Simple VNC vs RemoteX

Simple VNC is a small iPhone app for viewing and controlling your Mac through macOS Screen Sharing. Why I built it I started building Simple VNC while traveling in Italy. I wanted a simple way to reach my Mac from my iPhone without another monthly subscription. What began as a small tool for my trip grew as I added the features I needed along the way. It worked well for me, so I’m sharing it for others to use for free. What you can do Keep your Macs in a simple connection library. Move the pointer like a trackpad, scroll with two fingers, pinch to zoom, and type with the iPhone keyboard. Compact floating controls keep common Mac keys, editing shortcuts and app switching within reach. Connect in View Only when you just want to look. Switch back to Control when you need to interact. Send Clipboard and Get Clipboard move plain text between your iPhone and Mac when you need it. Your saved connections stay on your iPhone. Remembered passwords use the device Keychain. There is no Simple VNC account, advertising or tracking. Getting started Turn on Screen Sharing on your Mac and allow access for your Mac user. Your iPhone needs a network route to the Mac, through your local network or a private network such as Tailscale. Use a trusted private network; Simple VNC does not set up a VPN or expose your Mac to the internet. Tailscale is a separate app and service with a free Personal plan. iOS 26 or later is required. Learn more and get support: https://fmnobar.com/work/simple-vnc

RemoteX puts another computer's desktop on your iPhone or iPad. Connect to a Windows PC, a Linux machine, or a Mac running RemoteX, and work on it as if you were there. CONNECT TO ANYTHING THAT SPEAKS RDP • Windows PCs and servers with Remote Desktop turned on • Linux machines running xrdp • Macs running RemoteX for Mac, which turns a Mac into a machine you can reach • Saved connections, and your recent machines one tap away • Open a saved .remotex connection file from Files or another app MADE FOR TOUCH • Tap to click, drag to drag • Two-finger tap or long press for a right click • Two-finger swipe to scroll • The on-screen keyboard types straight into the remote machine, with autocorrect off so nothing gets changed on the way • A session gets the whole screen; the session toolbar has screenshots, Ctrl+Alt+Del and scaling GREAT WITH A KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD • A hardware keyboard sends real keys, shortcuts and function keys included • A trackpad or mouse on iPad moves and clicks like a desktop pointer ENCRYPTED, AND NOBODY IN THE MIDDLE • Every session is wrapped in TLS 1.3, with AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305 • Sessions go straight to the machine you connect to — there is no relay server in the middle • Can reach a machine at a .onion address through a Tor proxy you run yourself NO ACCOUNT, NO TELEMETRY There is no sign-in, no licence check and no analytics. RemoteX talks to the machines you point it at, and to nothing else. It is free, with no subscription and no paid tier.