Mavaul vs Safe Lock
Safe Lock - Hidden Photo Vault is a toolbox: seven kinds of lock, shake to lock, a hidden camera, notes, PDFs, a fake gallery and break-in photos. Mavaul does fewer things and polishes each one. It encrypts every photo and video with AES-256 on the iPhone, needs no account, and is built for the part you do every day: opening the vault and looking at your photos.
At a glance
| Mavaul | Safe Lock | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Keeping photos private and enjoying them | Locking photos, videos, notes and documents |
| Encryption on the phone | AES-256 for every photo and video | Not mentioned in the listing. Photos stay on the device |
| Account | None | None |
| Unlock | Face ID or passcode, or a calculator that really calculates | PIN, DotLock, numeric, alphabetic, Touch ID, Face ID. Shake or flip to lock |
| Viewing | Tap the edges to flick through, timed slideshow with a progress hint | Slideshow |
| Big screen | Wi-Fi Share: QR code, then the vault opens in a browser on a TV, laptop or any device on the same Wi-Fi, with slideshow | Wi-Fi file transfer |
| Editing | Adjust light and colour, crop (Premium) | Not listed |
| Backup | Encrypted on the phone, to your Dropbox, Nextcloud or Files (Premium) | Import and export with Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Box, Yandex.Disk |
| Disguise | Calculator, cat, hot sauce and more icons. Working calculator lock screen | Custom app icon |
| Decoy and break-in | Decoy mode: a working calculator in place of the lock screen. No break-in photos | Fake password with a fake gallery, break-in photos |
| Also stores | Photos and videos | Photos, videos, GIFs, PDFs, notes. Hidden camera |
| App Store privacy label | Data not linked to you: analytics and crash data. No tracking | Data not collected |
| Free version | 20 photos and videos, all the locks, Wi-Fi Share | Yes, Premium unlocks all features |
| Premium | 1,99 € a month, 17,99 € a year, or 49,99 € once | "Premium Account" purchases of $4.99, $19.99 and $29.99 (US) |
| On the App Store since | 2026 | 2017, 4.8 stars from about 25,000 ratings (US) |
Fewer things, done well
Most vaults compete on how many ways there are to lock them. Mavaul's bet is that the lock is the easy part, and the hard part is an app you're happy to open every day. So there's one lock, and it's good: Face ID, a passcode, or a calculator lock screen where 2 + 2 really is 4 and your passcode on the keypad opens the vault. Selecting works like Photos: drag across the grid. The icon can be a calculator, a cat or a bottle of hot sauce.
Made to look at your photos, not just hide them
A vault is also where you go back to the photos. In Mavaul you tap the edges to flick through, or start a slideshow. A thin progress hint shows when the next photo is due, and if you swipe away, the show carries on from there. Tap and hold to pause. With Wi-Fi Share you scan a QR code and the vault opens on a TV, laptop or any device with a browser on the same Wi-Fi: thumbnails first, full size right after, a slideshow and a full-screen viewer. Nothing leaves your Wi-Fi.
Locked, or encrypted
A lock screen stops someone tapping the icon. Encryption is what protects the files themselves. Safe Lock's listing talks about PINs, patterns and Face ID and says photos stay on the device. It doesn't say the files are encrypted. Mavaul encrypts every photo and video with AES-256 before it's stored, and backups are encrypted on the phone before they leave it.
On data, Safe Lock's App Store label is the cleaner one: it says no data is collected. Mavaul's lists anonymous analytics and crash data that isn't linked to you. Neither tracks you. Privacy has the details.
Where Safe Lock wins
- More to store: notes, PDFs and GIFs, plus a hidden camera that shoots straight into the vault.
- A fake password that opens a fake gallery, and break-in photos.
- More lock types, and shake or flip to lock.
- No data collected, by its App Store label.
Which one to pick
Pick Safe Lock if you want one place for photos, notes and documents, or you need a decoy gallery.
Pick Mavaul if you want your photos encrypted, not just locked, in an app that feels like a good iPhone app and makes your photos nice to look at again, on the phone or on the TV.
Questions
Is Mavaul a good alternative to Safe Lock?
Yes, if you want fewer features done well: AES-256 on the iPhone, a viewer and slideshow made for looking at your photos, and Wi-Fi Share to a TV, laptop or any browser on your Wi-Fi. Stay with Safe Lock if you need its camera, notes, PDFs or decoy gallery.
Does Safe Lock encrypt photos?
Its App Store listing describes locks and says photos stay on the device, but doesn't say the files are encrypted. Mavaul encrypts every photo and video with AES-256.
Which collects less data?
Safe Lock's label says it collects no data. Mavaul's lists anonymous analytics and crash data not linked to you. Neither tracks you.
How do I move my photos from Safe Lock to Mavaul?
Export them from Safe Lock to the Photos app, import them into Mavaul, then delete them from Photos and from Recently Deleted so no copy is left in the library.
Sources
Safe Lock facts come from its US App Store listing and privacy label, checked on October 6, 2026. Prices and features change, so check the listing before you buy. Mavaul facts come from pricing, privacy and facts.json. Spot something out of date? hello@mavaul.com.