PicKey vs SideKey
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PicKey
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Your photos, right in the keyboard. Tap one, paste it in the chat. PicKey is a keyboard made of your photos. Tap a photo to copy it, then paste it into Messages or anywhere else you can paste a photo. The photo you just took or the screenshot you just grabbed shows up first in Recents. BUILT LIKE A KEYBOARD • Start free with your newest row of photos • Pinch to resize tiles and press to peek • With Pro, jump to any month • Space, return, and delete are built in PAY ONCE PicKey Pro unlocks the rest of your library, plus Screenshots, Favorites, albums, and your choice of what the keyboard opens to, for one price. No subscription, and nothing to cancel. Setup: allow photo access, then turn on PicKey and Allow Full Access in Settings, and try it right in the app. Full Access is what lets a tap copy a photo to your clipboard. PicKey never uploads your photos.
SideKey
This app allows you to customize your iPhone's Action Button with a personalized launcher for your favorite tools and shortcuts. Organize actions into profiles, access useful utilities like a private camera and QR code generator, and integrate with Apple Shortcuts.
- Personalized Action Button launcher
- Customizable action profiles
- Private camera with locked library
- QR code generator
- Find my car feature
- Integration with Apple Shortcuts
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Make your Action Button do more. SideKey brings your favorite tools and shortcuts into one personal launcher. Press and hold your iPhone Action Button, choose an action, and get on with your day. Or give the button two actions: one when you hold your iPhone upright, another when you hold it sideways. OPEN APPS FROM YOUR LOCK SCREEN Add the SideKey Lock Screen launcher and open your favorite apps, websites and shortcuts with one tap, right from your Lock Screen. Add the Call widget, choose a contact, and call them with one tap. The Lock Screen launcher is free. YOUR BUTTON, YOUR WAY Choose your actions, personalize their names and colors, and arrange them in the order you want. Everyday, Work and Unwind profiles are included for free. Switch between them whenever your routine changes. USEFUL TOOLS, INCLUDED FOR FREE Capture a quick note before the thought disappears. Start a focus timer, take a guided breathing break, use the flashlight, keep count with a quick tally, split a bill, or check copied text. GET MORE WITH SIDEKEY+ Shortcuts, ready to use 33 shortcuts for your morning, your trips and quiet time. SideKey adds them to Apple Shortcuts for you. Camera, voice and scans Take photos and videos with Pocket camera. Record, play and share voice notes. Scan multiple pages into a shareable PDF, or copy text from a photo. Your own shortcuts and places Connect your own Apple shortcuts to open apps, play playlists, set a Focus mode, create reminders and more. Keep a favorite website or Maps destination within easy reach. Private camera Keep personal photos and videos in a locked library inside SideKey. Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. Captures stay out of Photos unless you choose to export them. View, share or delete them while your SideKey+ access is active. Find my car Save your parking spot, add a garage or parking note, and get walking directions back through Apple Maps. Make a QR Turn a link or text into a QR code. Show it across the table or share it without asking anyone to type. Say it big Display a large message across your screen when a noisy room makes talking difficult. Custom profiles Create your own profiles for travel, work, weekends or any routine. Give each profile its own selection of actions and switch when you need a different menu. EASY FROM THE FIRST PRESS The guide inside SideKey walks you through Settings, Action Button and Shortcut selection. Choose Open Launcher for your personal menu, or create a shortcut with Open a SideKey Tool to open a supported tool directly. You can also set up Siri, Back Tap, a Home Screen shortcut or a Shortcuts widget. Interactive 3D illustrations help you explore the button and understand setup. ABOUT PRIVATE CAMERA You start each capture with visible camera controls. The private library locks when the app enters the background. Private captures are excluded from device backups. Export anything you want to keep before deleting the app or allowing SideKey+ access to end. Subscription expiry does not automatically delete saved captures, but access to the library requires an active subscription. The physical Action Button requires a compatible iPhone and setup in Settings. Some tools require permissions, and some actions require shortcuts you create in Apple Shortcuts. Your iPhone may need to be unlocked. Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E1HQ0nYFtQ-lgMwXFpBDjSVkpBFgQ7CUhbKsvGVnicE/edit?usp=sharing Terms of Use: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HZq2AED1FPq3ou1c1bIO_z6jR0lIPrYYBXl_-8M9Pbc/edit?usp=sharing
Screenshots
Verdict
PicKey and SideKey are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. PicKey sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SideKey sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PicKey ships an update every 10 days, SideKey every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PicKey | SideKey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 2.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tejesh Mehta | Ahmet Giray Ucar |
In-app purchases
PicKey
- PicKey Pro$4.99
SideKey
- SideKey+ Weekly$3.997 Days
- SideKey+ Monthly3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- SideKey+ Yearly$24.991 Year









