Apple says anyone who knows your passcode can view and change data on your device and on your linked Apple Account. So the photos need a lock that is not your passcode. A Vault9 vault is one, because your phone passcode never opens it. The Hidden album is not one.
If you feel unsafe
Your safety comes before any app. If a person may hurt you for having privacy, a vault is not a safety plan. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. Otherwise, talk to someone you trust, on a device the other person cannot see.
Changing the passcode: think about the reaction first
A new passcode is a signal. Ask yourself what happens when the other person finds out. If it is safe, do this:
- Open Settings, then Face ID & Passcode, and enter your passcode.
- Tap Change Passcode and enter a new one twice.
- Go back to the passcode settings and tap Expire Previous Passcode.
Do not skip step 3. In iOS 17 and later, your old passcode can reset the new one for 72 hours after a change. This option ends that at once.
Apple’s Safety Check goes further. Manage Sharing & Access shows who has your information, and Emergency Reset stops sharing with all people and apps at once. Every screen has a Quick Exit button. Find it in Settings, Privacy & Security, Safety Check. It needs iOS 16 or later. If you share a photo library, stopping photo sharing with family is the next read.
What the vault gives you
The vault opens with your pattern or passphrase and your Secret Key, or Face ID if you turn it on. A person who knows your phone passcode knows none of these. The Secret Key stays in the iPhone Keychain, set to this device only.
To move photos in, import them from Photos. Then delete the originals in Photos and in Recently Deleted, where Apple keeps them for 30 days.
Where it stops
- It does not hide itself. A person who opens the app sees the unlock screen.
- A wrong pattern shows an error. There is no decoy vault and no fake PIN.
- Vault9 does not protect a vault that is open on an unlocked phone. The app locks when you leave it, when you lock it, or after a time without a touch.
- If the other person learns your pattern or passphrase and holds your phone, the vault does not help. Change it in Settings, or switch to a passphrase.
Your Emergency Kit holds the Secret Key. If you wrote your pattern or passphrase on it, the kit opens your vault for anyone who also has a copy of your files. Keep it on paper where the other person does not look, and not in iCloud Drive.
Sources
- Apple Support: Set a unique device passcode or password (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Use a passcode with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (checked 2026-11-06)
