FILE F1 / FEATURES
Eleven features. One sealed container. Zero servers.
AppVault is a small iPhone app with a deep feature stack. Every line below is shipping in version one. None of them require an account, send data to a server, or open the door for an ad SDK.
UPDATED · 2026-05-16 · REVIEWED BY APPVAULT
- FEATURE / 01
Photo & File Vault
A separate encrypted container for photos, videos, and documents. Files inside do not appear in the Photos app, Spotlight, iMessage attachments, or AirDrop. They are visible only after you unlock with the correct 5×5 pattern.
SPEC · AES-256-GCM per file · unique 96-bit nonce
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 02
AES-256-GCM Encryption
Every file is sealed with AES-256 in Galois/Counter Mode, the same primitive the NSA approves for TOP SECRET classified material and the cipher used by TLS 1.3, Signal, and WireGuard.
SPEC · FIPS 197 · NSA Suite B approved
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 03
Pattern Lock
A 5×5 grid pattern replaces the password. The pattern derives the encryption key directly — there is no password stored anywhere, on the device or off it. A BIP-39 12-word recovery phrase is shown once during onboarding and is the only off-device survival mechanism.
SPEC · PBKDF2-SHA256 · ThisDeviceOnly Keychain
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 04
Calculator Launcher Disguise
AppVault can present on the home screen as a fully functional calculator with one of three alternate app icons (Orange, Green, or Teal). Long-press the equals key, draw your pattern, the vault opens. The calculator actually calculates. Premium feature.
SPEC · 3 alternate icons · real arithmetic engine
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 05
Decoy Vault
A second 5×5 pattern opens a separate encrypted album with its own catalog. From inside one vault you cannot prove the other exists. From outside, neither vault is visible.
SPEC · Independent catalog · independent key
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 06
Intruder Log
After three consecutive failed unlock attempts, the front camera silently captures a photo. The image, timestamp, and approximate location are written to a local log inside the vault.
SPEC · Threshold configurable · all-local
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 07
Excluded From iCloud Backup
The vault directory is marked NSURLIsExcludedFromBackupKey and the master keys are pinned to ThisDeviceOnly in the iOS Keychain. Vault contents never enter iCloud Backup, iCloud Keychain, or iTunes/Finder backups.
SPEC · Off every Apple backup pipeline
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 08
No Account, No Server
No account, no email, no login. We operate no server that holds vault contents. Anonymous, content-free funnel events go through Firebase Analytics and crash diagnostics through Crashlytics — full disclosure on the Privacy page.
SPEC · No user-content server · full third-party disclosure
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 09
File Shredder
Permanent delete overwrites the encrypted blob three times with random bytes before unlinking. Once shredded, even physical access to the device cannot recover the file. Premium feature.
SPEC · DoD 5220.22-M style overwrite
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 10
BIP-39 Recovery Phrase
During onboarding AppVault generates a BIP-39 12-word recovery phrase from the standard English wordlist. The phrase is shown once. Write it down on paper. It is the only off-device way back into the vault if you ever forget the pattern.
SPEC · Standard BIP-39 English wordlist with checksum
Read the deep dive - FEATURE / 11
No Ads. No ATT Prompt.
No banner ads, no interstitials, no ad mediation SDKs. The IDFA is never read, which means the App Tracking Transparency prompt is not invoked. No cross-app or cross-website tracking of any kind.
SPEC · No ads · ATT prompt not invoked
WHAT WE DELIBERATELY LEFT OUT
No social vault sharing in version one.
Vaultaire ships a vault-sharing feature where you grant a contact temporary read access to a vault. We are deferring it to version 1.1. Done right, vault sharing requires a public-key handshake and a server that brokers ciphertext-only handoff — we are building it but not at the cost of cutting corners on the cryptography.
No web client.
AppVault is an iPhone and iPad app. We will not ship a web version. A browser cannot use the iPhone Secure Enclave, cannot guarantee a clean memory environment, and cannot match the threat model we sell.
No automatic backup of the vault anywhere.
We do not run servers that hold vault contents. We also do not back up the vault to your iCloud — the vault directory is explicitly excluded from iCloud Backup, iCloud Keychain, and iTunes/Finder backups. Survival across device loss is handled by the BIP-39 12-word recovery phrase you write down during onboarding.
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.