Secure Folder: Privacy Vault

Secure Folder: Privacy Vault is a private photo vault app for iPhone. It stores photos, videos, documents, and notes on your device, with no account and no cloud sync. You lock the vault with a PIN or Face ID, and stealth mode can swap the app icon for a calculator, calendar, or weather icon. The app is free to download on the App Store for iPhones running iOS 16.6 or later. A decoy vault opens with harmless content when you enter a second PIN, and intruder alerts silently photograph whoever keeps entering the wrong PIN.

No. The app has no cloud sync, no storage server, and no account, and it never uploads what you put in the vault. The vault works without an internet connection.

Yes. The vault itself doesn't need a connection. There's no account to sign in to, so unlocking, browsing, and importing photos that are already on the phone all work in airplane mode.

The decoy vault is a second, separate vault that opens with a different PIN. If someone pressures you to unlock the app, you type the decoy PIN and they see a working vault with only the harmless things you put there. Your real vault stays hidden, and nothing on screen shows that a second one exists.

With intruder alerts on and camera access allowed, Secure Folder silently takes a front-camera photo starting with the third wrong PIN in a row and logs the date and time. You can change that number anywhere from 1 to 10. The next time you unlock your vault, the intruder log shows you who tried and when. The photos are saved inside the app.

Yes, it's free to download, and the vault, PIN and Face ID lock, stealth icons, and widgets come with the free app. Premium, the optional paid upgrade, adds the decoy vault and intruder alerts.

Not built in. Samsung's Secure Folder is a Galaxy feature, and iOS has nothing quite like it. iPhone does have the Hidden album in Photos, which needs Face ID or your passcode to open, and since iOS 18 you can lock or hide an app the same way. A vault app like ours adds a separate space with its own PIN for photos, videos, and files.

For simple tidying, it can be. But the Hidden album stays inside the Photos app, opens with the same Face ID or passcode as the phone, and syncs to your other devices if iCloud Photos is on. Secure Folder: Privacy Vault is a separate app with its own PIN, so unlocking your phone doesn't unlock the vault. The app also has stealth icons, a decoy vault, and intruder alerts. Importing copies a photo in and leaves the original in Photos, so delete it there afterward or turn on Auto-Delete Originals in the app's settings.

Secure Folder: Privacy Vault is designed for a range of users, including: • iPhone users who want private photos and videos kept on the device. • People who need private files hidden if someone asks them to unlock the phone.