Free Software Collection
Free Ad-Free iPhone Apps
App Store review catches malicious code but not billing tricks. An app labelled "free" opens on a subscription screen with a tiny close button, and the trial rolls into a weekly charge; ID photos and habit tracking are the usual suspects. This list covers only iPhone apps whose core features cost nothing and show no ads. Most are open-source projects with Android and desktop versions too, so switching devices does not mean starting over. A few need your own server or computer on the other end, which the FAQ explains.
14 curated recommendations
Selection Criteria
- Core features are free, with no subscription pop-up and no in-app purchase to remove ads.
- The App Store listing is the developer's own official build.
- Open-source projects with Android and desktop versions are preferred.
- Where an account or a self-hosted server is needed, it is stated.
Recommended Tools
FreeID Photo
On-device ID photos — no watermark, no paywall
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
- No Sign-up
Firefox
An open-source browser built by a nonprofit that protects privacy by default
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Signal
End-to-end encrypted messaging where privacy is the default, not an option
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Bitwarden
An open-source password manager whose free tier covers a lifetime of personal use
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Ente Auth
Two-factor codes synced across devices, invisible to the server
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
LocalSend
Move files between phone and PC without the cloud, a chat group or recompression
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
VLC
The universal player that plays anything
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Organic Maps
An offline map that works with the network off — no account, no ads
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Kiwix
The whole of Wikipedia on your disk, readable with no network at all
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Joplin
Open-source, offline-first note-taking with end-to-end encrypted sync
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
Immich
Google Photos on your own disk, with your disk as the storage limit
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Cross-platform
Jellyfin
A fully self-controlled, free media server
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
Moonlight
Stream your gaming PC to any screen in the house
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- No Sign-up
PPSSPP
PSP games on modern hardware, looking better than they did
- Open Source
- No Ads
- No Tracking
- Offline
FAQ
- Is there an ID photo app that does not charge?
- FreeID Photo. It guides framing live as you shoot, covers 16 formats across 10 countries, processes the photo on the phone without uploading, and exports with no watermark and nothing to pay for.
- Which two-factor authenticator on iPhone?
- Ente Auth. It is open source, encrypts secrets on the device before syncing so the server holds only ciphertext, restores on a new phone after signing in, and lets you read codes on a computer too. It needs an Ente account, and nobody can decrypt your data if the password is lost, so store the recovery key separately. Aegis, the usual Android recommendation, has no iOS version.
- How do I move photos between an iPhone and a Windows PC?
- LocalSend. Devices on the same Wi-Fi find each other and transfer peer-to-peer, originals uncompressed, with no account. Both must be on the same local network; on company or school Wi-Fi with client isolation the devices cannot see each other, which a hotspot from one end works around.
- Why don't Immich, Jellyfin and Moonlight work after installing?
- All three are clients that need your own machine on the other end. Immich and Jellyfin require a server deployed on a computer or NAS first — the former backs up phone photos, the latter plays your own film library. Moonlight streams a home computer's screen, which needs a host such as Sunshine installed on that computer.