# Vaultaire — Encrypted photo vault. Draw the wrong pattern and it looks empty, not locked.

> Encrypted photo vault. Draw the wrong pattern and it looks empty, not locked.

```yaml
url: "https://www.scrolllaunch.com/products/vaultaire"
website: "https://vaultaire.app"
tier: premium-plus · Verified
upvotes: 0
launch_week: 2026-W25
launched: "Week 25, 2026"
categories: "Other, Productivity, Mobile App"
tags: "photo vault, encryption, plausible deniability"
pricing: freemium
starting_price: 1 vault and 100 photos is free
maker: Rasty Turek
created: 2026-06-12
```

## About Vaultaire

Most vault apps hide your photos behind a PIN. Get the phone unlocked, or run a forensic tool, and the photos come back. Vaultaire encrypts every file with AES-256-GCM and a key you draw as a pattern. No account. No cloud. No backdoor.

The difference is the wrong pattern. Vaultaire opens an empty vault instead of an error. No lock screen, no way to prove anything else exists. Draw another pattern, open another vault. Draw your duress pattern and the app wipes your local vaults while it looks normal. Your encrypted iCloud backup stays safe to restore later.

What you get:
- AES-256-GCM encryption, per-file IVs, 600,000 PBKDF2 iterations
- Wrong pattern opens an empty vault, so nothing proves you're hiding anything
- Separate hidden vaults, each behind its own pattern
- Duress mode for forced unlocks
- No account, so there's nothing on a server to subpoena
- iCloud backup encrypted end to end. Apple can't read it
- Share albums with one-time phrases that decrypt on the other person's device

Your photos are protected by math, not promises. Built by an ex-Google engineer.

## Overview

### Who is it for?

Privacy-conscious iPhone users, journalists, and anyone who's handed an unlocked phone to a partner or a border agent.

### Problem

Hidden is not encrypted. Apple's Hidden Album and PIN vault apps don't survive someone holding your unlocked phone. The files come back, and a locked vault tells them you're hiding something. Worst of all, nothing protects you when you're forced to open it.

### Solution

Vaultaire encrypts every file with AES-256-GCM, keyed to a pattern you draw. The wrong pattern opens an empty vault instead of an error, so nothing proves hidden content exists. A duress pattern wipes your local vaults while the app looks normal, and your encrypted iCloud backup stays as a recovery path.

### What makes it unique

It's the only vault app with real plausible deniability and a duress mode. Every other vault proves it's hiding something the second you can't unlock it. Vaultaire proves nothing. Wrong pattern, empty vault. Real zero-knowledge crypto, no account, no server.

## Use cases

1. Hide private photos
2. Encrypt sensitive documents
3. Protect photos from snooping
4. Store medical and ID documents privately
5. Hide photos before a border crossing
6. Journalist source protection
7. Hide photos from a partner
8. Encrypted iCloud photo backup
9. Share private photos securely
10. Duress-proof photo storage

## Details

### Platforms

- ios
- macos

### Tech stack

- Swift
- SwiftUI
- CryptoKit
- CloudKit
- PBKDF2
- AES-256-GCM

### Tags

`#photo vault` · `#encryption` · `#plausible deniability`

### Get the app

- [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vaultaire/id6758529311)

## Vaultaire alternative to

- Keepsafe
- Private Photo Vault
- Apple Hidden Album
- Calculator Photo Vault
- Privault
- Vaulty
- Secret Photo Vault
- Safe Lock
- Encamera
- Obscura

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: Is Vaultaire actually encrypted, or does it just hide photos?**

Vaultaire encrypts every file with AES-256-GCM, using a key derived from a pattern you draw (600,000 PBKDF2 iterations, per-file IVs). It does not hide photos behind a PIN. Without your pattern, the files are unreadable.

**Q: What happens if someone enters the wrong pattern?**

Vaultaire opens an empty vault instead of an error or a lock screen. There is no way to prove other vaults exist, so a wrong pattern reveals nothing.

**Q: Does Vaultaire require an account or the cloud?**

No. Vaultaire works with no account and no cloud dependency. Nothing sits on a server to subpoena or breach. iCloud backup is optional and encrypted end to end, so even Apple cannot read it.

**Q: What is a duress pattern?**

A duress pattern opens the app normally while wiping your local vaults. To anyone watching, the app looks empty. Your encrypted iCloud backup stays as a recovery path for when it is safe to restore.

**Q: How is Vaultaire different from Keepsafe or Apple's Hidden Album?**

Keepsafe requires an account and stores photos on its servers. Apple's Hidden Album is not encrypted and is easy to find. Vaultaire encrypts every file, needs no account, and shows an empty vault on the wrong pattern.

**Q: Can Vaultaire recover my photos if I forget my pattern?**

No. Vaultaire is zero-knowledge. Your pattern is the only key, and it is never stored or sent anywhere. If you enable encrypted iCloud backup you can restore from it; otherwise a forgotten pattern means the data is gone.

**Q: What platforms does Vaultaire run on?**

Vaultaire is an iPhone and iPad app on the App Store. It uses Apple's CryptoKit and stores data on-device, with optional end-to-end encrypted iCloud backup.

**Q: Is Vaultaire free?**

Vaultaire is free to download and use. A paid tier, Vaultaire+, adds end-to-end encrypted iCloud backup.

**Q: Can forensic tools recover my photos if someone has my phone?**

No. Vaultaire stores every file encrypted with AES-256-GCM, so a forensic dump returns ciphertext, not photos. Without your pattern there is no key, and the key is never written to disk.

**Q: Can I share photos from Vaultaire securely?**

Yes. Vaultaire lets you share an album with a one-time phrase. The recipient decrypts it on their device, and nothing passes through a server in readable form.

## Screenshots

- Screenshot 1: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224429/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224428898.jpg
- Screenshot 2: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224434/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224434514.png
- Screenshot 3: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224440/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224440389.png
- Screenshot 4: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224446/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224446447.png
- Screenshot 5: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224452/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224452364.png
- Screenshot 6: https://res.cloudinary.com/dwb211sw5/image/upload/v1781224458/scrolllaunch/products/product_6a2a5875c9d14576ba50b99c_1781224458011.png

## Links

- Website: https://vaultaire.app
- Twitter / X: https://x.com/vaultaire_app
- Pricing page: https://vaultaire.app/compare/vaultaire-vs-private-photo-vault/

## Explore

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- [Other launches in Week 25, 2026](https://www.scrolllaunch.com/week/2026/25)

_HTML version: https://www.scrolllaunch.com/products/vaultaire_