Ego iCloud backup vs manual recovery.

Quick answer: A saved Ego recovery key or manual .ego export does not make the current local vault portable: both rely on a secret kept on the original iPhone. Ego’s separately designed iCloud backup uses an app-encrypted archive and a random recovery key so a completed backup can be restored on a replacement iPhone. That cloud feature is not yet publicly available, and its signed-device recovery checks are still pending.

Three different things called “backup”

• iCloud Photos is sync. It keeps your Photos library current across devices using your Apple Account. Changes such as deleting a photo sync too. Apple says photos already using iCloud Photos are not included in the device’s iCloud Backup.
• iPhone iCloud Backup is a device backup. Apple says it saves device information that does not already sync to iCloud. It is not the same as an Ego vault backup.
• Ego’s optional cloud backup is app-specific. The planned feature stores one app-encrypted archive for an opted-in vault in the user’s private iCloud database. It is separate from iCloud Photos and from the phone’s general device backup.

Apple explains the difference between syncing and device backups in What does iCloud back up? and lists the available device backup methods in Backup methods for iPhone or iPad.

What the current local recovery can do

Ego keeps its vault files encrypted on the iPhone. The recovery key can help recover access to a local vault, but it is combined with a device-only secret. A manual .ego export is also device-bound. If the original iPhone is unavailable, the recovery key by itself cannot open that local vault or export on another phone.

Keep the recovery key somewhere private and separate from the phone. It is not a replacement for the device-only secret, and sharing it can expose a vault if someone also gets the matching encrypted archive.

How the planned iCloud route differs

When released, the separate cloud route is designed to work only after you explicitly enable it for a particular unlocked vault and iCloud account. Ego prepares an app-encrypted archive; it does not upload the vault’s passcode or recovery key. Restoring a completed archive on a replacement iPhone requires the same Apple Account and the complete random recovery key, then a new six-digit passcode.

• New uploads require an active Alter Ego plan, including Lifetime. Restore and delete of existing backups are intended to remain available after a plan ends.
• Each vault keeps one current snapshot. This is not live sync, merge, or a history of earlier versions. Use one source iPhone for updates.
• Turning backup off does not delete an existing cloud copy. Delete that copy separately if you no longer want it stored there.
• The cloud copy still depends on the recovery key. Chreia and Apple do not receive Ego’s app decryption or escrow keys, and there is no remote recovery service for a lost key.

Check before relying on a replacement-phone restore

1. Confirm which copy you have: the local vault, a manual .ego export, or a completed optional cloud snapshot.
2. Keep the recovery key for that vault complete, readable, and stored separately from the encrypted archive.
3. Before deleting or trading in the original iPhone, verify that the backup has a server-confirmed completion time and that you can access the recovery key.

Availability: Ego has a processed internal TestFlight build, but tester installation has not been verified and it has not launched on the public App Store. The optional iCloud backup is still in development; a signed physical-device upload and replacement-phone restore have not been verified. Do not rely on it as your only copy yet.

For related guidance, see what happens to the original file after import and how Apple Photos’ Hidden collection works. For Ego’s full current status, recovery limits, and support route, visit Ego or Ego support.