Cybersecurity, Networking & IT Related Apps; That I Actually Use (*For iOS)
I recently put together a list of the Android apps that have actually earned a spot on my phone after 20+ years running Pacific Northwest Computers. I got enough questions about "what about iPhone?" that it's worth doing a proper companion piece.
Here's the thing you need to understand up front: iOS is a fundamentally different platform than Android, and not in a "the icons look different" way. Apple's sandboxing means a lot of the tooling that defines an Android "security toolkit" simply cannot exist on a stock iPhone. There is no Termux that drops you into a full Linux environment with nmap and masscan. There is no NetHunter. There is no per-app firewall that logs every DNS query. There is no app that captures all your network traffic the way PCAPdroid does. If someone is selling you an App Store app that claims to do those things, they are lying to you.
What iOS is good at: being a secure, reliable daily-carry that handles SSH, remote access, network inventory, DNS filtering, password and 2FA management, and homelab control without becoming an attack surface itself. For a lot of my actual day-to-day client work, that's exactly what I need a phone to do. For the heavy offensive and diagnostic stuff, that's what a laptop (or an Android burner) is for.
This isn't a sponsored list. These are the tools I use, or have used, with the honest caveats about where the platform falls short.
NETWORK SCANNING AND DIAGNOSTICS
Fing: Still the go-to LAN scanner, and the iOS version is just as good as the Android one. Quick device inventory, port scanning, service detection. First app I open when I walk into a new client site, regardless of which phone is in my pocket.
Network Analyzer (by Technet): This is the closest thing iOS has to PingTools or IP Tools. Ping, traceroute, whois, port scanner, DNS lookup, Wake-on-LAN, LAN discovery, and connection info all in one. There's a free Lite version and a paid Pro version; the Pro is worth it if you do this for a living.
iNet / iNet Pro: Another solid network scanner with good device discovery and service detection. Some people prefer its UI to Network Analyzer's. Try both, keep whichever clicks.
Scany: A paid network and port scanner that's been around forever and is well maintained. Handy as a second opinion when a scan result looks off.
WiFiman (by Ubiquiti): Works on iOS, but be aware Apple's restrictions mean it can't do everything the Android version does — nearby AP scanning in particular is limited. Still useful for speed tests, device discovery, and TCP/UDP latency checks if you're in the Ubiquiti ecosystem.
Speedtest by Ookla: Still what clients expect to see. I usually cross-check with speed.cloudflare.com in a browser.
PACKET CAPTURE AND TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
This is the category where iOS hurts the most, so let me be direct: you cannot do true, full packet capture on a stock iPhone. There is no on-device equivalent to PCAPdroid. What you actually have are two workable approaches.
HTTP/HTTPS interception proxies (HTTP Catcher, Proxyman, Thor, Charles): These apps use iOS's on-device VPN/Network Extension to route traffic through a local proxy so you can inspect HTTP and HTTPS requests. You install the app's CA certificate and trust it, and then you can see what apps you control are actually phoning home to. Genuinely useful for "what is this sketchy app doing in the background," with the limitation that you're inspecting application-layer traffic, not raw packets, and only for traffic that doesn't pin its certificates.
Remote Virtual Interface via a Mac: The real answer when you need an actual PCAP. Plug the iPhone into a Mac over USB, create a remote virtual interface with rvictl, and capture with Wireshark or tcpdump. No jailbreak required. It's not an app, but it's the only way to get a genuine wire-level capture off an iOS device, and it's the method I reach for when it matters.
If your workflow depends on grabbing PCAPs in the field, plan on carrying a laptop. The phone won't cover you here.
TERMINAL AND COMMAND LINE
iSH: A Linux shell on iOS, built on Alpine Linux running inside a usermode x86 emulator. It's on the App Store (no TestFlight hoops anymore), and you get apk for package management, plus SSH, Python, git, vim, and a lot of the usual suspects. Set expectations though; it's an emulator, so it's slow, and some tools are flaky or don't work at all. It's "Linux in your pocket" in a way that's great for scripting, file wrangling, and quick SSH, but it is not a substitute for Termux and definitely not for a real box.
a-Shell: A more native-feeling local shell with excellent iOS Shortcuts integration. If you want to wire command execution, file transfers, and downloads into automations and Siri, a-Shell is the better pick. Supports Python, Lua, JavaScript, C/C++ and more for local work.
Termius: If you mostly want a polished SSH, Mosh, and SFTP client with key sync across your devices, this is the direct equivalent to what I recommended on Android. Same app, same sync, works great on iPhone and iPad.
Blink Shell: My pick when I'm working from an iPad. Mosh support, a real terminal feel, and it makes a tablet genuinely usable as a remote-work machine.
Secure ShellFish: SSH and SFTP with deep Files app integration, so remote servers show up as locations alongside iCloud Drive. Underrated for quick file work.
There is no realistic on-device pentest distribution for iOS. If that's the job, it's a laptop job.
VPN AND REMOTE ACCESS
Tailscale: The iOS client is excellent! Install it, sign in, you're on your tailnet. Same advice as Android: if you're not using Tailscale yet for remote access to your home or business network, you're making your life harder than it needs to be.
WireGuard: Official client. Lean, stable, exactly what you'd expect.
OpenVPN Connect: On iOS this is basically the only OpenVPN client worth using; note that the Arne Schwabe "OpenVPN for Android" build I recommended on the Android list is Android-only, so the official Connect app is your option here.
WI-FI TOOLS
I'll be blunt: this category barely exists on iOS. Apple locks down the Wi-Fi scanning APIs for third-party apps, so there is no real iOS equivalent to WiFiAnalyzer. Nothing that gives you a clean list of nearby APs with channel utilization and signal graphs. Anyone selling you that on the App Store is selling you nothing.
What you actually do instead:
Pull the RF picture from your local network controller: If you run UniFi, the UniFi mobile app shows you the channel, signal, and airtime data your phone can't see on its own. That's where I get my real Wi-Fi situational awareness on an iOS device.
WiFiman (by Ubiquiti): Works, but as noted above, the AP-scanning side is limited by iOS. Fine for speed and latency checks.
Use a laptop for actual site surveys. NetSpot or similar on a laptop is the real tool. The phone is not it.
Wardriving with SSID/BSSID logging (the WiGLE territory from the Android list) is also effectively Android-only because of the same API restrictions. Don't go looking for an iOS equivalent; you'll only find junk.
PRIVACY, DNS, AND BROWSING
NextDNS: Installs as a configuration profile and gives you device-level DNS-over-HTTPS filtering with full analytics and per-profile config. This works great on iOS and is what I'd lead with.
AdGuard: Solid as both a Safari content blocker and a DNS filtering app. Good complement to or alternative to NextDNS.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 / WARP: The easy button for encrypted DNS if you don't need NextDNS-level control.
Onion Browser: The long-standing, Tor Project–endorsed way to use Tor on iOS. Orbot also has an iOS client now if you want to route other apps.
Brave: Worth installing for the built-in adblock, but understand the platform reality; every browser on iOS is required to use WebKit under the hood, so the "hardened Chromium" distinction from the Android list (Brave vs. Cromite) doesn't really apply here. Cromite is Android-only. On iOS you're choosing a front-end and a content blocker, not a different engine. Safari plus AdGuard content blockers is also a perfectly defensible setup.
PASSWORDS AND 2FA
Bitwarden: Same recommendation as always. You can self-host the server, or run Vaultwarden, the lightweight community alternative, if you want full control. The hosted free tier is generous.
Ente Auth: This is the iOS answer for TOTP. Aegis (the app I recommend on Android) is Android-only, so don't go looking for it here. Ente Auth is open source, has end-to-end encrypted backups, works cross-platform, and has a clean UI. This is the right default.
2FAS: Also open source, also good, with encrypted iCloud backup and an optional browser extension for desktop autofill. A fine alternative to Ente Auth.
Proton Authenticator: Newer, open source, from the Proton team. Reasonable choice if you're already in the Proton ecosystem.
KeePassium: If you prefer a local KeePass database over a cloud-synced manager, this is the iOS KeePass client to use as KeePassDX from the Android list is Android-only. Strongbox is another solid option in the same space.
HARDWARE AND HOMELAB COMPANIONS
Flipper Mobile App: The official Flipper Zero app is on iOS and handles firmware updates, file transfers, and app installs over Bluetooth. Functional and maintained.
Home Assistant Companion: Essential if you run Home Assistant. The iOS client also exposes phone sensors back to HA, which is useful for presence detection and automation triggers; same as on Android.
Meshtastic: The official iOS app is genuinely good! Native, well maintained, and it even picked up CarPlay support recently. If Meshtastic is your mesh stack, iOS is not a compromise here.
Sideband (Reticulum): This one comes with an asterisk. The iOS build exists, but it's a TestFlight beta and it's a subset of the Android app; foreground-only operation, TCP and local interface work, but Bluetooth and serial to an RNode aren't there yet. If you're running a Reticulum-based LoRa mesh, just know that the iOS experience currently lags well behind Android. I keep it installed, but I don't rely on it.
HAM RADIO AND SDR
RepeaterBook: Repeater directory, available on iOS, indispensable when you're traveling and want to find local repeaters.
HamStudy: Exam prep for license upgrades, straight from the folks behind HamStudy.org.
APRS: This is another spot where Android has the edge; APRSdroid does RF and APRS-IS cleanly. On iOS you've got aprs.fi for the APRS-IS side and a handful of apps like PocketPacket for RF work, but it's a thinner ecosystem. Manage expectations.
SDR: Same story, more so. iOS does not handle USB SDR dongles the way Android does. The SDR Touch / RF Analyzer "plug an RTL-SDR into your phone" workflow from the Android list basically doesn't exist here. iOS SDR is a networked affair: apps like SDR-Control connect to networked SDRs and remote rigs, and there are clients for KiwiSDR and WebSDR. If you want SDR on an iPhone, plan on a networked or remote receiver, not a dongle in the port.
APPS TO AVOID
The App Store has fewer outright-malicious "hacker toolkit" apps than the Play Store does (Apple's review catches some of it) but the scams have just gotten more polished. Be very skeptical of:
- Anything claiming to crack, reveal, or recover Wi-Fi passwords. This is not possible on a stock iPhone. It is always a scam, usually a subscription scam.
- "All-in-one network spy / hacker" novelty apps. They do nothing, they cost money, and a few of them harvest data.
- Cloned apps riding on the name of something legitimate; same problem as Android.
- "Free VPN" apps with no clear business model. On iOS as everywhere, if the VPN is free and you can't tell how they make money, you are the product.
Stick to apps from developers with a verifiable track record, prefer open source where it exists, and be honest with yourself about what the platform can and can't do.
WRAPPING UP
iOS is a more locked-down platform than Android, and for active offensive or deep diagnostic work, that's a real limitation; Android or a proper laptop will win those jobs every time. But that lockdown cuts both ways. For a daily-carry that handles SSH, remote access, network inventory, DNS filtering, password and 2FA management, and homelab control (and stays a hardened device while doing it) an iPhone is genuinely capable, and the apps above are the ones I trust to do it.
A few of these (Fing, Tailscale, Ente Auth, Bitwarden, Termius, NextDNS) earn their keep every single week, just like their counterparts on the Android list.
If you're a small business owner in the Vancouver, WA or Portland metro area and you're trying to figure out which tools belong on your team's phones (iPhone or Android) or you need help building out a defensible network and security posture, that's exactly what I do at Pacific Northwest Computers. Reach out if you have any questions or would like some guidance.
You can also check out the companion Android App list!
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