MsgSecret vs privateSLM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MsgSecret
Securely encode and decode messages to protect your privacy from message providers and prying eyes. Share your ciphered messages via email, SMS, social media, and more. Offers multiple ciphering methods for varying security levels.
- Encode and decode messages
- Multiple ciphering methods
- Share via email, SMS, social media
- Passcode/fingerprint authentication
- Save ciphering settings for quick access
- Shake gesture for encoding/decoding
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Turn everyday text into coded messages for puzzles, playful exchanges, and learning about classic ciphers. Choose a method, set a key when needed, and encrypt or decrypt on your device. MsgSecret includes classic ciphers, word transformations, and text encodings such as Base64. These methods do not provide secure encryption and must not be used to protect passwords, personal records, financial information, or other sensitive data. Base64 is encoding, not secrecy. Get started with a fixed interactive sample that shows a message being encoded and decoded back to its original text without spending credits. Use separate encrypt and decrypt input fields to work without overwriting what you entered. Method notes explain how each transform works and its limitations. Share the coded result through the iOS share sheet, or copy and paste it into your messaging app. Optionally share decoding instructions too. Recipients select the same method and paste only the coded message into MsgSecret. When a method needs a key, share it separately; keys are not automatically included in shared messages. Free access includes 3 successful encrypt or decrypt operations each day. This allowance resets at midnight UTC and does not accumulate. After using your daily allowance, each successful operation uses 1 saved credit. A completed optional rewarded ad adds 5 credits. A one-time in-app purchase provides unlimited transformations without rewarded ads. Previously purchased unlimited access can be restored. Features Classic ciphers, word puzzles, and text encodings in one place Fixed interactive sample with an encrypt-and-decrypt round trip Separate encrypt and decrypt input fields Native sharing, optional recipient instructions, and clipboard tools Method explanations with clear security limitations Exact key adjustment and accessible controls 3 free successful transformations per day Optional rewarded ads for 5 saved credits One-time unlimited access and Restore Purchases Designed for iPhone and iPad with a focused dark interface
privateSLM
This AI chat application runs entirely on your device, ensuring complete privacy with no cloud reliance or data leaving your phone. It offers smart engine integration and robust chat management features for seamless, offline use.
- 100% on-device AI processing
- No account, cloud, or data sharing
- Automatic fastest engine selection
- Offline and airplane mode compatible
- Full chat history management
- Voice input and output
- Customizable system prompts
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privateSLM — private AI that runs on your device. Free. Chat with an AI that never sends a word to the cloud. privateSLM runs language models directly on your iPhone, iPad and Mac — no account, no server, no internet needed. On devices with Apple Intelligence it answers on the first tap, with nothing to download. On any other device, pick a free model and you are chatting in a minute. ASK YOUR DOCUMENTS — OFFLINE Attach a PDF, a Word file or a photo of a page and ask about it: • "Summarize this contract" • "What is the notice period?" • "Explain this letter in simple terms" The file is read on your device — scanned pages too, with on-device text recognition — and is never uploaded. Long documents work as well: privateSLM finds the passages that answer your question, or reads the whole document part by part for a summary. FREE, WITH NO CATCH • Chat with Apple Intelligence or free general models (Llama, Qwen, Gemma, Phi) • Documents: PDF, Word, text files and scans • Voice in and voice out • Chat history, Siri and Shortcuts, a Home Screen widget • No ads. No account. No tracking. EXPERT MODEL PACKS — PAY ONCE Want a specialist? Add a pack with a one-time purchase. No subscription, ever. • Tech Pack — coding, SQL, math and security models • Business Pack — law, finance and translation models • Health Pack — medical and mental-health models • All Packs — everything above, and every pack added later Purchases work with Family Sharing. Bought privateSLM when it was a paid app? Every pack is already yours, automatically. 100% PRIVATE Everything runs on-device. No sign-up, no analytics, no ads. Your chats and documents are stored only on your device. It works in airplane mode. BUILT TO ACTUALLY USE • Matched to your device — privateSLM checks your device's memory, on-device, and shows the models that will run well. • Resumable downloads that survive a dropped connection. • Speak your question, hear the answer. • Stop, copy or regenerate any reply. • Translate the chat into your language, on-device (iOS 18 and later). • Tune the system prompt and sampling. • Siri and Shortcuts: Ask, Summarize, Rephrase, Translate. PERFECT FOR • Contracts, letters and reports you would rather not upload anywhere • Flights and travel with no connection • When another AI's credits have run out • Anyone who wants answers that never leave the device Runs on-device with llama.cpp and Apple Intelligence. Note: Apple Intelligence requires a supported device and iOS 26 or later; on other devices the first answer needs a model download. The Medical, Legal and Finance models are AI assistants for general information only — not professional medical, legal or financial advice. Larger 7B expert models run best on recent devices with 8 GB or more of memory.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: privateSLM at 5.0 against MsgSecret's 4.2. privateSLM also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months). MsgSecret's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, ads, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. MsgSecret sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. privateSLM asks for nothing beyond the download.
privateSLM holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MsgSecret has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
MsgSecret ships an update every 6 months, privateSLM every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MsgSecret | privateSLM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hassan Chizari | Vasily Lukin |
Customer experience
MsgSecret
privateSLM
In-app purchases
MsgSecret
- Unlimited Encryption without Adv$0.99
privateSLM
No in-app purchases









