Is PGPro still maintained?

PGPro is open source under GPL and has historically been maintained by Luca Naef in Switzerland. Major releases have slowed substantially — version 2021.4 (the last release with notable feature additions, including ECC key support) was published in November 2021. The project remains technically available, but the release cadence has clearly tapered.

Can I move my PGPro keys to PGPony?

Yes. In PGPro, go to Keychain → select your key → Export. PGPro produces standard ASCII-armored OpenPGP key blocks. Save the file, open it in PGPony, and the key imports with the same fingerprint.

Is PGPro open source?

Yes — PGPro is licensed under GPL. The cryptographic library it uses, ObjectivePGP, has undergone a security audit from Cure53. PGPony is proprietary but built on similarly audited open libraries (Bouncy Castle on Android, audited Swift code on iOS).

What does PGPro lack that PGPony has?

Based on PGPro's App Store listing and feature set, several modern features are absent: biometric app lock, OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580) support, QR code key exchange, Android availability, auto-clearing clipboard, per-decryption biometric prompts, and active update cadence.

What about sign-only or subkey-only key configurations?

Neither app generates sign-only keys in its own UI — PGPony's generate flow produces standard primary + encryption subkey configurations. PGPony does import and use keys generated elsewhere (gpg desktop) including ones with custom subkey structures, since key parsing handles standard OpenPGP packet types. If sign-only key generation is critical, generate on desktop gpg and import.

Does PGPro support symmetric encryption (no recipient key)?

No, per the developer's documentation. PGPony also focuses on public-key encryption rather than passphrase-only symmetric encryption — this is the standard OpenPGP usage pattern.

Why would I still prefer PGPro?

Three reasonable cases. First, you want fully GPL-licensed code (PGPro is open source end-to-end; PGPony is proprietary even though its crypto libraries are open). Second, you want the smallest, simplest possible app. Third, you specifically want ObjectivePGP's implementation (it has a Cure53 audit on record).

// pgpony vs pgpro

PGPony vs PGPro.

PGPro is a free, open-source OpenPGP app for iOS — GPL-licensed, made in Switzerland, built on the Cure53-audited ObjectivePGP library. It\'s a respected project. But its release cadence has slowed considerably since 2021, and several modern features are missing. PGPony is the active alternative with broader platform support.

// the short version

PGPro is a clean, simple, open-source iOS PGP app — but it hasn\'t seen a meaningful update since 2021. PGPony is the actively-developed iOS + Android app with biometric lock, OpenPGP v6 import, QR exchange, and ongoing roadmap. If you want open-source as a strict requirement, PGPro still applies; otherwise, PGPony is the modern path.

At a glance.

	PGPony	PGPro
Platforms	iOS 17.6+, Android 8.0+	iOS only
Price	Free	Free
License	Proprietary; uses audited open crypto libraries	GPL (fully open source)
Crypto library	Bouncy Castle (Android), audited Swift (iOS)	ObjectivePGP (Cure53 audited)
Last major release	Active, regular releases	2021.4 (November 2021) — quiet since
Key generation	Ed25519 + Cv25519 default, RSA	3072-bit RSA default; ECC added in 2021.4
Clearsign-only mode	Yes (sign without encrypting)	Not exposed
OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580)	Import, decrypt, verify	No
WKD lookup	Yes	Yes
HKP keyserver search	Yes	Yes (keys.openpgp.org)
QR key exchange	Yes	No
Biometric app lock	Face ID / Touch ID with optional per-decryption prompt	No biometric lock
iCloud Keychain sync	Yes	Core Data on-device only (excluded from iCloud backup)
Localizations	6 languages	English

Honest tradeoffs.

Where PGPro wins

Fully open source under GPL. If you want to read the source for every line of UI, integration, and crypto glue, PGPro lets you do that. PGPony\'s crypto libraries are open and audited, but the UI/glue code is proprietary.
ObjectivePGP has a Cure53 audit on record. The library PGPro uses has been formally audited by Cure53, a well-known security firm. PGPony\'s primitives (Bouncy Castle, audited Swift code) are also widely vetted, but ObjectivePGP\'s specific audit is documented.
Simple by design. PGPro\'s scope is intentionally minimal. If you want a no-frills PGP encrypt/decrypt tool without expanded features, that minimalism is a feature.
No telemetry, no servers, no questions. PGPro\'s open-source license guarantees this — PGPony makes the same promise but you have to take it on trust.

Where PGPony wins

Active development. PGPony ships updates regularly. PGPro\'s last release with substantial feature additions (version 2021.4, adding ECC key support) shipped in November 2021. Releases since then have been infrequent and minor.
Android support. PGPro is iOS only. PGPony lets you keep the same identity on iOS and Android, which matters when your contact list is mixed or when you switch devices.
OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580) import. PGPony reads v6 keys, decrypts v6-encrypted messages, and verifies v6 signatures. PGPro does not.
Biometric app lock. Face ID or Touch ID to open the app, with an optional second prompt before each decryption. PGPro relies on the OS to handle device-level authentication only.
iCloud Keychain key sync. Keys generated or imported on iPhone show up on iPad automatically via Apple\'s end-to-end encrypted Keychain. PGPro stores keys in Core Data on a single device — backups require manual export/import.
QR code key exchange. Hand someone your public key by scanning. PGPro doesn\'t offer this.
Six-language localization. English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese. PGPro is English-only.
Modern key defaults. Ed25519 + Curve25519 for new keys, with RSA still available. PGPro defaulted to RSA-3072 for most of its life, with ECC arriving in the 2021.4 release.
Sign-only and subkey-only support. Some standard PGP key configurations PGPro explicitly does not support.

About the dormancy.

PGPro\'s situation is one many indie open-source projects share: a single developer, a working product, and a slowing roadmap as the developer\'s attention moves elsewhere. The app still works, the source is still available, and the cryptographic library it depends on (ObjectivePGP) is still in good standing.

But "still works" is not the same as "still evolving." iOS evolves quickly — new permission models, UIKit/SwiftUI shifts, key-format changes (RFC 9580). An app that hasn\'t seen meaningful updates in multiple iOS major versions starts to feel old, even when the underlying crypto is sound.

PGPony is being built as a long-term project with regular releases, an explicit v6.0 roadmap (hardware tokens, full OpenPGP v6 generation), and parity between iOS and Android. If active development matters to you — and for a crypto app it probably should — PGPony is the more forward-looking choice.

The verdict.

Choose PGPro if Open-source license is a hard, non-negotiable requirement for every line of code you run, and you\'re iOS-only, and you want the simplest possible PGP app with no expanded features. Auditability over feature coverage.
Choose PGPony if You want active development, broader feature coverage, OpenPGP v6 import, Android too, biometric lock, QR exchange, iCloud Keychain sync, or any of six language localizations. The proprietary-but-uses-audited-open-libraries position is acceptable to you.
Either way, your key is portable Both apps produce standard OpenPGP output. If you have a key in PGPro, you can move it to PGPony. If PGPony stops being the right fit for you down the road, you can move out. The OpenPGP standard makes lock-in impossible — by design.

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Free. No accounts. No tracking. Works with everything that speaks OpenPGP.

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