Best private photo vault apps for iPhone (2026)

Updated 2026-10-28 · By THEORIST LLC, the company that makes Hushtrove

Judged on privacy first (the App Store privacy label, whether you need an account, what encryption the developer describes and where backups go), the options split clearly. Hushtrove, our app, is the only one here with a label of Data Not Collected; Vaultaire also needs no account and backs up encrypted to your iCloud; Keepsafe and Private Photo Vault are the most established and work on Android too; Apple's Hidden album is free and built in but opens with your iPhone passcode S1 S2 S3 S4. The table below applies the same eight criteria to all seven.

Hushtrove is our app, so we have a stake in this list. To keep it fair, every app, ours included, is judged on the same criteria, every claim about another app links to that app's own App Store page or website (read on 2026-10-28), and "not stated" means we didn't find it there, not that the feature is missing. We didn't test the other apps.

The criteria

App Privacy label. What the developer declares to Apple about data collection. "Data Not Collected" is the strongest; Apple notes labels aren't verified.
Account required. An account means an email address and a server that knows you use a vault.
Encryption described. Whether the developer names how files are protected, in its own words.
Backup. Where it goes and who could read it.
Originals and export. Whether photos are recompressed, and whether you can get them out.
Ads. In the free version.
Price model. Subscription, one-time purchase or both (US App Store).
Free limits. What you get without paying.

Which apps. The four vault apps with the most US App Store ratings on the day (Private Photo Vault 1,018,339; Keepsafe 385,174; SPV 69,989; Calculator# 28,929) S5, Vaultaire as a newer encryption-focused vault with 52 ratings, Apple's built-in Hidden album, and Hushtrove.

App	App Privacy label	Account	Encryption described	Backup	Originals and export	Ads	Price model (US)	Free limits
Hushtrove (ours)	Data Not Collected.	None.	AES-256-GCM, a key per file; passcode combined with a Secure Enclave secret.	Optional, to your own iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone first.	Full resolution, never downscaled; view, export and delete anytime, with or without Pro.	None.	One-time purchase or subscription; prices in the app.	100 photos, 10 videos; documents, notes and albums uncapped.
Keepsafe	Tracking: Usage Data. Not linked: Usage Data. S2	Yes: name and verified email. S6	"256-bit AES". S7	Keepsafe's cloud: 200 items free, 10,000 Premium; end-to-end not stated. S7	Exports "returned to their original state"; Space Saver compresses on the phone (Premium). S7 S2	Yes, in Basic. S2	$9.99 a month or $23.99 a year; Lifetime offered. S2 S8	200 photos. S9
Private Photo Vault	Tracking: Usage Data. Linked: Purchases, User Content, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics. S3	Not for the on-device vault; yes for Cloud Vault. S10 S11	"AES encryption"; AES-256 for Cloud Vault. S10	Cloud Vault (Premium), "zero-knowledge"; none in the free version. S11 S3	Import and export with Photos; recompression not stated. S3	Yes, in the free version. S12	Purchases from $6.99 to $39.99. S3	Not stated.
Vaultaire	Linked: Contact Info, User Content. Not linked: Usage Data, Diagnostics. S1	"No account is required." S1	"AES-256-GCM". S1	To your iCloud, on by default, encrypted on the device. S1	Default "Optimized" converts to HEIC or HEVC; Original is a setting. S13	"No ads". S1	Weekly, annual (7-day trial) or lifetime; family lifetime $99.99. S1	3 vaults, 100 photos, 10 videos. S1
Calculator#	Tracking: Contact Info. Not linked: Contact Info, User Content. S14	Email registration for password recovery. S14	Not stated. S14	iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive; encryption not stated. S14	Not stated.	"free with ads and limitations". S14	$4.99 a year; $4.99 features pack. S14	"limitations", not detailed. S14
SPV	Tracking: Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics. Not linked: the same. S15	Not stated.	Not stated; "PIN protection". S15	None: no server; deleting the app deletes the data. S15	Export to the photo gallery. S15	Third-Party Advertising is a purpose on its label. S15	Weekly, monthly or yearly, from $2.99. S15	Not stated.
Apple Hidden album	For the whole Photos app: Linked: Contacts, User Content, Identifiers. Not linked: Location, Usage Data, Diagnostics, Other Data. S16	No; iCloud Photos is optional.	Not stated for the album; iCloud Photos is end-to-end encrypted only with Advanced Data Protection. S17 S18	With iCloud Photos, hidden on all your devices. S17	Unchanged; it's your photo library.	None.	Free, part of iOS.	None.

Which one fits you

You want nothing collected and no account: Hushtrove is the only app here with a Data Not Collected label. Vaultaire also needs no account; its label lists contact info and user content linked to you S1.
You use Android as well as iPhone: Keepsafe and Private Photo Vault both sync across platforms S2 S11. Hushtrove and Vaultaire are Apple-only.
You want a backup that doesn't use your iCloud storage: Keepsafe's cloud or Private Photo Vault's Cloud Vault (Premium) S7 S11.
You only need photos out of your camera roll, for free: Apple's Hidden album, as long as nobody else knows your iPhone passcode S4.
You want full-quality originals: Hushtrove keeps photos at full resolution and doesn't re-encode videos. In Vaultaire, switch the import setting to Original S13.
You want the app disguised as a calculator: Calculator# is one by design S14; read our calculator vault guide on what a disguise does and doesn't hide.

Before you move anything in

Read the App Privacy label on the app's App Store page yourself; labels change with updates.
Find out how backup and restore work before you need them, especially if the vault keeps data only on the phone. See moving a vault to a new iPhone.
After importing, delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted; otherwise copies stay there for 30 days S4.

Questions

Which photo vault app doesn't collect data?

Of the apps compared here on 2026-10-28, only Hushtrove has an App Privacy label of Data Not Collected. Labels are declared by developers and can change, so check the App Store page before you install.

Do I need an account for a photo vault app?

Not always. Hushtrove and Vaultaire need no account, Private Photo Vault needs one only for its Cloud Vault backup, and Keepsafe asks for a name and verified email.

Is Apple's Hidden album enough?

It keeps photos out of your Library and albums and is locked with Face ID by default, but it opens with your iPhone passcode and, with iCloud Photos, stays in your iCloud library. If someone else knows your passcode, a vault with its own passcode is more private.

Which photo vault apps keep original quality?

Hushtrove keeps photos at full resolution, in their original format, and doesn't re-encode videos. Vaultaire's default Optimized setting converts to HEIC or HEVC, with Original available as a setting. The other apps' pages don't state how they store originals.

Related guides

Sources

All read on 2026-10-28. "Not stated" means we didn't find it in these sources, not that a feature is missing.

Photo Vault - Vaultaire, US App Store page (App Privacy section, In-App Purchases, description; version 1.1.2). apps.apple.com/us/app/id6758529311
Secret Photo Vault: Keepsafe, US App Store page (App Privacy section, In-App Purchases, description; version 13.35.0). apps.apple.com/us/app/id510873505
Private Photo Vault - Pic Safe, US App Store page (App Privacy section, In-App Purchases, description; version 25.8). apps.apple.com/us/app/id417571834
Apple Support, "Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone", iPhone User Guide (iOS 27; the iOS 26 version reads the same). support.apple.com/en-us/guide/iphone/iphb4defbde9/ios
Apple iTunes Lookup API, US storefront (rating counts). itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=510873505,417571834,6758529311,1165276801,1449239240&country=us
Keepsafe help center, "Keepsafe Login: How to Access the Photo Vault". support.getkeepsafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039059152
Keepsafe help center, "How does Keepsafe protect my data?". support.getkeepsafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035454311
Keepsafe help center, "Keepsafe Subscriptions". support.getkeepsafe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039059532
Keepsafe products page. www.getkeepsafe.com/products/
Private Photo Vault, "How your private photos are protected" (last updated September 22, 2026). privatephotovault.com/security/
Private Photo Vault, "Cloud Vault" (last updated September 22, 2026). privatephotovault.com/cloud-vault-encrypted-backups/
Private Photo Vault, FAQ. privatephotovault.com/faq/
Vaultaire, "Best photo vault apps for iPhone" guide (modified September 7, 2026), import quality answer. vaultaire.app/guides/best-photo-vault-apps-iphone/
Calculator# Hide Photos Videos, US App Store page (App Privacy section, In-App Purchases, description; version 3.4.12). apps.apple.com/us/app/id1165276801
SPV - Secret Photo Vault, US App Store page (App Privacy section, In-App Purchases, description; version 7.6.1). apps.apple.com/us/app/id1449239240
Photos by Apple, US App Store page (App Privacy section). apps.apple.com/us/app/id1584215428
Apple Support, "Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album" (published March 16, 2026). support.apple.com/en-us/104987
Apple Support, "iCloud data security overview". support.apple.com/en-us/102651

Apple, iPhone, Face ID, iCloud and other product names are trademarks of their owners, named here only to identify their products. Spotted a mistake? Email support@hushtrove.com and we'll correct it.