The best photo vault apps for iPhone: Fall 2026
Every vault on this list locks your photos. What separates them is whether the files are really encrypted, whether the app tracks you, and whether it's an app you actually want to open. Our pick for most people is Mavaul: AES-256 on the iPhone, no account, no tracking, and a vault built for looking at your photos, not just hiding them. We make Mavaul, so read it as a pick from an interested party. Every entry, ours included, says where it falls short.
The short answer
- Best overall: Mavaul. Encrypted on the phone, no tracking, and the best place to actually look at your photos, on the phone or on a TV.
- Best for security extras: Private Photo Vault. Decoy password, break-in photos and a hosted cloud. Its privacy label lists tracking.
- Best for collecting the least data: Safe Lock. Its label says no data collected. Its listing doesn't say files are encrypted.
- Best for locking more than photos: KYMS. Documents, passwords and odd video formats, with ads.
- Best for syncing across devices: Keepsafe. Its own cloud and an account, with ads on the free plan.
- Best free, built-in option: the Hidden album. Fine for keeping photos out of your scroll. Not a separate encrypted store.
How we ranked them
Security and privacy are the floor, not the finish line. An app has to clear the floor before anything else counts. Then we ask whether it's good to use every day.
- Encryption. Does the listing say the photos are encrypted, and name how? A named cipher beats "military-grade", which beats silence.
- Tracking. What does Apple's privacy label say? No tracking beats tracking, and less data beats more.
- Where the photos live. On the phone by default, with no account required, ranks higher than a vault that needs its own cloud.
- Living with it. How it feels to open, browse and watch: the viewer, the slideshow, getting photos onto a bigger screen, selecting, disguising the app.
- Price. What the extras cost, and whether you can pay once.
We build Mavaul and describe it from its own code. For the others we used their US App Store listings and privacy labels, checked on October 6, 2026. We didn't audit anyone's code, and developers fill in their own privacy labels, which they're responsible for keeping accurate. Star ratings aren't in the ranking: they measure how people feel about an app, not whether it protects them.
Side by side
| App | Encryption, per listing | Tracking, per label | Account or cloud | Price (US unless noted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mavaul | AES-256-GCM on the iPhone | None. Anonymous analytics, not linked to you | No account. Optional backup to your own storage | Free for 20. 1,99 € a month, 17,99 € a year, 49,99 € once |
| Private Photo Vault | Described for Cloud Vault backups | Yes: usage data. Advertising data linked to you | Hosted Cloud Vault (Premium) | Free. $6.99 a month after a trial, up to $39.99 |
| Safe Lock | Not mentioned | None. Data not collected | No account. Import and export with cloud drives | Free. $4.99 to $29.99 |
| KYMS | AES, real-time decryption | Yes: identifiers. Third-party advertising | None listed | Free with ads. $4.99 to remove ads |
| Keepsafe | "Military-grade", not named | Yes: usage data. Third-party advertising | Private Cloud and sync across devices | Free with ads. $9.99 a month or $23.99 a year |
| Hidden album | Not a separate encrypted store | Part of Photos | Syncs with iCloud Photos if it's on | Built in |
1. Mavaul
Best overall: a vault you'll enjoy opening, with nothing given up on privacy.
Most vaults stop once the photos are locked. Mavaul treats that as the start. Every photo and video is encrypted with AES-256-GCM on the iPhone, there's no account and no Mavaul cloud, and the privacy label lists no tracking. Then the effort goes into the part you do every day. The viewer works like Photos: tap the edges to flick through, pinch to zoom, pull down to close. The slideshow shows a progress hint, keeps going when you swipe, and pauses when you hold. Wi-Fi Share opens the whole vault in a browser on a TV, laptop or any device on the same Wi-Fi, with a slideshow, without anything leaving your Wi-Fi.
Why it's here
- AES-256-GCM on the device, PBKDF2 passcode keys, no account. How the encryption works.
- No tracking on its App Store label.
- The best viewing on this list: viewer, slideshow, drag to select, and Wi-Fi Share to a TV.
- Decoy mode: a working calculator stands in for the lock screen. Type your passcode on its keypad to open the vault. Free. Plus icons like a cat or a bottle of hot sauce.
- Encrypted backup to your own Dropbox, Nextcloud or Files, and email recovery for the key (Premium).
- Can pay once: 49,99 € for Premium for good.
Where it falls short
- New in 2026, so there's no long track record yet.
- iPhone only. No iPad app.
- Its decoy is the calculator, not a fake second gallery. No break-in photos, and no hosted cloud: you bring your own storage for backups.
- The free plan holds 20 photos and videos.
2. Private Photo Vault - Pic Safe
Best for security extras: a decoy password, break-in reports and a cloud someone else runs.
On the App Store since 2011 with about a million ratings. It has the most security extras on this list and a hosted Cloud Vault, encrypted with a password only you know. The listing describes that encryption for the cloud, not for files on the phone, and the privacy label lists usage data used to track you.
Why it's here
- Decoy password, break-in report with photo and GPS, per-album passwords.
- Hosted cloud backup, so you don't need your own storage.
- iPhone and iPad, and fifteen years of track record.
Where it falls short
- Privacy label lists tracking and advertising data linked to you.
- Doesn't describe encryption for photos on the phone.
- $6.99 a month after the trial is the priciest monthly plan here.
Mavaul vs Private Photo Vault, in full.
3. Safe Lock - Hidden Photo Vault
Best for collecting the least data: a label that says nothing is collected.
A toolbox of a vault: seven lock types, shake to lock, a hidden camera, notes, PDFs and a fake gallery. Its privacy label is the cleanest here. What it doesn't say is that the files are encrypted; the listing talks about locks and says photos stay on the device.
Why it's here
- Data not collected, by its App Store label.
- Stores more than photos: notes, PDFs, GIFs.
- Fake password with a fake gallery, and break-in photos.
Where it falls short
- No mention of encryption in the listing.
- More features, less focus. Viewing is a basic slideshow.
Mavaul vs Safe Lock, in full.
4. Secret Photos - KYMS
Best for locking more than photos: documents, passwords, contacts, and video formats the iPhone can't play.
KYMS encrypts with AES and decrypts in real time, so videos start before they finish decrypting, including MKV and AVI. It also locks documents, passwords and contacts, and has a private browser. The free version has ads, and its label lists identifiers used to track you.
Why it's here
- AES encryption, described in the listing.
- Plays MKV, AVI, WMV and FLV.
- Decoy PIN, panic gesture and multi-factor unlock.
Where it falls short
- Ads, and tracking on its privacy label.
- Last updated in June 2025.
Mavaul vs KYMS, in full.
5. Keepsafe
Best for syncing across devices: one vault on phone and tablet through its own cloud.
One of the most used vaults, with about 380,000 ratings. Keepsafe syncs across your devices through its Private Cloud, has full-screen viewing and a slideshow, and can send photos that expire. It says "military-grade encryption" without naming it, shows ads on the free plan, and its label lists usage data used to track you.
Why it's here
- Sync across phones and tablets, and trash recovery (Premium).
- Full-screen viewing, slideshow, built-in camera.
Where it falls short
- Encryption isn't named.
- Ads on the free plan, and tracking on its label.
- $9.99 a month or $23.99 a year.
Mavaul vs Keepsafe, in full.
6. The Hidden album
Best free, built-in option: already on your iPhone.
A folder in Photos that needs Face ID to open. It keeps photos out of your scroll and out of Memories, and costs nothing. The photos are still in Photos, can sync to iCloud, and open with the same Face ID or passcode as the phone.
Why it's here
- Free, built in, nothing to install.
Where it falls short
- Not a separate encrypted store, and no passcode of its own.
Mavaul vs the Hidden album, in full. Apple explains the Hidden album in Hide photos with the Hidden album.
Five questions to ask any vault
- Does the listing say the photos are encrypted, and name how?
- What does the App Store privacy label say? Look for "Data Used to Track You".
- Do the photos leave the phone by default, and do you need an account?
- If you forget the passcode, how do you get back in, and who can?
- Open it ten times. Do you still like using it?
Questions
What is the best photo vault app for iPhone in Fall 2026?
For most people who want to keep private photos and still enjoy looking at them, Mavaul: encrypted on the phone, no account, no tracking, and the best viewing on this list. For decoys and a hosted cloud, Private Photo Vault. For the least data collected, Safe Lock. We make Mavaul, so weigh that.
Which photo vault apps actually encrypt photos?
Mavaul names AES-256-GCM on the device. KYMS describes AES. Keepsafe says "military-grade" without naming it. Private Photo Vault describes encryption for its Cloud Vault. Safe Lock's listing doesn't mention encryption. The Hidden album isn't a separate encrypted store.
Which photo vault apps track you?
By their privacy labels on October 6, 2026: Private Photo Vault, Keepsafe and KYMS list tracking. Mavaul and Safe Lock don't.
Is the iPhone Hidden album safe enough?
For keeping a few photos out of sight while you scroll, yes. It isn't a second encrypted store with its own passcode.
Did you test these apps?
We build Mavaul and describe it from its own code. For the others we used their US App Store listings and privacy labels, checked October 6, 2026. Developers fill in their own privacy labels.
Sources
US App Store listings and privacy labels for Private Photo Vault, Safe Lock, KYMS and Keepsafe, checked on October 6, 2026. Mavaul facts come from features, pricing and privacy. App names and icons belong to their owners. We'll update this list each season. Spot something out of date? hello@mavaul.com.