Best photo vault apps for iPhone (2026)
These are the top four results for “photo vault” in the US App Store, plus Apple's built-in Hidden album and our own app, SwiftLocker. Here's what each one offers, from its own App Store listing, website or help center.
SwiftLocker made this page. SwiftLocker is our app, so we're not neutral. To keep it fair, every fact about another app comes from that app's own pages, read on , with sources at the end. Where something wasn't clear, we left it out.
At a glance
| App | Account | Ads | Data used to track you, per the App Store label | Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden album | None | None | No App Store label, as it's built in | iCloud Photos, if you use it |
| Private Photo Vault | None on the device. Cloud Vault needs one | Listed on its App Store page | Usage data | Cloud Vault (Premium) |
| Keepsafe | Name and email, verified | In the free version | Usage data | Its own cloud. 200 items free |
| Calculator# | Not stated in its listing | In the free version | Contact info | iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive |
| SPV - Secret Photo Vault | Not stated in its listing | Listed on its App Store page | Identifiers, usage data and diagnostics | None. Everything stays on the device |
 SwiftLocker |
None | None | None | Your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted (Premium) |
From each app's US App Store listing and website, read on November 9, 2026. Ratings and prices change, so check the latest listing.
How we picked
We searched the US App Store for “photo vault” and “hide photos” on November 9, 2026. The top four results for “photo vault” are all in the top ten for “hide photos” too. They're listed in that order, after the Hidden album that comes with every iPhone. SwiftLocker is last, as it's ours.
Apple's Hidden album
Built into every iPhone, in the Photos app. Hidden photos and videos leave your Library, your other albums and the Photos widget.
- Opens with: Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. It's locked by default since iOS 16.
- Holds: Photos and videos.
- Backup: With iCloud Photos, what you hide on one device is hidden on your other devices too.
- Price: Free, built in.
- Worth knowing: Anyone who knows your passcode can open it. More in Is the Hidden album private?
Private Photo Vault
The top result for “photo vault”. On the App Store since 2011, for iPhone, iPad, Macs with Apple silicon and Android. 4.8 stars from over a million ratings.
- Opens with: A PIN, password or pattern, plus Face ID or Touch ID. It can ask for Face ID and the PIN together.
- Holds: Photos and videos, in albums that can have passwords of their own.
- Backup: Cloud Vault (Premium), with an account and a password only you know. It syncs between iPhone and Android.
- Extras: A decoy password, a Break-in Report with a photo and GPS, a camera and web browser in the app, and Wi-Fi transfer.
- Price: Free. Premium by subscription.
- Worth knowing: Its App Store listing says it contains ads. A forgotten PIN can be recovered by email, if you set up a recovery email.
Full comparison: SwiftLocker vs Private Photo Vault.
Keepsafe
The second result for “photo vault”. On the App Store since 2012, for iPhone, iPad and Android, with its own cloud. 4.7 stars from 386,000 ratings.
- Opens with: A PIN, plus Face ID or Touch ID.
- Account: A name and an email address, verified before you set a PIN.
- Holds: Photos, videos and documents.
- Backup: Keepsafe's own cloud. 200 items free, 10,000 with Premium and 100,000 with Lifetime.
- Extras: A camera in the app and Safe Send, for sharing a picture for a limited time. Premium adds Album Lock, Decoy Vault, Intruder Alerts, Space Saver and Trash Recovery.
- Price: Free with ads. Premium monthly or yearly, or Lifetime.
- Worth knowing: Its help center says it can view your content in limited cases, such as when you ask it to for support. A forgotten PIN can be reset with a code sent to your email.
Full comparison: SwiftLocker vs Keepsafe.
Calculator# Hide Photos Videos
The third result for “photo vault”, and the first for “hide photos”. It looks like a calculator on your Home Screen. On the App Store since 2016, for iPhone, iPad, Macs with Apple silicon and Android. 4.4 stars from 29,000 ratings.
- Opens with: A code typed into its calculator, or a PIN, password or pattern, plus Face ID or Touch ID.
- Holds: Photos, videos, documents and audio, plus notes, passwords, contacts and to-dos.
- Backup: To iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.
- Extras: A camera, a web browser, Wi-Fi transfer, a Panic Switch, a fake crash message, and Hack Monitor, which logs wrong passwords.
- Price: Free with ads and limits. A yearly subscription removes both ($4.99 in the US).
- Worth knowing: A lost password can be recovered through your registered email.
SPV - Secret Photo Vault
The fourth result for “photo vault”. A vault for photos, videos, passwords and contacts, with a private browser. On the App Store since 2019, for iPhone, iPad and Macs with Apple silicon. 4.6 stars from 70,000 ratings.
- Opens with: A PIN.
- Holds: Photos, videos, passwords and contacts.
- Backup: None. Its listing says it keeps everything on the device only, and deleting the app deletes what's in it.
- Extras: A web browser that leaves no traces, per its listing.
- Price: Free. Premium weekly, monthly, or yearly with a 7-day free trial, from $2.99 in the US.
- Worth knowing: Its App Store listing says it contains ads.
SwiftLocker
Our own app. On the App Store since 2023, for iPhone and iPad, optimized for iPhone Duo. 4.7 stars from 7 ratings so far.
- Opens with: A PIN of its own, plus Face ID or Touch ID.
- Account: None.
- Holds: Photos, videos, documents and PDFs, with document and ID scanning.
- Backup: Your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted, plus password-protected backup files (Premium).
- Extras: Search by the text in photos and PDFs, on your device. Trash and Find Duplicates, free. Premium adds a decoy PIN, Break-in Alerts and app icons in five colors.
- Price: Free. Premium monthly, yearly with a 7-day free trial, or once for life.
- Worth knowing: There are no ads, free or Premium. There's no camera in the app and no Android version. A forgotten PIN can't be reset, so keep iCloud sync or a backup on.
Which one fits
- Nothing to install. The Hidden album, as long as nobody else knows your passcode.
- You also use Android. Private Photo Vault, Keepsafe or Calculator#.
- A vault that looks like another app. Calculator#.
- No account and no ads. SwiftLocker, or the Hidden album.
- Documents too, not just photos. SwiftLocker, Keepsafe or Calculator#.
- Backups in your own iCloud. SwiftLocker, end-to-end encrypted. Calculator# can back up to iCloud too.
More on what to look for is on Compare photo vaults.
Questions
What is the best photo vault app for iPhone?
It depends on what you need. If nobody else knows your passcode, the Hidden album may be enough. If you also use Android, look at Private Photo Vault, Keepsafe or Calculator#. If you want no account, no ads and no tracking, look at SwiftLocker. We made it, so weigh that.
Which photo vault apps have no ads?
Of the apps here, SwiftLocker and Apple's Hidden album have none. Private Photo Vault, Keepsafe and SPV list ads on their App Store pages. Calculator# says its free version has ads.
Do photo vault apps need an account?
Not all of them. SwiftLocker needs none. Private Photo Vault needs one only for its Cloud Vault backup. Keepsafe asks for a name and a verified email address.
Is the Hidden album a photo vault?
It's Apple's built-in way to hide photos and videos. It's locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. The vault apps here add a lock of their own.
Why is SwiftLocker on this list?
We made it, and this page is on its website. It's listed last, and every fact about the other apps comes from their own pages, linked below.