What an encrypted photo vault on iPhone does.
An encrypted photo vault is a separate place for private photos, videos, and files. It opens with its own code, rather than only the iPhone passcode that unlocks Apple Photos.
Quick answer: Apple Photos does not give a private album its own encryption password. The Hidden collection and an app lock use Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode. A vault app stores a separate copy behind its own credentials. Ego is free on the App Store for iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Each vault has a six-digit passcode and an independent key. Importing does not delete the Photos original, and a signed replacement-phone restore has not been verified.
Published by Chreia Labs, the maker of Ego. This page describes Apple’s documented controls and Ego’s current App Store offering, checked November 9, 2026. It is not an independent ranking.
What people are trying to separate
The phrase usually means one of three things: photos that do not appear in the main library, a code that is not the device passcode, or a place that can hold files as well as pictures. Those are different jobs. Hiding an item, locking the Photos app, and encrypting a copy in another app do not do the same work.
- Out of the library view. Apple Photos can move items to the Hidden collection. See how to hide photos on iPhone and Apple’s hide and delete guide.
- Harder to open the app. iPhone can require device authentication before Photos opens. That still uses the device passcode or biometrics. See how to lock or hide an app.
- A different code for a private set. That is the vault question. The steps for the built-in options are in how to password-protect photos on iPhone.
What a separate vault changes
A vault is useful when the Hidden album’s device authentication is not the boundary you want. Ego gives each new vault its own name and six-digit passcode. The unlock screen does not list vault names. Opening one vault opens only that vault, and the app locks in the background.
The App Store listing describes AES-256 authenticated encryption for content, vault names, and file details at rest. The site’s product details also say local access needs a device-only key on the original iPhone, and that names, file details, and thumbnails are encrypted at rest. Technical identifiers, counts, sizes, and activity can remain observable. No independent security audit is claimed.
Ego has no account, advertising, or analytics. The first vault is free, within available device storage. Alter Ego is an in-app purchase that adds unlimited vaults, optional encrypted iCloud backup, and on-device Secure Smart Search. Search stays on the iPhone; media is not sent to a search service. People detection finds presence, not a person’s identity.
A side-by-side of the built-in album and a vault is in Hidden album versus an encrypted vault. A longer checklist is how to choose an iPhone vault.
What stays outside the vault
Importing creates a copy inside the vault. It does not delete the photo in Photos, a file in Files, a message attachment, a shared album, or another backup. Remove those copies yourself if they matter. Read what happens to the original after import.
Saving or sharing from an unlocked vault leaves that copy outside the vault’s encryption. It may then sync or be backed up by Photos, Files, or iCloud. Lock Screen wallpaper and widgets can still show images that remain in the Photos library.
Recovery is a separate decision
Local recovery and manual encrypted exports require the original iPhone. Optional encrypted iCloud backup is designed to restore a completed snapshot on a replacement iPhone signed into the same iCloud account when you have the complete recovery key. It is one current snapshot, not version history or a merge across phones. A signed physical-device restore has not been verified, so do not rely on it as your only copy. Chreia Labs cannot reset a passcode or decrypt a backup.
The distinction is explained in iCloud backup versus manual recovery.
Before you move anything important
- Decide whether you need items out of Photos, a device lock on the Photos app, or a different passcode.
- Try the import, lock, and export path with a file you can afford to lose.
- Keep a separate copy until you have checked the recovery path you intend to use.
- Never send a passcode, recovery key, or private file to support.
Full limits are on Ego’s product details. Download Ego on the App Store.