Photo Vault Apps: Free Built-in Options and What to Check

A photo vault app keeps private photos behind a separate lock. Both iPhone and Android already have a locked place for photos, so start there and pick a vault app only if you need something those can’t do.

Free on iPhone: the Hidden collection and locked apps

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   Step 1: Hide the photos

   In Photos, tap Select, choose the photos, then tap the More button and Hide. They move to the Hidden collection under Utilities. See how to hide photos on iPhone.

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   Step 2: Keep the collection locked

   Apple says the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections are locked by default. Check that Use Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode) is on in Settings › Apps › Photos.

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   Step 3: Lock the Photos app (optional)

   Touch and hold the Photos icon on the Home Screen, then tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode) and tap it again to confirm. Apple says the app locks again after you quit it. Built-in apps like Photos can be locked but not hidden.

Free on Android: Google Photos Locked Folder

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   Step 1: Set it up

   In Google Photos, tap Collections, then Locked at the bottom, and Set up Locked Folder. Google says it uses your device screen lock; you can’t set a different password.

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   Step 2: Move photos in

   Select a photo, tap Add to › Move to Locked Folder, then Move. Google says items in Locked Folder don’t appear in the photo grid, memories, search or albums, and other apps with photo access can’t see them.

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   Step 3: Decide on backup

   You can turn on backup for Locked Folder. Google says that without backup, you lose the items in it if you uninstall Google Photos, clear its data, reset your phone, or the phone is lost or damaged, and moving a photo there also deletes its Google Photos backup.

What to check before you trust a photo vault app

• Its own passcode: is the vault opened with a separate passcode, or just your phone’s?
• Encryption: are the photos encrypted inside the app, or only hidden behind a lock screen? The app’s description and privacy policy should say.
• Forgotten passcode: can you recover it, and how? If recovery goes through the developer’s server, your photos or keys may be stored there.
• New phone, backup, deleting the app: do the photos come with you, or are they lost? Some vaults keep everything only on the phone; the description should say.
• The originals: after you add a photo, is it still in your library, or in Recently Deleted for 30 days on iPhone? Until it’s gone from there, it isn’t only in the vault.
• Price: check whether a free download limits how many photos you can add or puts features behind a subscription. Read the price before a trial starts. See are cleaner apps safe for what to look for.

CleanX

The CleanX vault

CleanX’s vault on iPhone and Android has its own 4-digit passcode. Photos, videos, files and notes are encrypted with AES-256 as they’re added, using a key tied to your phone, so the vault can’t be moved to another phone, even with a backup. You choose whether to delete the originals from your library (off by default). There’s a decoy passcode that opens an empty vault, the vault locks when you leave the app and, unless you turn it off, when you turn the phone face down, and after a few wrong passcodes you have to wait, longer each time, up to an hour.

• Separate passcode and AES-256 encryption on the phone
• Decoy passcode and lock when face down
• Notes free; adding photos, videos and files needs CleanX Pro

Before you move photos into any vault

• Keep a copy elsewhere if the photos matter: a vault that lives only on your phone is lost with the phone.
• Write the passcode down somewhere safe: if it can’t be recovered, forgetting it means losing the photos.
• Empty Recently Deleted on iPhone: if the originals were deleted, they stay there for 30 days. See Recently Deleted on iPhone.