Photos & videos
Move photos and videos out of your camera roll into encrypted vaults, or take them straight inside the vault.
Encrypted vault for iPhone
Your photos and IDs, encrypted on your iPhone.
Nobody else has the key — not even us.
OwlVault is a private vault for the things you don’t want in your camera roll: personal photos and videos, a copy of your passport, your ID and driver’s license, and notes. Everything is encrypted on your iPhone before it’s saved.
- No account
- No OwlVault server
- No ads or tracking
- AES-256-GCM
One vault for what’s private
Photos you don’t want in your library, the documents you’d hate to lose, and notes that are nobody’s business.
IDs & expiry reminders
Scan your passport, ID or driver’s license. Get a reminder 90, 30 and 7 days before it expires.
Notes
Private notes, encrypted on your iPhone like everything else in the vault. Unlimited, even on Free.
How it works
No sign-up and no cloud account. You set it up once, on your iPhone.
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Create a vault
Choose a pattern or PIN for the vault and write down your 12-word recovery phrase. It’s shown only once. No email, no account.
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Add what’s private
Move photos and videos from your library, take new ones inside the vault, scan your IDs and write notes. Each file is encrypted on your iPhone before it’s saved.
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Open it with your key
Unlock with your pattern or PIN, or with Face ID for one vault. Get a reminder 90, 30 and 7 days before a document expires.
OwlVault and the iPhone Hidden album
Your iPhone already has a Hidden album, and it’s free. It’s fine for photos you just want out of your main library. It isn’t built to keep things from someone who knows your iPhone passcode.
| Topic | Hidden album | OwlVault |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built into Photos | Free for 2 vaults, 100 photos, 10 videos and 3 documents. Pro removes the limits. |
| How it opens | Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode | Its own pattern or PIN, separate from your iPhone passcode. Face ID is optional, for one vault. |
| Someone who knows your iPhone passcode | Can open it | Still needs the vault’s pattern or PIN |
| Separate vaults | One Hidden album | Several vaults, each with its own pattern or PIN |
| In iCloud | End-to-end encrypted only if you turn on Advanced Data Protection | No OwlVault server. Vault files in your iCloud backup stay encrypted and open only with your recovery phrase. |
| On your other Apple devices | Yes, with iCloud Photos turned on | No. Vaults stay on this iPhone; you restore them on a new one with your recovery phrase. |
| Passports and IDs with expiry reminders | No | Yes, 90, 30 and 7 days before a document expires |
Sources, checked October 2026:
Questions people ask
Can you see my photos?
No. There is no OwlVault account and no OwlVault server. Your vault is encrypted on your iPhone with keys that never leave it, so there is nothing for us to look at or hand over.
What happens if I forget my pattern or PIN?
Your 12-word recovery phrase can still open the vault. If you lose both your pattern or PIN and your recovery phrase, nobody can open the vault — not even us. That is the price of having no back door, so write the phrase down and keep it somewhere safe.
Is OwlVault free?
Yes, for 2 vaults, 100 photos, 10 videos, 3 documents with reminders and unlimited notes, with exactly the same protection as Pro. OwlVault Pro removes the limits: $14.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $29.99 once.
What if I get a new iPhone?
Restore your iPhone backup (iCloud or computer) on the new iPhone, or export an encrypted .owlbackup file on the old one and import it on the new one. Either way, you open the vault with your recovery phrase. Without the phrase, a vault can’t be opened on another iPhone.
Do reminders show which document is expiring?
No. Reminder notifications are generic (“A document in OwlVault expires soon”) and never show the document’s name, type or number on your lock screen.
Does OwlVault track me?
No. No account, no ads, no analytics SDK and no tracking. Purchases go through Apple, and RevenueCat records them with an anonymous ID so that Pro works.
Is OwlVault 100% secure?
No app is. OwlVault encrypts your files on your iPhone, but it can’t protect a phone that is already unlocked in someone else’s hands, or one with malware on it. The security page explains exactly what it protects and what it doesn’t.