ByteHide Shield vs ProGuard
ByteHide Shield
bytehide.comProGuard
guardsquare.comSide by side
| Figure | ByteHide Shield | ProGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code Obfuscation Software | 8.1 (#9) | 7.7 (#20) |
| Build integrations | Integrations include a .NET NuGet package, Visual Studio extension, CLI and Unity integration, JavaScript Webpack, Vite and Next.js plugins, Android Gradle plugin, and iOS Xcode integration. | The manual documents setup for Android Gradle, Java or Kotlin Gradle, Ant, and Maven projects. |
| Obfuscation | Protections include identifier or name obfuscation, string encryption, and control flow transformation. | ProGuard renames remaining classes, fields, and methods using short meaningless names. |
| Purpose | Shield protects application code from decompilation, reverse engineering, and tampering through obfuscation and runtime protection. | ProGuard is an open-source command-line tool for shrinking Java bytecode and optimizing code. |
Plans
In their own words
ByteHide Shield
ByteHide Shield has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
ProGuard
ProGuard is a free, open-source command-line tool for shrinking Java bytecode and optimizing code. It processes Java class files by removing unused classes, fields, methods, attributes, and instructions, then renaming remaining classes, fields, and methods with short meaningless names. It also preverifies code, producing smaller and faster applications and libraries. Guardsquare describes ProGuard as suitable for Java and Kotlin apps in mobile, embedded, and desktop environments. Build setup is documented for Android Gradle, Java or Kotlin Gradle, Ant, and Maven projects, and Android's default shrinker, R8, is compatible with ProGuard configuration. ProGuard Playground lets developers experiment with and share keep rules without rebuilding an app. ProGuardCORE is a separate free, open-source library for reading, writing, analyzing, and processing Java bytecode, including Kotlin metadata. Library jars or equivalent paths must be specified as inputs, and ProGuard leaves those libraries unchanged. Code called dynamically through reflection may need to be declared as an entry point in configuration. ProGuard runs on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows.