Free photo vault apps: what you get without paying
Keepsafe and Private Photo Vault are free to download, and the iPhone’s Hidden album comes with the Photos app. Underlock is coming soon, and it will be free to download too. Here is what each free plan includes, and what costs money. Underlock is a private vault for your iPhone that opens with a pattern you draw. Underlock’s free plan is one vault, with folders inside and no file limit.
We make Underlock, so read this knowing that.
Underlock is coming soon to the App Store.
Which free plan fits you?
The Hidden album may be all you need if:
- nobody else knows your iPhone passcode
- you’d rather not install anything new
- you want your photos on your iPad and Mac too
Keepsafe’s free plan may suit you if:
- you want Face ID to open your vault
- you want a free backup for up to 200 photos and videos
- you also use an iPad or an Android phone
Private Photo Vault’s free version may suit you if:
- you’d rather not make an account
- you want your photos kept on your iPhone only
- you already back up your whole iPhone to a computer
Underlock’s free plan may suit you if:
- you want a lock of your own, and deleted photos kept for 30 days, free
- you’d rather not make an account
The App Store shows each app’s prices for your country, on the app’s page. The Pricing page shows Underlock’s prices.
Free plans side by side
Free means the free plan includes the feature. Paid means only the paid plan has the feature. No means the app doesn’t have the feature at all. Not stated means the app’s own pages don’t say. Plan not stated means the app has the feature, but its pages don’t say which plan.
| Feature | Underlock | iPhone Hidden album | Keepsafe | Private Photo Vault |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A lock of its own, not your iPhone passcode | Free | Uses your passcode | Free | Free |
| Opens with Face ID | No | Free | Free | Plan not stated |
| File limit | No limit | No limit | Not stated | Not stated |
| Get back a deleted photo | Free, for 30 days | Free, for 30 days | Paid | Not stated |
| Save space: full-size photos in the cloud, smaller copies on your iPhone | No | Free, with iCloud Photos | Paid | Paid |
| Your photos on your other devices | No, iPhone only | iPad and Mac, with iCloud Photos | Free, your first 200 | Paid |
What you get free in all four
None of these cost money, whichever you choose.
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Free to use
Keepsafe, Private Photo Vault and Underlock each have a free plan. The Hidden album is already in the Photos app.
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Encrypted on your iPhone
All four encrypt your photos on your iPhone, on the free plan too.
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Out of your camera roll
Each one can take private photos and videos out of your camera roll.
Getting back a deleted photo
Delete a photo by mistake, and Underlock keeps the photo in Recently deleted for 30 days, on the free plan. The Photos app does the same for the Hidden album: Photos keeps deleted photos in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
Keepsafe moves deleted photos to its Trash, on every plan. Deleted photos stay in the Trash until you empty it. To get a photo back out of the Trash, you need Premium, Keepsafe’s paid plan.
Deleted a photo in the Photos app by mistake? In Photos, scroll down to Utilities. Then tap Recently Deleted.
Backup on the free plan
A backup brings your photos back if you lose your iPhone. Keepsafe’s free plan backs up the first 200 photos and videos you add, to Keepsafe’s cloud. Photos after the first 200 stay in Keepsafe, without a backup. Premium backs up as many as 10,000.
Private Photo Vault’s free version doesn’t back up your photos. Private Photo Vault’s backup, Cloud Vault, comes with its Premium plan and needs an account. For the free version, Private Photo Vault suggests backing up your whole iPhone to a computer.
If you use iCloud Photos, the Hidden album goes to iCloud too. iCloud Photos uses your iCloud storage. Apple gives you 5 GB for free, and more storage comes with iCloud+, which costs money.
Questions people ask about free vault apps
All four on this page have a free plan. The Hidden album is part of the Photos app. Keepsafe, Private Photo Vault and Underlock each sell a paid plan as well. See what happens to your photos if you stop paying.
Yes. Keepsafe’s free plan, Basic, backs up your first 200 photos and videos. New accounts start with 30 days of Premium. When the 30 days end, you choose Basic or pay, and Keepsafe doesn’t charge you automatically. Premium adds more backup space, getting photos back from the Trash, a password for each album, and a second vault with its own PIN.
Yes. The free version keeps your photos on your iPhone, with no account. Premium adds Cloud Vault, Private Photo Vault’s backup, which also syncs your photos between iPhone and Android. Premium also adds Space Saver, which keeps full-size photos in Cloud Vault to save space on your iPhone.
Yes. The Hidden album is part of the Photos app. If you use iCloud Photos, your hidden photos count toward your iCloud storage. Apple gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, and more storage costs money.
Your recovery phrase opens your vault: 12 words Underlock shows you at setup, for you to write on paper. The recovery phrase is part of the free plan. Keep the paper somewhere safe. The 12 words work like your pattern: anyone who has them and can unlock your iPhone could open your vault. If you lose both your pattern and the paper, nobody can open your vault, not even us.
Yes. Underlock is free forever: one vault, no file limit. If the free plan ever changes, you keep the plan you started with. More vaults come with Pro, Underlock’s paid plan. The Pricing page lists everything Pro adds.
Related
- Pricing Free and Pro, side by side.
- Photo vault apps for iPhone, compared Four ways to keep photos private, row by row.
- Underlock vs Keepsafe What Keepsafe does well, and how it differs from Underlock.
- Underlock vs Private Photo Vault What Private Photo Vault does well, and how it differs from Underlock.
- Keepsafe vs Private Photo Vault How the two differ: email, the backup, and getting back in.
- Recently deleted Undo a delete for 30 days, free.
A lock of your own, for free
Free for one vault, with no file limit. No account, no email.
For iPhone with iOS 17 or later.