Photo vault
A private photo vault for iPhone, encrypted on your device
Secure photo storage that stays on your device. Photos and videos are encrypted before they’re stored, kept out of your camera roll, and opened only with your own pattern.
- No account
- Works offline
- iPhone and iPad
How it works
Private in three steps
- 1
Add your photos and videos
Import from your library, take photos with the in-app camera, or add documents. Each one is encrypted on your iPhone before it's stored.
- 2
Clear them out of Photos
Remove the originals from your camera roll in one step, so the only copy left is the encrypted one in your vault.
- 3
Open it with your pattern
Your own pattern unlocks the vault, with Face ID on top if you like. Leave the app and it locks straight away.
What’s inside
More than a hidden album
- ProtectLocked foldersLocked folders: a second lock inside your vaultLearn more
- ProtectPattern and Face IDYour pattern, always. Face ID on top.Learn more
- HideIn-app cameraAn in-app camera: photos that skip your camera rollLearn more
- HideClear out originalsClear out originals: move it to the vault, then clear it outLearn more
- HideMultiple vaultsMultiple vaults, and no list of themLearn more
- ProtectDuress patternDuress pattern: show a decoy, erase the restLearn more
- HideDisguised app iconA disguised app icon: hide your vault in plain sightLearn more
- HideDocumentsDocuments: your private files, next to your private photosLearn more
- Back up & recoverEncrypted iCloud backupEncrypted iCloud backup that iCloud can't readLearn more
Encrypted photo storage
Encrypted, not just hidden
What protects your photos
- Photos, videos and files
- XChaCha20-Poly1305, each with its own key
- Names, previews and folders
- Encrypted index (SQLCipher)
- Your pattern
- Turned into a key with Argon2id
- Where the key lives
- Your iPhone's Secure Enclave, this iPhone only
- Opens with
- Your iPhone passcode
- Your own pattern
- Lives in
- The Photos app
- Its own encrypted vault
- Someone with your passcode
- Can open it
- Still needs your pattern
FAQ
Photo vault questions
What people ask before trusting an app with their private photos.
A photo vault is an app that keeps private photos and videos apart from your camera roll, behind a lock of its own. In VaultShield, everything you add is encrypted on your iPhone and opened with your own pattern.
Your photos are encrypted on your iPhone with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before they're stored, and the key is protected by your iPhone's Secure Enclave. No app is perfectly secure, so our Security page also lists what it can't protect against.
How your vault is protectedImporting makes an encrypted copy and leaves the original. Right after, you can remove the originals from Photos in one step. Photos taken with the in-app camera never appear in your camera roll at all.
Clear out originalsThe Hidden album opens with your iPhone passcode, so anyone who knows it can open the album. VaultShield has its own pattern and encrypts each file before it's stored.
VaultShield vs. the Hidden albumYes. The vault holds photos, videos and documents like PDFs, all encrypted the same way.
No. There's no sign-up and no VaultShield server holding your photos. The vault works offline, on your iPhone and iPad.