The short answer
If you want photos to be unreadable rather than just out of sight, pick an app that names its encryption and encrypts on the device before anything is stored. Of the ten most-rated vault apps on the App Store, none names an algorithm in its listing. Kryptis does. If you only want to keep photos out of your camera roll while a friend swipes through, the iPhone's own Hidden album is enough and costs nothing.
How we judged them
The set is the ten photo vault apps with the most App Store ratings in the US, checked on the date above, leaving out plain calculators and general cloud storage. Five questions, all answerable from each developer's own App Store listing:
- Is the encryption named, and does it happen on the phone?
- Does the app work without an account?
- Where do backups go, and are they encrypted before they leave?
- What happens when someone is holding your unlocked phone: is there a decoy, an intruder record, a way to wipe?
- What does the App Store privacy label say is linked to you or used to track you?
Rating counts are not on the list. They measure how pleasant an app is to use, which matters, but they say nothing about whether the files are readable.
The apps
| App | Ratings | Encryption named | Decoy | Wipe | Backup | Privacy label: linked or tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kryptis | Coming soon | AES-256-GCM, on the device | Yes | Yes | Your own iCloud, encrypted first | Nothing |
| Private Photo Vault | 1M | Cloud Vault only | Yes | No | Developer's cloud | Photos, identifiers, usage linked; usage tracked |
| Keepsafe | 382K | "Military-grade", not named | Premium | No | Keepsafe's servers | Usage tracked |
| Privault | 77K | "Encrypted storage", not named | Yes | Yes | None | Usage tracked; usage and ads linked |
| SPV | 70K | Not mentioned | No | No | None | Identifiers, usage, diagnostics tracked |
| Secret Photo Album | 39K | "Encrypted storage", not named | Yes | No | Developer's cloud, Premium | Photos, location, identifiers linked; most tracked |
| PV | 30K | "Data encryption", not named | Yes | No | Developer's cloud, paid | Email and user ID linked; identifiers tracked |
| Calculator# | 29K | Not mentioned | Fake crash | Hides only | Four cloud providers | Contact info tracked |
| Hide it Pro | 25K | Not mentioned | Escape code | No | Cloud subscription | Nothing |
| Safe Lock | 25K | "Internal encryption", not named | Yes | No | Export to cloud drives | Nothing collected |
| Locker | 24K | Not mentioned | No | No | None | Nothing |
1. Kryptis
Kryptis encrypts every photo, video and file with AES-256-GCM on the iPhone before it is stored, metadata included, and never asks for an account. A second passcode opens a decoy vault with its own albums. A third passcode erases everything. Failed unlocks are recorded, the phone locks when turned face down, and the icon can look like Calculator, Calendar or Clock. Inside the vault there is a private camera with face blur, a downloader for public photos, videos and streams from a pasted link, transfer from a computer over local Wi-Fi, burner email addresses that expire after a day, private contacts and sub-albums. Backup goes to your own iCloud already encrypted, and the only way back in after a lost passcode is the BIP39 recovery phrase you get at setup. Kryptis is coming to the App Store.
2. Private Photo Vault
On the store since 2011 with about a million ratings, Private Photo Vault has the best intruder story: a break-in report with photo and GPS, a decoy password and a facedown lock. The only encryption its listing describes is for the optional Cloud Vault on the developer's cloud. The privacy label lists your photos, identifiers and usage data as linked to you. Premium runs from $6.99 to $39.99. Full review.
3. Keepsafe
Keepsafe is the most polished of the group. Its Private Cloud, album locks, break-in tracking and Space Saver are Premium features that run on Keepsafe's servers behind a Keepsafe account. The listing says military-grade encryption without naming the algorithm. Premium is $9.99 a month or $23.99 a year. The privacy label lists usage data as used to track you. Full review.
4. Privault
Privault is the only app in the set besides Kryptis with an erase-all passcode, alongside a secondary passcode that opens a decoy folder, and it has no cloud at all. The listing calls the storage encrypted without naming an algorithm, and the app was last updated in February 2025. Pro is $3.49 a month, $24.99 a year or $45.99 permanent. Full review.
5. SPV
SPV locks photos, passwords, contacts and a private browser behind a PIN and says it keeps nothing on any server. Its listing does not mention encryption, a decoy or intruder alerts, and its privacy label lists identifiers, usage and diagnostics as used to track you. Plans start at $2.99. Full review.
6. Secret Photo Album
A decoy PIN, break-in alerts with intruder photos, a PIN per album and a lockout after three wrong tries, with unlimited cloud on Premium through your email address. Encryption is mentioned but not named, and the privacy label is the widest in the set: photos, location, identifiers and usage linked to you, most of them also used to track you. Full review.
7. PV
PV adds a fake password, a custom app icon and an emergency switch that jumps to another app when the phone faces down. Encryption is mentioned but not named, recovery goes through an email address, and cloud sync is a paid membership on the developer's service from $17.99 a year. Full review.
8. Calculator#
A working calculator that opens a vault when you type your code, with notes, a password wallet, a browser and cloud backup bundled in. The listing never mentions encryption. The Panic Switch hides the vault rather than erasing it, and like every calculator vault the app name still shows in iPhone Storage and the App Library. A year is $4.99. Full review.
9. Hide it Pro
A lock screen with a fake crash and an escape code that makes the app look empty. No encryption in the listing, cloud storage for $9.99, and a Password Reset sold for $4.99, which means the developer can open it. Full review.
10. Safe Lock
Many lock types, a fake gallery behind a fake password, break-in reports and a hidden camera, and the cleanest privacy label in the set: the developer says it collects no data. Encryption is mentioned but not named, and there is no recovery key or self-destruct. Premium is $4.99 to $29.99. Full review.
11. Locker
Locker is a Face ID or PIN lock with a calculator or timer icon and a $9.99 lifetime pass. Files never leave the phone, and the listing says so plainly. It does not mention encryption, backup, a decoy or recovery, and warns that a forgotten PIN means lost files. Full review.
What about the iPhone's Hidden album?
The Hidden album is built into Photos, locked with Face ID or Touch ID since iOS 16, and free. Hidden photos leave your library, albums, widgets and Memories. They do not leave your iCloud Photos, your device backup, or the reach of anyone who knows your passcode, because the passcode is the Face ID fallback. The files are not encrypted any differently from the rest of your library. It is the right tool for keeping a photo out of sight, and the wrong tool for keeping it unreadable. More in hiding photos on iPhone.
Two things to check before trusting any vault
Read the privacy label. It is on every App Store page, it is written by the developer, and it says whether your photos, identifiers or usage are linked to you or used to track you. A vault that lists User Content under Data Linked to You is telling you something.
Find the word encryption. If the listing does not name an algorithm, assume the files are stored as ordinary files behind a PIN screen. Military-grade and bank-level are marketing words, not algorithms. More in are photo vault apps safe?
