and does not retain content beyond the time needed to deliver it. Support Help and documentation: https://secchats.com/howto.html Open API documentation: https://secchats.com/api.html Contact support: support@secchats.com
Cipher
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When the other person is on your Wi-Fi, nothing passes through a relay. No phone number. No email. No account. And the things this app cannot protect you from are written down inside it. NO SERVER, BY DEFAULT Cipher tries two transports in order. On the same network it connects over Bonjour, using no infrastructure at all. Only when that is unavailable does it fall back to a relay you chose yourself - and relays are off by default. The transport in use is shown at the top of the screen, and each message carries its own mark: this one arrived over the LAN, this one went through a relay. DRAKE/1 The cryptography is not homemade. X25519, Ed25519, ChaCha20-Poly1305, HKDF-SHA512 and ML-KEM-768 - widely reviewed standards, nothing else. What is ours is how they are assembled. - Keys ratchet forward on every message, so a leaked key cannot open the past - Headers are encrypted too: the message index and key rotations are invisible from outside - Every message is padded up to one of a fixed set of sizes, so the exact length never travels - The routing tag handed to a relay changes hourly, so you cannot be followed across time - Between devices on iOS 26 or later, ML-KEM-768 post-quantum key exchange runs alongside WHAT IT DOES - One-to-one text, with replies, quotes, edits, reactions and search - Disappearing messages, from send or from open, 10 seconds to 4 weeks - Safety-number verification: 60 digits, or scan the QR to compare automatically - Multiple accounts and disposable IDs - Biometric lock, decoy vault, wipe PIN - Encrypted backup and restore, CSV/JSON export - Settings you can actually change, down to the last detail WHAT WE ADMIT A product that sells safety and then overstates it is itself a danger. Settings > What this cannot protect lists the limits in plain language: if the device itself is compromised, if the first key exchange was tampered with, if the person you are talking to copies the contents out, or if you need your IP address hidden - none of those are within reach of this app. PRICING Everything cryptographic is in the free version. Padding, header encryption, key ratcheting, safety-number verification, disappearing messages, blocking - none of it is limited. We do not hold safety hostage. Cipher Pro adds convenience: 14-day relay retention, unlimited disposable IDs, cover traffic. The annual plan includes 7 days free. Terms: https://revot.jp/apps/cipher/terms.html Privacy: https://revot.jp/apps/cipher/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Secure Chats at none against Cipher's 4. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Cipher sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Secure Chats asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Secure Chats | Cipher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | โ |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Secchats Ltd | REVOT, K.K. |
In-app purchases
Secure Chats
No in-app purchases
Cipher
- Cipher Pro ้ฑ้ก$3.997 Days
- Cipher Pro ๆ้ก$6.991 Month
- Cipher Pro ๅนด้ก7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Cipher Pro ่ฒทใๅใ$69.99









