Short answer
A good private photo vault app keeps your photos off any company's servers, needs no account, locks with Face ID and a password, keeps previews blurred, strips location from what you import, and tells you plainly what happens if you forget the password. Before choosing one, check where the files are stored and who else could open them. If you only need to tuck a few photos away, the iPhone's own Hidden collection may be enough; a vault app is for when you want photos, IDs and notes kept apart from your library entirely.
Six questions to ask any photo vault app
Ask these before you move a single photo in. A vault is only as private as its weakest answer.
- Where do the files live? On the company's servers, or only on your devices and your own iCloud? "No servers" is the answer to look for.
- Do you need an account? An account means someone else holds a login to your vault. No account means there is nothing to breach.
- How does it lock, and how fast? Face ID to open, a password as backup, and a choice of how quickly it locks again when you leave.
- What shows when it is locked? Previews should stay blurred, and nothing should appear in the app switcher.
- What does an import carry with it? Photos hold location data. A vault should strip it when you import.
- What happens if you forget the password? If the company can reset it for you, the company can get in. An honest app tells you that a lost password means lost data.
Built-in Hidden collection or a vault app?
The iPhone already has a place for photos you do not want on show. In Photos, view a photo, tap the options button, then tap Hide. Hidden photos move to the Hidden collection, which is locked by default and opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. You can also remove the Hidden collection from view in Settings › Apps › Photos by turning off Show Hidden Album. With iCloud Photos on, anything you hide is hidden on all your devices.
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| A few photos out of the main library, still inside Photos | The Hidden collection |
| Photos kept out of your camera roll entirely | A vault app |
| Photos together with passports, cards and private notes, behind one lock | A vault app |
| A choice of which items sync and which stay on one device | A vault app that lets you choose |
How Hordva answers the six questions
Hordva keeps passports, cards, IDs, photos, videos and private notes in one place, locked in your pocket.
- Where files live: no servers, just your devices and your iCloud.
- Account: none.
- Lock: Face ID to open, your password as backup, and you choose how fast it locks, how long numbers stay visible and when copied text disappears.
- When locked: photo previews stay blurred.
- Imports: location is stripped when you import a photo or video, and private media stays out of your camera roll.
- Sync: photos and videos are off by default, and items marked "This device only" never sync.
- Forgotten password: you can change it on any device that still unlocks with Face ID or Touch ID. If none can, the data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. No one else holds a key.
The details, including setting up a new device and what to do if you lose one, are on the support page.
Questions
Is the iPhone's Hidden album private?
It is locked by default and opens with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. It still lives inside the Photos app, and with iCloud Photos on, hidden items are hidden on all your devices rather than kept on one.
Can a photo vault app see my photos?
That depends on where it stores them. If the files go to the company's servers, ask how they are protected and who can reach them. Hordva has no servers, so there is nowhere for us to see them.
What happens to my vault if I lose my phone?
With Hordva, the vault on a lost device stays locked behind Face ID and your password, and you can use Find My to erase the device. Your items come back when you sign in to a new device with the same Apple ID and enter your Hordva password.
Do photo vault apps remove location data?
Not all of them. Check before you import. Hordva strips location from photos and videos on import.