---
title: Face ID & passcode: how Mavaul locks
canonical: https://mavaul.com/features/face-id-passcode/
description: Mavaul opens with Face ID, Touch ID or its own 4-digit passcode, separate from your phone's. It locks when you leave the app, and the app switcher never shows your photos.
format: text/markdown
generator: scripts/generate-llms.js
---
# Face ID & passcode

Mavaul opens with Face ID, Touch ID or its own 4-digit passcode, separate from the one that unlocks your phone. It locks the moment you leave, the app switcher shows a lock screen instead of your photos, and wrong guesses lock it for longer each time.

## How it works
1. Set a 4-digit passcode for the vault when you first open Mavaul. It isn't your iPhone passcode, so someone who knows that one still can't get in.
2. Turn on Face ID or Touch ID and open the vault with a glance. The passcode always works as a fallback.
3. Leave the app and it locks straight away. With Premium you can pick a lock delay, from 5 seconds up to 10 minutes.
4. In the app switcher, Mavaul shows its lock screen, not the last photo you looked at.

## The details
| Spec | Face ID & passcode |
| --- | --- |
| Unlock | Face ID, Touch ID or a 4-digit vault passcode |
| Wrong passcodes | 5 tries, then locked for 15 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, then 6 hours |
| Locks | As soon as you leave the app. Lock delay of 5 s to 10 min with Premium |
| App switcher | Shows the lock screen, never your photos |
| Decoy mode | The app opens to a working calculator instead of a lock screen. After wrong passcodes it shows no lockout warning, so it never gives itself away. Free |
| Calculator lock screen | Type your passcode on the keypad to get in. Long-press the display or = to reach the recovery key |
| Forgot passcode | Open the vault with your 24-character recovery key, then set a new passcode |
| Plan | Free. Lock delay is Premium |

## Good to know
- The calculator lock screen really calculates, so 2 + 2 shows 4. To reach the recovery key there, long-press the display or the = button.
- Decoy mode is the calculator: it hides the vault behind a working calculator. It doesn't open a second, fake vault.
- The passcode is 4 digits. Lockouts are what stop guessing, the same way the iPhone does it.

## Questions
### Is the Mavaul passcode the same as my iPhone passcode?
No. You set a separate 4-digit passcode for the vault, so someone who knows your phone's code still can't open it.

### What happens after wrong passcodes?
You get 5 tries. After that the vault locks for 15 minutes, then 1 hour, 3 hours and 6 hours.

### Can I keep the vault open for a bit after I leave?
Yes, with Premium. Pick a lock delay from 5 seconds to 10 minutes. By default it locks right away.

### I forgot my passcode. What now?
Tap Forgot Passcode and type your 24-character recovery key. Then set a new passcode. Your photos stay as they were.

## More features
- [On-device encryption](/features/on-device-encryption/). AES-256-GCM on the iPhone for every photo, video and album name. No account, no Mavaul cloud.
- [Email recovery](/features/email-recovery/). Email yourself your recovery key, confirmed with a code, so it's there if you forget the passcode.
- [Photo viewer](/features/photo-viewer/). Tap the edges to flick through, pinch to zoom, pull down to close, or start a slideshow.
- [All features](/features/). Everything in Mavaul, free and Premium.

## Try Mavaul
[Download Mavaul on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/pt/app/mavaul-photo-video-vault/id6759567727?l=en-GB)