Software Alternatives & Startups

ArkWarden.app VS ShellNewHandler

Compare ArkWarden.app VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

ArkWarden.app

Encrypt photos, videos, documents, and audio with a key derived from a pattern you draw. AES-256-GCM encryption on your device. Add Face ID, PIN, or YubiKey NFC as a second factor. The encryption is open source. No account, no server, no ads.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
ShellNewHandler

SourceForge.net: ShellNewHandler details page

Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, ShellNewHandler seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 2 times since March 2021.

social mentions
0 vs 2
Private Photo Vault popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

ArkWarden.app
ShellNewHandler
Website arkwarden.app sourceforge.net
Pricing
Open source
—
Platforms
iOS
—
Company 2026 —
Listed in

About ArkWarden.app and ShellNewHandler

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

ArkWarden.app
ShellNewHandler

ArkWarden is an on-device encrypted vault for iPhone that stores photos, videos, documents, and audio. Most vault apps hide files behind a lock screen without actually encrypting them, or ask you to trust closed-source claims about how their encryption works. ArkWarden takes a different approach....

Read more about ArkWarden.app

No description of ShellNewHandler yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

ArkWarden.app 8 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Real encryption
    Every file is encrypted individually using AES-256-GCM through Apple's CryptoKit. Without your pattern or recovery phrase, the data is unreadable. No one can access your files without one of them.
  • Pattern unlock
    Draw a pattern instead of typing a password. Your pattern is part of the encryption itself, not just a way to open the app.
  • Two-factor authentication
    Add another authentication step with Face ID, a 6-digit PIN, or a YubiKey over NFC.
  • Wing: a second vault with a second pattern
    A different pattern opens a different vault with its own files and appearance. Keep your main vault hidden when you need to give someone your unlocked phone.
  • Recovery phrase
    A recovery phrase from the BIP-39 wordlist, 12 or 24 words, helps you regain access if you forget your pattern. It is shown once and stored only by you.
  • On-device privacy
    No account. No server. No cloud sync. No file analytics. Your files stay on your device and under your control.
  • Backup & Restore
    Back up your vault to iCloud or export it as a file. Every backup is encrypted with your recovery phrase before it leaves your phone. Off by default.
  • Folders and categories
    Create folders within each category. Drag files into folders or import them directly into folders, and keep your vault organized as it grows.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

ArkWarden.app
ShellNewHandler

No analysis of ArkWarden.app yet.

Overall verdict

  • ShellNewHandler is a niche, lightweight utility hosted on SourceForge designed to give users more control over the Windows 'New' context menu (the ShellNew menu). It can be considered good for its specific narrow use case, but it is an older, minimally maintained tool that may not suit all users, especially those on modern Windows versions.

Why this product is good

  • Provides direct control over customizing the Windows right-click 'New' menu, allowing users to add or remove file type entries
  • Lightweight and free, without bundled bloatware typical of some other free utilities
  • Simple and focused in scope, making it easy to understand for its specific purpose
  • Open distribution via SourceForge allows transparency and no-cost access

Recommended for

  • Power users who want to declutter or customize the Windows New context menu
  • IT administrators managing standardized desktop environments across multiple machines
  • Users comfortable with older utility-style tools and Windows registry-related tweaks
  • Not recommended for casual users seeking modern, actively supported software with regular updates

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
ArkWarden.app
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing ArkWarden.app and ShellNewHandler.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

ArkWarden.app's answer

ArkWarden is a consumer app for individual use, not a business tool with named accounts. Its users are people who care about their privacy and want their files encrypted on their own device rather than trusted to a company.

What makes your product unique?

ArkWarden.app's answer

ArkWarden is an on-device encrypted vault for photos, videos, documents, and audio. Your pattern derives the key that unlocks your encryption key. There is no account and no ArkWarden server. The encryption path is open source. You also get Face ID, PIN and YubiKey over NFC as optional 2FA and unlimited folders to organise your files.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

ArkWarden.app's answer

Most vault apps hide files behind a lock screen without encrypting them, or ask you to trust closed-source claims about encryption. ArkWarden encrypts every file on your device with a key derived from the pattern you draw, and the encryption code is public so you can verify it.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

ArkWarden.app's answer

Privacy-minded iPhone users who keep sensitive personal or work files on their phone and do not trust cloud vaults or "hidden" albums. That includes people who share a device, travel, handle client documents, or simply want private media and documents encrypted and offline by default.

What's the story behind your product?

ArkWarden.app's answer

I wanted a vault for myself: private files encrypted on my own device, not sitting in a cloud behind an account I could not inspect. Existing options asked me to trust a server and a business that had reasons to access data. So I built the opposite: pattern-derived keys, no account, no server, funded only by subscription or lifetime purchase, with no ads and no data selling.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

ArkWarden.app's answer

Native iOS. Apple CryptoKit and Secure Enclave-backed Keychain. AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305 for encryption. PBKDF2 (NIST SP 800-132, 600,000 iterations) for key derivation. The BIP-39 wordlist for the recovery phrase. FIDO2 / WebAuthn for YubiKey over NFC. Fully on-device architecture, with optional backup only as ciphertext you control. Encryption-related code is published open source on GitHub.

User comments

Share your experience with using ArkWarden.app and ShellNewHandler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

ArkWarden.app 0 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions

Tracking ArkWarden.app since Jul 2026.

  • I recently got libreoffice, but now the new option in right click looks like a mess. Can someone help me get rid of them please?
    Use Shell New Handler. Run the portable app and simply untick the items you don't want to appear in your new context menu. Source: about 4 years ago
  • This menu should be easy to add/remove programs to... Who is really creating Access Databases from this menu often enough to keep it here? (Not me!) Is there an easy way to edit this?
    I've always used ShellNewHandler for this. It's a really simple portable utility that allows you to remove most of the items from that menu. Tested it out on Windows 11 and it's still compatible. Source: over 5 years ago

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