AlbumVault vs Private Photo Vault

Private Photo Vault has about 1 million ratings in the US App Store, and it runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision and Android. Here is how it compares with AlbumVault, using only what each publishes.

What Private Photo Vault does well

As seen on 24 October 2026, Private Photo Vault was rated 4.8 from about 1 million ratings in the US App Store, and 4.8 from 237,000 reviews on Google Play, with more than 10 million downloads there.

• Lots of devices. iPhone (iOS 15 or later), iPad (iPadOS 15 or later), Mac with Apple M1 or later (macOS 13 or later) and Apple Vision, plus an Android app from the same developer, Legendary Software Labs LLC.
• No account for the basics. You can use the on-⁠device vault without an account, offline by default.
• Plenty of ways to unlock. A separate vault PIN, an alphanumeric password or a pattern. Face ID or Touch ID on Apple devices, fingerprint on Android, and an option to require Face ID and a PIN together.
• A cloud vault keyed to your password. The Premium Cloud Vault encrypts files before upload. The vendor says your Cloud Vault password is never backed up to its servers, and only you hold the key. The Google Play listing mentions up to 50GB, accessible across your devices.
• Extras. A Decoy Password, a Break-⁠in Report with a photo and GPS location, a custom app icon with more discreet options, and import and export through the Photos app, Wi-⁠Fi transfer, email and text message.

Where they differ

Accounts and the cloud

Private Photo Vault needs no account for the on-⁠device vault. Cloud Vault, the Premium backup and sync feature, needs an account and an internet connection. The free version does not back up to Cloud Vault, and the FAQ says your Cloud Backup is deleted if you switch from an expired Premium plan to Basic.

AlbumVault There is no AlbumVault server, so there is no AlbumVault account to sign up for. We never have your photos or your keys, so we have nothing to hand over. Save an encrypted backup file of a vault to Files, a computer or a drive you trust. Only its 12-⁠word recovery phrase opens it.

Using one vault on several devices

Private Photo Vault’s Cloud Vault is built for access across all your devices, and that includes keeping an iPhone and an Android phone in step. If you want the same vault on several devices at once, that is a real strength.

AlbumVault AlbumVault is built for iPhone and Android. Move a vault between them with an encrypted transfer file and its recovery phrase.

Encryption and what is published

Private Photo Vault’s FAQ says it uses AES-⁠256 encryption, and that you can choose a vault passcode different from your phone’s code. For Cloud Vault, the vendor says Argon2id protects the password and AES-⁠256 encrypts your photos and videos. AlbumVault publishes these details: Files are encrypted in 1 MB pieces with AES-⁠256-⁠GCM; each file gets its own key, and every piece is checked so a changed or reordered piece is refused. Your pattern or PIN is stretched with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 (600,000 rounds) and combined with a key held in your phone’s Secure Enclave (iPhone) or StrongBox/TEE (Android), so it can only be tried on your phone.

The only named independent test in our research is IOActive’s, published 19 November 2015. It found that the free iOS version of that time stored photos without encryption and kept the passcode in plaintext. That test is almost 11 years old. The vendor now states AES-⁠256, and we found no newer named independent test, so read it as history rather than a verdict on today’s app.

Unlocking

Private Photo Vault offers a PIN, an alphanumeric password or a pattern, with Face ID or Touch ID on supported Apple devices. You can require both Face ID and the PIN, so “Face ID access alone isn’t enough.”

AlbumVault Unlock by drawing a pattern on a 5×5 grid of dots, using at least 6 dots. Prefer numbers? A PIN of 6 to 12 digits works too. Face ID or fingerprint can open at most one vault. Your other vaults always need their pattern.

Decoys and break-⁠in reports

Private Photo Vault lists a Decoy Password and a Break-⁠in Report with a photo and GPS location. Google Play lists Fake PIN and Break-⁠In Alerts as Premium features there.

AlbumVault Every pattern or PIN leads to exactly one vault, and a vault can have more than one way in. A pattern that belongs to no vault opens nothing. Break-⁠in photos (Pro): after 3 wrong tries AlbumVault can take a front-⁠camera photo, encrypted so only your vault can open it. The phone’s camera indicator still lights up when the photo is taken, so the person may notice.

Note the difference: Private Photo Vault’s report includes GPS location. How many AlbumVault vaults you get depends on the plan; see Prices below.

Disguise

Private Photo Vault lets you pick a custom app icon, including more discreet options.

AlbumVault Icon disguise (Pro): make the app look like a calculator. A code you choose on the calculator brings up the unlock screen; it is a gate, not your key, so a vault still needs its pattern.

Ads and data

Private Photo Vault’s Google Play listing says it contains ads. Its US App Store privacy label lists advertising data as data used to track you. It also lists purchase history, photos or videos, user ID, device ID, product interaction and crash and performance data as data linked to you. The label does not say which feature the photos or videos entry covers, and the vendor says the on-⁠device vault needs no account.

AlbumVault The apps contain no analytics, ad or tracking SDKs. Purchases use Apple’s or Google’s own in-⁠app purchase.

Prices and ratings

As seen on 24 October 2026 in the US stores:

• App Store: free with in-⁠app purchases. Listed options include Private Photo Vault Premium at $12.99 and Private Photo Vault Upgrade at $39.99, with other options from $6.99 to $39.99. Age rating 16+. Rating 4.8 from about 1 million ratings.
• Google Play: contains ads and in-⁠app purchases. The web listing does not show prices. Rating 4.8 from 237,000 reviews.

AlbumVault Free: 1 vault, up to 100 photos and 10 videos, encrypted backup file included. Pro: as many vaults as you want, including the guest vault, with no limit on photos and videos.

Which to choose

Pick Private Photo Vault if:

1. You want your vault on a Mac or iPad as well as your phone.
2. You want one vault kept in step across several devices, including an iPhone and an Android phone at the same time.
3. You prefer an alphanumeric password, or Face ID and a PIN together.
4. You want break-⁠in reports that include GPS location.

Pick AlbumVault if:

1. You want an encrypted backup file on the free plan.
2. You want backup without an account with the app maker: a file you save yourself, which only your recovery phrase opens.
3. You want several vaults (a Pro feature), each opened by its own pattern, with an emergency pattern.
4. You would rather have no ad or analytics code from other companies in the app.

Limits to know on the AlbumVault side

AlbumVault does not hide that some private data exists: your phone’s storage settings, and a forensic examiner, can still show that. Deleting is not shredding: a lab that images the phone may recover deleted bytes. Use AlbumVault to keep people out of your photos, not to beat a forensics lab.

The hardware key cannot move to a new phone, so on a new phone, or a phone restored from a backup, a vault opens only with its recovery phrase. Keep the phrase safe before you switch phones.

AlbumVault cannot protect against malware or a jailbroken or rooted phone running code while the vault is open, against what is on screen or shared out once decrypted, or against someone deleting files they can reach (they can destroy data, not read it).