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age vs Paranoia File & Text Encryption: catalog facts
age	Paranoia File & Text Encryption
Free Free and open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence.	Freemium Free version available; a Pro version adds more ciphers.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
No options to choose, so there is no insecure configuration to fall into Keys are short strings that fit in a password manager	Choice of several strong ciphers JPEG steganography with F5 or J-UNIWARD
Command line only; there is no official graphical front end No key server or web of trust, so you exchange keys yourself	Extra ciphers require the Pro version Windows build requires 64-bit Windows 10 or later
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.