Comparison

Private Play vs Photo Browser

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

Head to head
About

Private Play

Features
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Your photos, videos, and favorite moments, in one private player. Private Play combines full-screen playback, an encrypted on-device library, and Highlights that bring you straight back to the parts you love. No app account, ads, or tracking. Supports iOS 27; requires iOS 17 or later. SAVE THE BEST PARTS WITH HIGHLIGHTS • Mark multiple moments in one video. Adjust the start and end, preview, then save. • Highlights remember time ranges without copying or re-encoding the original video. • Revisit them in an autoplaying, looping grid. Watch All, Favorites, or Highlights in sequential or shuffle order. A NEW HOME FOR YOUR MEDIA • Discover random previews and shelves for Highlights, favorites, and your library. • Swipe vertically through full-screen photos and videos. Pause, seek, jump ten seconds, or hide controls for an unobstructed view. • Search and filter your library, pinch to change grid density, and inspect media information. IMPORT AND ORGANIZE • Import from Photos, Files, or the share sheet. Photo imports leave the originals untouched; supported Live Photos retain their motion. • Skip identical imports automatically. • Optionally browse and download from your own NAS: use DS file or SMB through Files, or connect to WebDAV. Select files or folders before downloading. • NAS sync downloads from your configured source; it does not upload media. Downloaded media is encrypted on this device. PRIVATE ON YOUR IPHONE • On-device encryption, keys in the iOS Keychain, and an app lock with device authentication. • Playback pauses and private content is covered when the app moves to the background. • Play imported media offline. Optional NAS connections use your own server; we do not host your library. • Export vault items back to Photos, including without Pro. Keep your own backups: we cannot recover a lost device or forgotten app passcode. PRIVATE PLAY PRO Choose an auto-renewing Monthly subscription or a one-time Lifetime purchase for full access. Apple shows the local price and applicable terms before purchase. Both plans support Family Sharing. Existing vault items remain exportable without Pro. — Privacy Policy: https://yangworks.dev/private-play/privacy Terms of Use: https://yangworks.dev/private-play/terms Private Play Monthly is an auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings after purchase. The Lifetime option is a one-time purchase with no renewal.

About

Photo Browser

Features
Read full description

Photo Browser: External Disk opens the photos and videos on your USB drive, SSD, SD card, NAS or cloud storage right where they are. Nothing is imported first, and there is no account to create. Your photos are never uploaded to us. The app only opens the drives, folders and services you choose. Passwords and keys, if you use any, stay in your device's Keychain. Built for big libraries. Folders with thousands of photos, or many more, open in moments and scroll smoothly, whether they're on a drive plugged into your iPhone or on a NAS across the house. Everything stays in one flow: browse a dense grid, act on many photos at once and check RAW details, with nothing imported. Every place you keep photos - USB drives, SSDs, hard drives and camera cards (SD, CFexpress) - NAS and shared computers (SMB and WebDAV) - OneDrive - Storage buckets: Amazon S3, S3-compatible services, Azure Blob Storage and Google Cloud Storage - Drives you've used before open again with one tap Browse and check - Photos, videos, RAW files and Live Photos - Camera, lens, exposure and a map of where each photo was taken - Sort by date taken, camera, size or name - Move, rename and delete on the drive, or save your picks to Photos - Copy a camera card to another drive, NAS or cloud location, with every copy compared with its original Pick the best photos - Similar shots in a folder are grouped, the best of each group is marked, and blurred shots and closed eyes are flagged - Choose how many to keep, then save the keepers to Photos, or move or delete the rest - Photos are analyzed on your device Video transcripts - Turn what is said in a video into text, on your device (iOS 26 or later) - Tap a line to play from there, or search everything said in a folder Remove private info before you share - Strip GPS location, capture time and camera serial numbers from photos and videos - Save a cleaned copy or overwrite the original. Quality doesn't change Back up your iPhone or iPad - Copy your photo library to your own drive, NAS or cloud location - Only new photos are copied, and originals, Live Photos and RAW files are kept - Free up space: remove photos from your device once their copies are confirmed to be there Also included: Light and Dark appearance, iPad and landscape layouts, and a speed test for your drive. Whether you're checking a camera card after a shoot, going through years of photos on a NAS, or freeing up space on your phone, Photo Browser: External Disk keeps your photos where you put them.

Screenshots

Private Play3 screens
Photo Browser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Photo Browser at none against Private Play's 2. Photo Browser also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence 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. Private Play sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Photo Browser asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Private Play ships an update every 2 weeks, Photo Browser weekly. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Private Play versus Photo Browser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivate PlayPhoto Browser
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer杨 高坤宁 毛

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Private Play

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$39.99
None

Photo Browser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Private Play free?
Private Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photo Browser free?
Photo Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Private Play or Photo Browser have ads?
Neither Private Play nor Photo Browser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Private Play or Photo Browser?
Private Play ships an update every 2 weeks, and Photo Browser weekly. Most recently, Private Play was updated on October 20, 2026 and Photo Browser on October 20, 2026.

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