Free
$0
one file in your vault · no card
FILE 01 / ENCRYPTED LOCALLY
Your photos. Sealed shut.
AES-256 on-device encryption. No account. Vault contents stay on the device. Your pattern is the only key — mathematically.
Designed for journalists, travelers, lawyers, and anyone who hands a phone to a stranger now and again.
FILE 01 / IMG_0942.HEIC
VAULT α · 12 FILES
ENCRYPTED · AES-256-GCM
NONCE · 0x7f3a
- Cipher
- AES-256-GCM
- Key derivation
- PBKDF2 · Secure Enclave
- Servers
- None — on-device only
- Account required
- No
WHAT IS INSIDE
Eleven layers between your photos and everyone else.
AppVault is a single iPhone app with a small surface area and a deep stack. Every feature exists to keep your files mathematically yours.
- FILE / 01
Photo & File Vault
A locked album for photos, videos, and documents that never appears in the Photos app, Spotlight, or AirDrop.
Read more - FILE / 02
AES-256 On-Device
Files are encrypted with AES-256-GCM on your iPhone using a key derived from your pattern. The key never leaves the device.
Read more - FILE / 03
Pattern Lock
A 5×5 drawing grid replaces the password. Patterns are harder to shoulder-surf and impossible to leak in a breach because no one stores them.
Read more - FILE / 04
Calculator Launcher
AppVault can present as a fully functional calculator on your home screen. A long-press on the equals key reveals the vault entry — a privacy layer for shared family iPads, customs checkpoints, and lent phones.
Read more - FILE / 05
Decoy Vault
A second pattern opens a separate, plausible vault with its own album. Useful when one device serves multiple users — kids, partner, work account — without exposing the rest.
Read more - FILE / 06
Intruder Selfie
After a configurable number of wrong patterns, the front camera quietly captures a single photo and stores it encrypted inside the vault on the device, along with the time. Never uploaded.
Read more - FILE / 07
Excluded From iCloud Backup
The vault directory is marked NSURLIsExcludedFromBackupKey and the master keys use ThisDeviceOnly Keychain access. Vault contents never enter iCloud, iTunes, or Finder backups.
- FILE / 08
No Account, No Server
No account creation. No email. We operate no server that holds your vault, so there is nothing for us to hand over. Anonymous, content-free funnel events go through Firebase — full disclosure on the Privacy page.
Read more - FILE / 09
File Shredder
Permanent delete overwrites the encrypted blob three times before unlinking. Once shredded, even physical access to the device cannot recover the file. Pro feature.
Read more - FILE / 10
12-Word Recovery Phrase
During setup AppVault generates a BIP-39 12-word mnemonic. Write it down once. It is the only way to recover your vault if you ever forget the pattern.
- FILE / 11
No Ads
No banner ads. No ad mediation SDKs. No cross-app tracking. The App Tracking Transparency prompt is not invoked because the IDFA is never read.
HOW IT WORKS
Three steps. Then everything disappears.
- 01
Draw a pattern
Pick a 5×5 grid pattern you can draw in two seconds. The pattern derives the encryption key directly — there is no password stored, anywhere.
- 02
Move files in
Import from Photos, Files, or the camera. AppVault encrypts each file on your device before it touches the vault, then removes the original from the source album.
- 03
Lock and leave
Close the app. Without the exact pattern the vault is mathematically indistinguishable from random noise. No login screen for an attacker to bypass — there is nothing to log into.
WHO IT IS FOR
Five honest reasons to keep a vault on your phone.
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CASE 01
Customs and border checks
Inspectors ask to scroll your camera roll. With AppVault, sensitive work, ID, and medical photos live in a sealed compartment that does not appear in the camera roll at all.
-
CASE 02
A phone you sometimes hand to a child
Shared family iPads collect everyone’s photos. The Calculator Launcher keeps a kid-safe calculator on the home screen while the rest stays sealed behind the pattern.
-
CASE 03
Travel with sensitive documents
Passport scans, vaccination cards, insurance documents, signed contracts. Encrypted at rest on the device, optionally backed up to your own iCloud encrypted at the file level.
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CASE 04
Professionals with privileged photos
Therapists, lawyers, journalists, and medical staff occasionally photograph privileged material. Those photos do not belong in the same album as a dinner snapshot.
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CASE 05
You are about to sell your iPhone
The File Shredder overwrites encrypted blobs three times before unlinking. A factory reset is not always enough on older devices — overwrite is.
UNDER THE HOOD
The boring details that decide whether a vault is actually a vault.
Encryption is not a feature, it is the entire product. We picked AES-256-GCM and PBKDF2 because they are boring, decades-old, and have survived every public review since the early 2000s. Each file is sealed with a unique nonce. The vault catalog itself is encrypted — without the pattern, an attacker cannot even tell how many files exist. The vault directory is excluded from iCloud Backup and from local iTunes/Finder backups.
- Cipher
- AES-256-GCM per file
- Key derivation
- PBKDF2-SHA256 · high iteration count · master keys in iOS Keychain (ThisDeviceOnly)
- Transport
- Vault contents never leave the device. The only outbound traffic is anonymous, content-free funnel events through Firebase. See the Privacy page for the exact list.
- Audit
- Cryptography stack documented on our Security page. Independent review scheduled.
PRICING
One file free. Weekly or yearly for the rest.
Weekly Premium
from $3.99
per week · billed weekly through Apple
Yearly Premium
BEST VALUEfrom $29.99
per year · 7-day free trial · best value
- Unlimited files in your vault
- Disguise — Calculator Launcher with 3 alternate icons
- Decoy Vault (second pattern, separate album)
- Intruder Selfie and File Shredder
- Prices vary by App Store region — exact price shown in-app
FAQ
Sharp questions, plain answers.
-
01 Is the iPhone Hidden Album already secure?
No. The Hidden Album is hidden from the Photos app shelf but the photos remain in your camera roll, sync to iCloud unencrypted, appear in Spotlight search, and are visible if anyone scrolls into the Hidden folder. AppVault stores files in a separate encrypted container that does not appear in any of those places. -
02 What happens if I forget my pattern?
The pattern derives the encryption key. Without the pattern there is no key, and without the key the vault is mathematically random data. We cannot recover it. During setup AppVault generates a BIP-39 12-word recovery phrase — write it down and keep it offline. The recovery phrase is the only way back into the vault if you forget the pattern. -
03 Do you upload my photos to a server?
No. AppVault has no servers that hold user content and no account system. Vault contents stay on your device, encrypted with a key derived from your pattern. The vault directory is also marked excluded from iCloud Backup and from iTunes/Finder backups. The only outbound traffic from the app is anonymous, content-free funnel events through Firebase — never filenames, never file contents, never your pattern. -
04 How is the Calculator Launcher allowed by Apple?
It is a fully functional calculator. It does math. The privacy layer is an opt-in long-press on the equals key that opens the vault entry — a standard alternate launcher pattern Apple has approved many times. Nothing about it requires misleading metadata. -
05 Can my iPhone restore a backup and unlock everything?
Only if you also restore your pattern. Backups contain the encrypted vault. Without entering the pattern on the restored device, the vault stays sealed. -
06 Is AppVault open source?
The cryptography stack uses Apple’s audited CryptoKit framework. Our wrapping code is documented in detail on the Security page and a third-party audit is scheduled. Source release is on the roadmap once that audit is complete. -
07 What is the difference between the Decoy Vault and the Calculator Launcher?
The Calculator Launcher changes what the app looks like on your home screen — a calculator icon instead of the AppVault icon. The Decoy Vault is about what you see after you unlock — a second pattern opens a separate album, useful on a shared iPad or when handing the phone to someone you trust partway. -
08 Can I share a vault with my partner?
Vault sharing with a trusted contact is on the roadmap for version 1.1. It will use a public-key exchange so each side decrypts files locally — the server (used only for handoff) never sees plaintext. -
09 Why pattern lock instead of a regular password?
Patterns are faster, harder to shoulder-surf at a glance, and impossible to leak in a server breach because we do not store them. Face ID and PIN are still available as a quicker convenience unlock after the first pattern of the day. -
10 Does AppVault work offline?
Yes. Every core vault function — unlock, import, view, decrypt, file shred, change pattern — runs entirely on the device with no network call. The only outbound traffic is anonymous Firebase funnel events and Crashlytics diagnostics, and the app keeps working if those are blocked at the OS level.
GET STARTED
Seal the vault.
Free to download. The free tier holds one file. Premium removes the limit — Weekly from $3.99 or Yearly from $29.99 with a 7-day free trial.