Photo vault apps, compared honestly
Every claim on these pages comes from the app's own App Store listing, its own website, or its public reviews, with the source linked. We say what each app does well. We also say what its users are complaining about, with numbers.
The biggest name, with cloud sync and a big feature set. In 1,000 recent reviews, 44% were one or two stars — mostly crashes and photos missing after updates.
Polished and well-liked. Its 2026 complaints are almost all one thing: people who bought it outright years ago being asked to subscribe.
Real on-device encryption, a recovery passphrase, and a lifetime option. The closest app to what we are building; the honest differences are the free tier, the price and how much it does.
Fine for keeping photos out of your main library. It hides, it does not encrypt, and it syncs to every device on your iCloud account.
The disguise is clever. In 1,000 recent reviews, 45% were one or two stars, with ads and videos lost after iOS updates the common themes.
Which vault apps still let you pay once and keep it, which quietly moved to subscriptions, and what each actually encrypts.
Review figures are from a sample of the most recent App Store reviews on the US and UK storefronts (up to 500 per storefront per app), collected 20 October 2026. Listing details from apps.apple.com on the same date. Prices and tiers change; check the listing before you buy anything.
Fifth Pocket is coming to iPhone. Real encryption, a recovery key so you can't be locked out, and one price you pay once. Want to know the day it's out?
Tell me when it's out Opens an email to us. One reply when the app launches, nothing else.