FILE C3 / APPVAULT VS PRIVATE PHOTO VAULT
A category leader versus a strict-architecture newcomer.
Private Photo Vault by Enchanted Cloud has been a top-of-search-results iPhone photo vault for over a decade. AppVault is a 2026 launch with a stricter architecture and a different relationship with advertising. This page documents both, side by side, with sources.
UPDATED · 2026-05-16 · REVIEWED BY APPVAULT
HEAD TO HEAD
AppVault and Private Photo Vault, line by line.
| CAPABILITY | APPVAULT | PRIVATE PHOTO VAULT |
|---|---|---|
| On-device file encryption | AES-256-GCM | AES-256 (mode not disclosed) |
| Account required | No | No |
| Ads in free tier | No — no ads at any tier | Yes |
| Third-party advertising SDKs | None | Present (per privacy nutrition label) |
| Calculator launcher | ✓ (real calculator + long-press) | — |
| Decoy / fake passcode | ✓ (Decoy Vault — separate album) | ✓ (Fake Passcode) |
| Intruder log | ✓ | ✓ (Break-in Report) |
| Cloud sync | ✓ Opt-in, client-side encrypted to your iCloud | Optional Enchanted Cloud sync |
| Pattern lock | ✓ | — (PIN) |
| Free tier | 25 files | Unlimited with ads |
| Pro pricing | $1.99/mo · $9.99/yr · $29.99 lifetime | Subscription tiers |
| Cryptography references | NIST, RFC, Apple Platform Security | Not publicly documented |
WHEN TO PICK WHICH
AppVault and Private Photo Vault solve different shapes of the same problem.
PICK APPVAULT IF
- You will not tolerate advertising inside a privacy app AppVault has no ads at any tier and no third-party advertising SDKs. The free tier sustains itself by being narrow (25 files); the paid tiers fund the product. Private Photo Vault’s free tier is ad-supported, which means analytics SDKs run inside an app holding private photos.
- You want a calculator launcher, not just a fake passcode PPV’s Fake Passcode reveals a decoy album — useful, but the app icon on the home screen still reads "Private Photo Vault". AppVault’s Calculator Launcher replaces the home-screen icon with a real working calculator.
- You want explicit cryptography documentation AppVault publishes the exact cipher (AES-256-GCM), key derivation (PBKDF2-SHA256, 600k iterations), and key wrapping (Apple Secure Enclave) with primary-source links. Private Photo Vault’s public documentation states "AES-256" without specifying mode, derivation, or hardware binding.
- You prefer a one-time payment AppVault has a $29.99 lifetime tier. Private Photo Vault has historically been subscription-only.
PICK PRIVATE PHOTO VAULT IF
- You want an unlimited free tier even with ads Private Photo Vault’s ad-supported free tier is far more generous than AppVault’s 25-file cap. If you genuinely cannot pay and ads inside the app do not bother you, that is a real point in their favor.
- You want a known-brand twelve-year track record PPV has been on the App Store since 2012 with a very large install base. If brand age is your primary trust signal over architectural strictness, that argument exists.
VERDICT
If "no ads inside my photo vault" is a non-negotiable, install AppVault.
Private Photo Vault and AppVault overlap on the basic promise: photos and videos go behind a passcode and disappear from your camera roll. They diverge on the question of who else gets to see what happens inside the app.
PPV’s free tier funds itself through advertising, which means a third-party SDK with network access lives inside an app handling private photos. That SDK does not see the photos themselves, but it does see usage patterns, device fingerprints, and the metadata you generate by interacting with the app — and that data leaves the device. For a privacy product, the structural exposure of an ad SDK is real, regardless of who runs it.
AppVault’s answer to "how do you pay for the app" is a 25-file free tier and a $1.99-and-up paid tier. There is no third-party SDK in the binary. Choose AppVault if the absence of advertising inside your photo vault matters to you. Choose Private Photo Vault if you specifically need an ad-supported unlimited free tier and trust the long track record over the strict architecture.
METHOD & SOURCES
We rebuild this comparison every quarter against current App Store builds.
-
AES-256-GCM specification
NIST FIPS 197 + SP 800-38D ↗ -
Apple Secure Enclave architecture
Apple Platform Security guide ↗ -
iOS Privacy Nutrition Label specification
Apple App Store guidelines ↗ -
Private Photo Vault App Store listing
Apple App Store ↗
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