Snapchat My Eyes Only vs Underlock
My Eyes Only is a free, locked tab in Snapchat’s Memories, for the Snaps you want to keep private. My Eyes Only opens with its own passcode, not your iPhone passcode. Snapchat says nobody can view those Snaps without the passcode, not even Snapchat. If you forget the passcode, a reset deletes every Snap in My Eyes Only. Underlock is a private vault for your iPhone that opens with a pattern you draw on a grid of dots. If you forget your pattern, the 12 words Underlock shows you at setup get you back in. You write the 12 words on paper.
We make Underlock, so read this knowing that.
Underlock is coming soon to the App Store.
Which is right for you?
My Eyes Only may be all you need if:
- your private photos are Snaps you already keep in Snapchat
- you want your private photos on an Android phone too
- you’d rather not add another app
Underlock is worth a try if:
- you’d like 12 words on paper as your way back in
- you’d rather not need an account
- you’d like 30 days to undo a delete
- you keep IDs, documents or notes too
You can use both. Trying Underlock changes nothing in Snapchat.
Side by side
My Eyes Only does better on some rows, and some rows are ties.
| Feature | Underlock | Snapchat My Eyes Only |
|---|---|---|
| Its own lock, separate from your iPhone passcode | Yes | Yes |
| The app’s maker can’t view what you keep | Yes | Yes |
| Free to use | Yes | Yes |
| On Android too | No, iPhone only | Yes |
| No account to sign up for | Yes | Needs a Snapchat account |
| If you forget how to open it | 12 words on paper | A reset deletes the Snaps |
| Get back a deleted photo | Yes, for 30 days | No |
| Holds files and notes, not just photos | Yes | Photos and videos |
What My Eyes Only does well
My Eyes Only is free, and it’s already in Snapchat.
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Private, even from Snapchat
Snapchat says the Snaps in My Eyes Only are encrypted. Without your passcode, nobody can view those Snaps, not even Snapchat.
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Backed up with your account
Snapchat backs up your Memories online, and My Eyes Only is part of Memories. So you can sign in on a new phone and still have your Snaps.
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Kept out of Flashbacks
Snapchat’s Flashbacks bring back Snaps from a year or more ago. Snapchat says Flashbacks never use Snaps from My Eyes Only.
Forgot your My Eyes Only passcode?
Snapchat says only your passcode opens My Eyes Only. If you forget the passcode, Snapchat offers a reset, and the reset deletes every Snap in My Eyes Only. Snapchat Support can’t recover the passcode or the deleted Snaps.
The passcode is 4 digits, or a passphrase of letters and numbers. This passcode is separate from your iPhone passcode and from your Snapchat password. To reset the passcode, you tap Forgot Passcode, then enter your Snapchat password.
When you set up a vault, Underlock shows you 12 words to write on paper: your recovery phrase. If you forget your pattern, those 12 words open your vault. Keep the paper somewhere safe: someone who has the paper 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.
Staying with My Eyes Only? If you still know your passcode, you can change it to one you’ll remember. In My Eyes Only, tap **Options**, then **Change Passcode**.
How much Snapchat stores for free in Memories
My Eyes Only is a tab in Snapchat’s Memories, and Snapchat backs up Memories online. Snapchat says Memories that weren’t backed up can’t be recovered. So before you change phones, check in Snapchat’s settings: tap My App, then Memories. Backup Progress should say Complete.
Snapchat gives you 5 GB of Memories storage free. For more, Snapchat sells storage plans, and the Snapchat app shows the prices where you live.
Snapchat says it won’t delete your Memories if you don’t upgrade. But from January 2027, if you have more than 5 GB, Snapchat will archive some Memories. You can still open your Memories from the last year, and your oldest 5 GB. Archived Memories stay stored, but to open one, you upgrade your storage or download your Memories. Snapchat says it will tell you in the app before anything changes.
Snapchat’s storage page doesn’t say whether My Eyes Only counts toward the 5 GB.
In Underlock, your vault is on your iPhone, and the free plan has no file limit. We never receive your files, your pattern or your keys, so we can’t open your vault.
Moving photos from My Eyes Only
Underlock is coming soon to the App Store. Here’s how moving will work.
First, you export the Snaps from My Eyes Only to your camera roll. Next, Underlock imports the photos. Then you delete the photos from the Photos app and from My Eyes Only.
- In Snapchat, swipe up from the camera screen to open Memories. Swipe left to My Eyes Only, then enter your passcode.
- Tap the Memories selector icon at the top. Then tap each Snap you want to move.
- Tap Export, then choose your camera roll. The photos go to the Photos app. If iCloud Photos is on, the photos also go to iCloud Photos until you delete them for good in step 8.
- In Underlock, tap the Add button (a plus sign), then Import from Photos.
- Choose the same photos. Keep Underlock open until the import finishes.
- When the import finishes, Underlock offers to remove the photos from the Photos app. Tap Remove, then confirm when iOS asks. The photos wait in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
- Before you delete anything for good, check that the photos are in your vault.
- In the Photos app, delete the photos from Recently Deleted. The photos then leave iCloud Photos too.
- In My Eyes Only, press and hold a Snap you moved, then tap Delete. Snapchat says a deleted Snap can’t be recovered, so do this step last.
Questions people ask about My Eyes Only
Snapchat says no. Snapchat says the Snaps in My Eyes Only are encrypted, and nobody can view those Snaps without your passcode, not even Snapchat. Snapchat also says a Snapchat representative will never ask for your passcode.
Not without the passcode. Snapchat’s Forgot Passcode lets you choose a new passcode, after you enter your Snapchat password. But Snapchat says the reset deletes every Snap in My Eyes Only, and Snapchat Support can’t recover those Snaps.
Yes. My Eyes Only is free inside Snapchat. Snapchat gives you 5 GB of Memories storage free, and sells plans for more. The Snapchat app shows the prices where you live, and they can change.
Snapchat says no. But from January 2027, if you have more than 5 GB, Snapchat will archive some Memories. You can still open your Memories from the last year, and your oldest 5 GB. Archived Memories stay stored, but to open one, you upgrade your storage or download your Memories.
Yes, with your Snapchat account, once your Memories are backed up. Before you change phones, check in Snapchat’s settings: tap My App, then Memories. Backup Progress should say Complete. Snapchat says Memories that weren’t backed up can’t be recovered.
Not yet. Snapchat says Snaps saved to Memories open only in the Snapchat app for iPhone or Android, not on the web.
Export the Snaps from My Eyes Only to your camera roll. Then import the photos into Underlock: tap Add, then Import from Photos. Afterwards, delete the photos from the Photos app, and from My Eyes Only.
No. Underlock is for iPhone, with iOS 17 or later.
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.
Related
- Photos meant for one person Keep these photos in a vault that opens with a pattern you draw.
- Recovery phrase 12 words that get you back in.
- Recently deleted Undo a delete for 30 days, free.
- Move photos into a vault without leaving copies behind Delete the originals in the Photos app and in Recently Deleted, so no copy is left.
- Underlock vs the iPhone Hidden album The Hidden album is free, built in and locked by default, but it opens with your iPhone passcode.
- Google Photos Locked Folder vs Underlock Google Photos’ Locked Folder is free and opens on Android and the web too, but on iPhone your passcode opens it.
A private vault, with 12 words to get back in
Free for one vault, with no file limit. No account, no email.
For iPhone with iOS 17 or later.