Check one thing before you save anything: does your employer manage this phone? If it does, assume it may see more than you expect. If it does not, keep the originals untouched and make a private copy. For the case itself, talk to a union representative or a labor lawyer. This page is not legal advice.
Is this phone managed?
- Open Settings and tap General.
- Tap VPN & Device Management.
- Look for a profile from your employer or school.
If you find one, do not keep this material on that phone. Use a personal phone, as personal photos on a work-managed iPhone explains. Apple’s Safety Check guide says an MDM profile can make some options unavailable, so a profile can limit what you control.
Do not delete the profile on impulse. Removing it can also remove the settings, apps and data tied to it. Ask your representative first.
Keep the originals as they are
Do not crop, draw on or rename the first copy of a screenshot. If you want to mark one, mark a duplicate. For where screenshots end up, see keep screenshots private on iPhone.
Leave messages in the app where they arrived, for as long as your lawyer or representative says. Write down the date you saved each item and where it came from.
Customer data and confidential business records are a different matter. Ask before you keep them.
Make a private copy in Vault9
Vault9 encrypts the copy on your iPhone. It opens with your pattern or passphrase and your Secret Key, or with Face ID if you turn it on. Your phone passcode never opens it.
- Import the screenshots from Photos.
- Group them in albums, by date or by topic.
- Ask your adviser before you delete the originals in Photos. Vault9 never deletes them for you.
Vault9 stores the original bytes of each file. It does not prove that a file is genuine or when you made it.
The iCloud backup is the only copy of the vault outside the phone. It sits in the iCloud storage of the Apple Account on the phone and never holds the Secret Key.
What to watch
Lock Screen previews can show message text. Go to Settings, Notifications, Show Previews, and choose When Unlocked or Never.
Vault9 does not protect a vault that is open on an unlocked phone, or against malware. It has no decoy or duress mode. If you lose your pattern or passphrase and did not write it on your Emergency Kit, you cannot open the vault. We cannot open it for you.
Sources
- Apple Support: Install or remove configuration profiles on iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Change notification settings on iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
