Ego. The details.

Availability: In development. A public App Store release has not launched. The facts below describe the current design and planned offering, checked October 29, 2026.

Separate vaults. Separate keys.

Each new Ego has a name, its own six-digit passcode and an independent encryption key. The anonymous unlock screen does not list vault names or contents. A name appears after authentication, and opening one vault opens only that vault. Ego locks when it moves into the background.

Vaults store imported photos, videos and files in encrypted local app storage. Names, file details and thumbnails are encrypted at rest. Local access also needs a device-only key held by the original iPhone. Importing does not delete source copies in Photos, Files or other locations.

One free vault. Alter Ego for more.

The planned free offering includes one vault, encryption, access to original files, basic filename and folder search, export, local recovery and manual encrypted backups. Alter Ego adds unlimited vaults subject to device storage, optional encrypted iCloud backup using your own iCloud quota, and Secure Smart Search.

• Weekly: planned U.S. price $1.99 per week, auto-renewing.
• Monthly: planned U.S. price $4.99 per month, auto-renewing.
• Annual: planned U.S. price $24.99 per year, auto-renewing.
• Lifetime: planned U.S. price $49.99, one-time purchase.

All four plans provide the same Alter Ego features. Prices describe the current U.S. plan, not an available purchase; Apple’s localized price and billing terms will apply when purchases are available. Lifetime is a non-expiring entitlement, not an included cloud-storage allowance.

If paid access ends, existing local vaults and files remain usable. New cloud uploads and enhanced content search stop. Basic filename search, export and clearing derived search data remain available. Existing cloud backups can still be downloaded, restored or deleted; cloud restoration is not blocked by the free-vault limit.

No Ego account. No ads. No analytics.

A name or alias changes your local greeting; it is not an account and can appear before unlock. Ego does not send Chreia Labs your vault contents, passcodes or recovery keys. Chreia does not host a vault service. Apple handles purchases and hosts optional cloud-backup ciphertext.

Technical identifiers, counts, sizes, update times and storage activity can remain observable. The app and iOS process readable content during authorized use. Encryption is not protection from a compromised app or device, and earlier plaintext metadata copies cannot be retroactively erased. No independent security audit is claimed.

Search that stays on your iPhone.

Secure Smart Search is optional for each unlocked vault with Alter Ego. It uses on-device recognition for objects and visible words, supported PDF/text content and sampled video frames. People detection finds presence, not identity. There is no large language model or cloud recognition service.

Spoken-word search is a separate setting, off by default. Supported Apple language assets may require an explicit download; media is not sent for transcription. Coverage and accuracy vary. Derived search data is encrypted with the vault, excluded from backups, and removable without paid access. Physical-device speech verification remains pending.

Recovery depends on the copy you keep.

Local recovery and manual encrypted exports require the original iPhone and its device-only key. Saving a manual export in iCloud Drive does not make it portable.

Optional encrypted iCloud backup is designed to restore a completed snapshot on a replacement iPhone signed into the same iCloud account, with the complete saved random recovery key. Enable it separately for each vault; it uses your iCloud quota and updates while Ego is open. It keeps one current snapshot, without version history or multi-device merge. Use one source device.

Turning backup off, deleting a local vault or uninstalling Ego does not remove an existing cloud backup. Anyone with its archive and recovery key can decrypt it. Neither Chreia nor Apple receives app decryption or escrow keys through Ego, and Chreia cannot replace a lost key. Physical-device cloud upload and replacement-phone restoration remain unverified; do not rely on this unreleased feature as your only copy.

Read support and recovery guidance or the backup comparison for the complete workflow and limitations.

Questions about Ego?

Writers and reviewers can find genuine screenshots, a native demonstration and product facts in the Ego press kit.

Contact theteam@chreialabs.com for product and privacy questions. Never send passcodes, recovery keys or private vault files.