Comparison

Haven Private Circles vs Gonchat

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

Head to head
About

Haven Private Circles

A private social network focused on secure sharing with close friends and family. It offers end-to-end encrypted posts, messages, and calls, with options for offline sharing and personal data storage. No ads, tracking, or algorithms are present.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encrypted sharing
  • Private circles for family and friends
  • Direct and group messaging
  • Group voice and video calls
  • Offline nearby sharing
  • Bring your own storage option
  • No account or personal information required
Features
Read full description

Haven is a private social network for the people who actually matter. No ads. No tracking. No algorithm deciding what you see. No company server holding your memories. Everything you share is end-to-end encrypted with hybrid post-quantum cryptography and travels directly between your devices — over the internet, or over Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi when you're together offline. Even we can't read it. • Private circles — share with family and close friends in separate, invite‑only circles • Posts, photos, videos & stories — with a modern camera, easy captions, and a song • Direct & group messages — with sender names, timestamps, and delivery checks, plus scheduled and screenshot‑protected secret messages • Group voice & video calls — 1:1 and group, with screen sharing, peer‑to‑peer, no call server in the middle • All your devices in sync — start on iPhone, pick up on iPad or Mac; your posts and messages follow you • Disappearing posts — you decide how long things stick around • Nearby sharing — works with no internet at all, phone to phone • Bring your own storage — keep memories alive on your own S3 bucket or a relay you run • No account, no phone number, no email — your identity lives only on your device Haven is a stronghold for the people you love. It's built so that no one — not advertisers, not data brokers, not even the people who made it — can get between you and your circle.

About

Gonchat

Features
Read full description

Gonchat is a private messenger built for conversations that don't stick around. Every message, photo, voice note, and video is protected with end-to-end encryption — only you and the person you're talking to can read them. Not us. Not anyone else. WHY GONCHAT • Meet new people, privately — Connect lets you start conversations without giving out your number. • End-to-end encrypted by default — your chats are unreadable to everyone but you and your contact. • Ephemeral by design — messages and media self-destruct, so nothing lingers. • No phone number required — sign up with just an email and a username. • No ads. No trackers. No data mining. Ever. FEATURES • Connect — meet and talk to new people without sharing your phone number. Opt-in, and leave anytime. • Private 1-on-1 chats with end-to-end encryption • Self-destructing messages and disappearing conversations • View-once photos and videos • Voice notes and video messages • On-device translation in 20 languages — private, never sent to a server • App lock with PIN and Face ID / fingerprint • Two-factor authentication (2FA) • Reactions, replies, and a clean, fast interface YOUR PRIVACY, BY DEFAULT Gonchat is designed so we can't read your messages even if we wanted to. Your encryption keys stay on your device. We don't sell data, show ads, or track you across apps or websites. Download Gonchat and talk freely.

Screenshots

Haven Private Circles4 screens
Gonchat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Haven Private Circles at 4 against Gonchat's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Haven Private Circles versus Gonchat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHaven Private CirclesGonchat
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB96 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBlaine MillerDinDon Digital Labs LLC

In-app purchases

None

Haven Private Circles

No in-app purchases

None

Gonchat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Haven Private Circles free?
Haven Private Circles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gonchat free?
Gonchat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Haven Private Circles or Gonchat have ads?
Neither Haven Private Circles nor Gonchat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Haven Private Circles or Gonchat?
Haven Private Circles ships an update every 2 days, and Gonchat every 2 days. Most recently, Haven Private Circles was updated on October 4, 2026 and Gonchat on October 16, 2026.

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