# Are iCloud Photos encrypted? End-to-end, keys and limits > iCloud Photos are encrypted, but Apple holds the keys by default. Here is what Advanced Data Protection changes, how to turn it on, and what stays outside it. Source: https://vault9app.com/guides/icloud-photos-encryption/ Updated: 2026-11-12 ## The short answer Yes, iCloud Photos are encrypted. **But by default Apple holds the keys, so the photos are not end-to-end encrypted.** Apple can decrypt them. It does this, for example, to help you get back into your account. Turn on Advanced Data Protection and the keys stay on your trusted devices. Then iCloud Photos are end-to-end encrypted. ## Apple holds the keys until you change that Apple calls the default standard data protection. Your data is encrypted in transit and stored in an encrypted format, and the keys sit in Apple data centers. That is why Apple can help when you sign in on a new device or forget your password. Under this setting, 15 data categories are end-to-end encrypted. Health data and the passwords in iCloud Keychain are two of them. Photos is not. ## What Advanced Data Protection changes With it on, only your trusted devices hold the keys for most of your iCloud data. The end-to-end categories grow from 15 to 25, and Photos, iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive and Notes join them. The price is recovery. Apple cannot recover this data for you any more. If you lose access to your account, you need one of 3 things: your device passcode or password, a recovery contact, or a recovery key (a 28-character code). Set up one of these before you turn the feature on. You also need two-factor authentication on your Apple Account, and every device signed in to it must run current software. On iPhone, that means iOS 16.2 or later. 1. Open **Settings** and tap your name. 2. Tap **iCloud**, scroll down, and tap **Advanced Data Protection**. 3. Tap **Turn on Advanced Data Protection** and set up a recovery method. Turn it on from one device, and it applies to the whole account. ## What stays outside, even with it on - Shared Albums and links that anyone with the link can open. Apple says these are not end-to-end encrypted. - A few details about your photos: a checksum of each item, whether it is a favorite, hidden or deleted, its dates, and how often you viewed it. - Mail, Contacts and Calendar. Access on iCloud.com is off while the setting is on. You can allow it again, and a trusted device must approve each temporary session. In the United Kingdom, Apple says it can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection to new users. If you live there and have not turned it on, your photos stay under standard protection. Apple says the setting is still available in other regions. ## Keeping some photos out of iCloud Photos Advanced Data Protection protects the iCloud Photos library. It does not take a photo out of it. If a photo should not be in iCloud Photos at all, it needs a different home. Vault9 is a separate place for those photos. It keeps them encrypted on your iPhone. They open with your pattern or passphrase and your Secret Key, or Face ID if you turn it on. [Vault9 on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6830759639?pt=129716075&ct=icloud-photos-encryption-md) The vault has its own iCloud backup in your own iCloud storage, and that backup never holds the Secret Key. Apple can see that the backup exists, the number of items, their padded sizes and the dates of changes. If you lose your Apple Account, you lose that backup. One step stays with you. Vault9 imports a photo from Photos but never deletes the original. Until you delete it, the original sits in the library under your iCloud setting. The guide on [what syncs to iCloud](https://vault9app.com/guides/are-hidden-photos-saved-to-icloud/) has the details. ## Sources - [Apple Support: iCloud data security overview](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651) (checked 2026-11-06) - [Apple Support: How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) (checked 2026-11-06) - [Apple Support UK: Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom to new users](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/122234) (checked 2026-11-06)