NullVault vs Privately

NullVault stores photos, videos, files, and notes in separate encrypted vaults, each opened with its own pattern. Entering a pattern opens the matching vault without showing a master list or the number of vaults. Within a vault, users can organize content into collections, search, and sort; they can capture or import items and deliberately export selected ones. Exported copies are outside NullVault’s protection.

Local vaults work offline without a NullVault account or server. The maker describes Android encryption using AES-256-GCM, Argon2id, and Android Keystore material; its iOS description lists AES-256-GCM, Argon2id, Apple CryptoKit, and libsodium. iOS supports encrypted iCloud backup and controlled read-only sharing through CloudKit, while Android supports portable encrypted backups. The free iOS plan allows up to five vaults and 20 items total, with one collection per vault. Compatibility is listed for iPhone running iOS 26 or later and Android phones running Android 10 or later. The maker warns that a compromised device may expose patterns, keys, screens, or plaintext, and that hidden vaults do not make encrypted data impossible to detect.

Privately is an iPhone vault for photos and videos, with media encrypted on the device. It splits files into 1 MB blocks protected by AES-256-GCM, while the user’s PIN wraps a master key stored in the iPhone Secure Enclave. Albums can have separate passwords, and their locked photos disappear from the timeline, search, and favorites; Face ID unlocking is optional. On-device Smart Search can find text in photos in 18 languages without sending the photos off the iPhone. Users can export a.privately backup and restore it on a new device with their PIN; the maker says backups can be kept in iCloud Drive or elsewhere. The maker says it has no accounts or servers holding photos, file names, or thumbnails. The Free plan costs nothing, with no sign-up required. Pro Yearly costs $39.99 a year and includes locked albums and encrypted backups. The yearly subscription has a 7-day free trial; the weekly subscription has no free trial. The app is only for iPhone and requires iOS 18.0 or later. The maker says forgotten PIN access or losing a device without a backup can mean permanent content loss.