6(ish) iOS Apps for Security-Minded Individuals in 2023
While still not on-par with Android, Apple has opened up iOS capabilities for app developers in recent years resulting in new apps filling gaps on the platform. This is a list of some of my favorite apps that provide security or privacy benefits.
I am not affiliated with any of the apps mentioned, nor do I receive any benefit from downloads or purchases. For greater transparency, every link is to each app's website rather than the direct App Store page.
With that out of the way, here's my shortlist:
1Blocker gives you granular control over blocking ads, trackers and other unwanted content in Safari and other apps.
Why I love it
- Through the use of a local VPN profile "firewall" (no traffic leaves your phone), it can block trackers inside of other apps.
- Privacy policy states no information about your activity is collected by the app, outside of any custom rules you build which are synced between your devices.
- Extremely flexible on the type of content you want blocked, down to specific CSS elements if you want to get into the weeds.
- Integration with the iOS "Share" menu, allowing you to quickly make blocking changes to the website you're viewing.
- Nice log view and statistic information on blocked transactions.
What I don't love about it
- The firewall feature for blocking trackers inside of other apps randomly turns off. I am not sure if this is a limitation imposed by iOS, a bug in the app or caused by something I am doing.
Google AMP is not a good thing. There are problems with Google AMP. Created by the author of Apollo, Amplosion automatically strips links you visit in Safari of AMP content, ensuring you're viewing content direct from the source. This helps keep links clean when exchanging them with friends and colleagues.
Why I love it
- One-time purchase
- It's dead simple and "It just works™."
- It comes with a fun counter of how many links have been cleaned up.
iVerify
Checks for common settings to reduce your phone's risk of compromise. $2.99 one-time purchase.
This one is recommended to less technical folks who may not understand how to harden their iOS device. It's able to do basic checks against common misconfigurations of iOS settings that can leave the device more susceptible to compromise.
Why I love it
- It's user friendly, providing detailed guides on how to adjust each recommended setting.
- It has additional guides and resources for protecting yourself online, outside of just your phone, including popular social media sites.
- You can flag certain items, or mark them as done, depending on your personal threat profile.
- Timely reminders to update your devices. I get notified by iVerify before Apple when a new iOS update is available.
The Photo Investigator
View, edit and remove metadata from photos. Free download, $2.99 one-time-purchase to unlock all features.
Every picture you take with your phone includes an incredible amount of metadata that can put your privacy at risk. The Photo Investigator allows you to not only view all metadata contained in an image, but strip that information so you can share pictures without including extra details such as the date, time, location, camera, etc. of the photo.
Why I love it
- It integrates cleanly with the "Share" menu within iOS, allowing you to seamlessly share metadata-less photos within messages, emails and other apps.
- You can view your photo gallery and see all the metadata associated with any photo on your device.
- The "Map" tab allows you to see a global overview of where your saved photos were taken.
What I don't love about it
- The app's user interface is dated which may discourage some people.
This is a simple and handy tool to have, especially if you host your own websites or find yourself troubleshooting connectivity issues often. It's great for viewing the certificate information of any website and even allows you to view the HTTP headers!
Why I love it
- It's simple to use and open source.
- You can view certificate's full chain, including authority trusts.
- Examine the HTTP security headers and identifies basic misconfigurations at a glance.
- Allows you to export a certificate chains or pivot to other useful services including SSL Labs, Shodan and crt.sh.
Privacy Redirect
Redirect common websites to privacy-friendly alternatives. $1.99 one-time purchase.
Privacy Redirect allows you to automatically redirect invasive websites (social media, Google services, etc) in Safari to privacy-friendly alternatives or front-ends. Do you friends send you a lot of TikTok links? Privacy Redirect can automatically redirect you to view the video through a ProxiTok front-end.
Why I love it
- It's simple to use and open source.
- It supports adding custom instances for each item, so if you run any privacy front-ends yourself (like I do), you can always redirect to those.
- You can easily disable certain redirects if you prefer to use the original website instead.
What I don't love about it
- When you are redirected, Safari shows you the correct redirected URL. However, when you use Safari's sharing menu, it shares the original link instead. This can be avoided by copying the URL from Safari's address bar instead of using the sharing menu.
- There could be better support for additional services, or the ability to add your own custom services.
This one is mixed. I debated on including this app at all, but there's something to be said about an app that "does it all." The general philosphy behind MySudo is that you create "Sudos" which are fake identities. Each "Sudo" can have a virtual phone number to make and recieve calls and texts, their own email address, private browser, and even credit card.
There's many other services and apps out there with the same features as each MySudo component, but few can do everything MySudo does within a single app. So if you rather have a simple all-in-one solution, MySudo is for you. Otherwise, I'd recommend exploring some of the (better) options below if having all your privacy eggs in one basket is too much for your risk appetite:
- End-to-End encrypted messaging and calling - Signal
- Private, anonymous or throwaway emails - Proton Mail and Simplelogin
- Private browser - Firefox and Proton VPN
- Virtual credit card - Privacy.com
Why I love it
- The idea of fake identities is great. While you can't make a unique "Sudo" for every single thing you do online, you can regain some control over who you share your real information with.
- Hiding behind a virtual credit card and phone number is helpful for those one-time purchases.
- Virtual credit card purchases are charged through the App store, giving you an additional layer between you and the merchant.
What I don't love about it
- You may need to regenerate a virtual phone number a few times before you get one that will work with some websites or apps. You will also almost always want to disable notifications for phonecalls as most virtual numbers have been used in the past and will get spammed to oblivion.
- Purchases with the virtual credit cards incur a 2.99% + $0.31 fee which is pretty bad compared to Privacy.com.
- Some of the technology behind the app is based on "Web3", which is a huge turnoff for me.
Conclusion
These were some of the more overlooked apps I enjoy but don't see discussed as often. As with anything you use or install, be sure to check out each developer's privacy policy for their apps. What is "acceptable" varies widely from person to person, so what's acceptable for me may be unacceptable for you.
Did you find glaring issues? Know of any good apps I missed? Please reach out!