Comparison

Phidden vs Sub Cipher

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

Head to head
About

Phidden

Embed secret messages within your photos. Share these images, and only recipients with the app can reveal the hidden text. Avoid image compression to ensure messages remain intact.

Highlights
  • Embed secret messages in photos
  • Reveal hidden messages with the app
  • Share encoded photos
  • Preserve message integrity
  • Secure sharing methods
Read full description

Welcome to Phidden! Hide your message in your photo. With this new App you will be able to send your secret messages to your friends and let others believe that you have only sent them a photo! All you have to do is choose your best photo, write your message and Phidden does the rest! It will hide your message within the photo and all you need to do is share ! Whoever receives it will be able to read the message contained only by opening it with Phidden and with no other App or program! ATTENTION The messages hidden in Phidden can only be ‘decoded’ with the same App! For the same reason every photo not ‘encoded’ by Phidden if ‘decoded’ by the same App will return a blank and incomprehensible message! This is not to be considered an error but a non-coded photo! COMPRESSION IS THE ENEMY OF PHIDDEN! ANY FORM OF COMPRESSION WILL COMPROMISE THE HIDDEN MESSAGE! Many file sharing, e-mail client, social network and sharing services usually have a habit of compressing images, so do not entrust them with your encoded photos if you don’t want to lose the hidden message! For the same reason photos should be attached and sent in the original dimensions, as any form of compression will compromise the message and will make it illegible and not decodable! The safest way to maintain the integrity of the secret message is to post the image on Phidden Network ! Other secure methods remain saved in the library, AirDrop, messages or emails (only if sent at maximum resolution). Feel free to make personal tests with the services you usually use to verify if the message remains decodable. NOTE: the use of Phidden, the content of the hidden messages in the photos and their disclosure is to be considered the free choice of the user, the developer cannot be held in any way responsible. Don't forget to leave a review! Your feedback is precious! Thanks for your support ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A warm embrace and particular thanks goes to my friends @Alessio_Vinerbi and @lkaroweb for their help with the code that drives the engine of the App! Heartfelt thanks, guys! Photo and background image by unsplash.com

About

Sub Cipher

Easily encode and decode messages using simple substitution ciphers like Caesar and Atbash. Convert up to 2,000 characters at a time and save your cipher settings for later use. Ideal for fun educational purposes, not for serious secret messaging.

Highlights
  • Encode/decode simple substitution ciphers
  • Supports Caesar and Atbash cipher methods
  • Converts up to 2,000 characters at once
  • Save cipher settings as text
  • Create magic decoder wheels
  • No licensing or royalties required for published ciphers
Features
Read full description

Sub Cipher is an easy-to-use Encoder/Decoder app, which can encode or decode your text using various "simple substitution" cipher methods. * Simply type or copy-paste your encoded or decoded text to and from e-mail, messages, social media, and it is immediately converted for you. Up to 2,000 characters can be converted at a time. Sub Cipher offers you the encoded text, placeholder-text, and even a magic decoder wheel that you can add to your own books and publications. You can also capture the cipher settings you have dialed in (as lines of text) to save in another document. This can be useful if you are publishing a newsletter or book of ciphers, and want to keep a record of the settings you used with each cipher along with the cipher itself. Main Features: *Easy to use: Type into the plain-text or the cypher-text box, and the converted text is immediately displayed. *Easy to transfer: You can select all the converted text and paste it into any other text document. *Easy to adjust: Any substitution offset, forward or reverse can be dialed in. *Easy to save: The settings you dial in can also be saved as text for your notes. *Easy to publish: Any ciphers you make are 100% yours to publish and sell; no copyright restrictions or restrictive "commercial use" clauses here. *Forever Free: Download this software once and it is yours forever. You get all future new features and updates free. No upgrade costs or "subscription/rental" fees. Ever. *No Ads: You are never distracted from enjoying my software. *Human-Made: This software was completely and carefully hand-designed and written by me. No A.I. toys were allowed anywhere near this software. *Private: Your work is safely yours and always stays on your computer. You are never required to create internet accounts, and none of your information is ever stored in the cloud. * Caveat Emptor: It uses the "Caesar" and "Atbash" style cipher methods, which are simple offset-alphabet ciphers. The well-known "Rot13" cipher is one of these. These ancient styles of ciphers are very simple and easy to decode! This is simply a fun educational utility, and is not intended for serious "secret message" work.

Screenshots

Phidden4 screens
Sub Cipher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sub Cipher at none against Phidden's 1. Sub Cipher also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 86%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Phidden sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sub Cipher asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on June 25, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Phidden versus Sub Cipher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhiddenSub Cipher
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.8 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS16 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVanni GiannozziEduard Schwan

Customer experience

Phidden

Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%

Sub Cipher

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Phidden

One-time1
  • Phidden Network access and ...$0.99
None

Sub Cipher

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phidden free?
Phidden is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sub Cipher free?
Sub Cipher is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Phidden or Sub Cipher have ads?
Neither Phidden nor Sub Cipher shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phidden or Sub Cipher?
Phidden ships an update every 7 months, and Sub Cipher every 7 months. Most recently, Phidden was updated on June 25, 2026 and Sub Cipher on September 12, 2026.

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